Chapter 11
Everyone was in the Queen’s croquet ground. Looking at the croquet ground Alice was filled with wonder. She had never seen such a play-ground before in her life. Her curiosity grew as she entered the croquet ground which was surrounded by ridges and furrows.
All in all, it was a very extraordinary croquet ground. There were no croquet ball nor any mallets. In their place, there were live hedgehogs and live flamingoes respectively. There were soldiers who were supposed to double themselves up and stand on their hands and feet in order to form arches. As Alice was new to the game of croquet, she found it a bit difficult to handle her flamingo which seemed to slip out of her hands every time she tried to catch hold of it.
The Queen came up to her and said, “Dear! Get its body tucked away comfortable under your armpit. Let its legs dangle down. Only then can you play this interesting game of croquets.”
Alice did exactly as she was told. She succeeded in handling the flamingo but as she got its neck out of her armpit to give a push to the hedgehog, the flamingo turned and twisted itself round and looked up at her face.
Seeing the confused face of the flamingo Alice burst out in a peal of laughter. No sooner did she get the head of the flamingo down to hit the hedgehog than the hedgehog unrolled itself and was on its way. However hard Alice tried to hit the hedgehog with the head of the flamingo, she could not succeed in doing so.
On the contrary, whenever or wherever Alice tried to send the hedgehog, she found either a ridge or furrow which obstructed the way. Sometimes she came across the doubled-up soldiers who all of a sudden got up and moved way to the other parts of the ground.
Alice got irritated a lot experiencing all these hurdles. She had no alternative but to give up the game assuming it a bad experience. So, Alice was out of the croquet ground. There ensued a bitter quarrel among the other players who were still playing. Each of them wanted to play the game simultaneously without waiting for his/her turn. They pulled and pushed one another. There was an atmosphere of chaos and confusion.
All the time, they were fighting over the hedgehogs. One player shouted loudly, “Hey! Don’t touch it. It is mine.
Be off my way.”
The other player retorted saying, “How can it be yours? It is a game. It can be anybody’s. If you have the guts, take it away from me.”
Such was the atmosphere at the croquet ground. The Queen had been watching all this for quite some time. Now the players were crossing their limits and flouting the rules of the game. How could the Queen bear this? She got furious and was fuming with anger. She gave out a loud cry and stamped her feet. Then she ordered her soldiers, “Come here! Catch hold of these rustic players who are fighting over trifles. Off with his head! Off with her head! Don’t spare them. Be quick, don’t let them go unpunished.”
Hearing the order of the Queen Alice felt uneasy. She said to herself, ‘The Queen is very cruel. She has ordered for execution. The time is not far when I shall get into a tiff with the Queen who is bent upon killing innocent players for no fault of theirs. The Queen is quite determined to do what she thinks. She never hesitates to put someone to death ever for a slighter excuse.’
Alice began to think of the ways and means of escaping from there without being seen. She thought hard and hard. But alas! She came to no conclusion. She sat down under a tree, sad and depressed. It was not far when she too would be beheaded for nothing. All of a sudden, she chanced to see the Cheshire cat perching on the branch of the tree.
Seeing it Alice felt very elated. Now there was someone whom she could talk to. She said to herself, ‘Now I can discuss this issue with the Cheshire cat. It must tell me some ways and weans.’
The moment she began to talk to the Cheshire cat, she realized that there were only the eyes of the Cheshire cat. She said to herself, ‘What it the use of talking to it? Her eyes are visible. Let the cat appear completely. Only then shall I talk to it.’
In a minute or so, the mouth of the cat appeared slowly but steadily. After half an hour, the whole cat appeared. Seeing the Cheshire cat in its complete form Alice felt very elated.
The Cheshire cat said to Alice, “What is going on, dear? Do you like the Queen or not? Please tell me everything in detail.”
Hearing the words of the Cheshire cat Alice’s happiness knew no bounds. She at once put down the flamingo and stated, “Dear! I have been passing through the worst phase of my life for quite some time. The game of croquet was not fair. There were live hedgehogs in place of balls and live flamingoes in place of wallets. Players quarrelled with one another over their turns. There was an atmosphere of chaos and confusion. Not a single player followed the rules of the game. All in all, I had a very bad experience. So, I gave up the game and came out of the croquet ground.”
The Cheshire cat nodded its head and then asked, “Dear! Tell me something about the Queen who is said to very disciplined and furious.”
Before Alice could speak ill of the Queen, she saw the Queen who was standing very close to her. Now Alice changed her mind and said to the Cheshire cat, “Dear! The Queen is very gentle and noble. She is a very kind lady. She always takes care of her subjects. She is very skilful.” Thus Alice praised the Queen to the skies.
Hearing her praise from the lips of Alice the Queen was filled with happiness. She smiled at Alice and was on her way. Now the king reached there and asked Alice, “Dear little girl! Whom are you talking to?”
Alice said in a soft tone, “Your Highness! I am talking to the Cheshire cat. It is my dearest friend. Let me introduce it to you.”
But the King didn’t like the cat at all. He wrinkled his nose in disgust and turned away. He said to Alice, “Dear! I don’t like such type of creature; off with this damned cat! It is a nuisance.”
When Alice told the King about the quality of the cat, the King got ready to be kissed by the cat if it so wished. But the Cheshire cat was no ordinary.
Hearing the words of the King it got offended. It was fuming with anger. It stared hard at the King who hid behind Alice.
The Cheshire cat observed, “I won’t kiss the King. He is damned fool. How dare he talk about me like that?”
Hearing the words of the cat the king said in a roaring tone, “O little creature, don’t cross your limits. Don’t you know who I am? Don’t stare hard at men and don’t be so impudent.”
The King seemed to be timid. All the time he talked to the cat, he never saw eye to eye with it. In the meantime, the Queen reached there.
Seeing the impudence of the cat she at once roared loudly and said, “Off with its head. This cat seems to be very impertinent.”
The King felt very happy. He said to the Queen, “So be it. I myself go and bring the executioner. He will hang this naughty cat.”
Saying these words the king hurried off to bring the executioner. When the Queen went away from there, Alice said to herself, ‘I had better go back to the croquet ground and see what is going on there. In this way, I might save myself from being executed.’
At some distance Alice heard the Queen’s order for execution. Three players were to be executed for having missed their turns. Reaching the croquet ground Alice found everything at sixes and sevens. She failed to understand when her turn would come.
She said to herself, ‘I should not waste my precious time. I had better go in search of my hedgehog. Then I can be able to resume my game.’
At some distance Alice saw her hedgehog fighting with another hedgehog. They were fighting very terribly.
Looking at them Alice thought, ‘It is a golden opportunity to push my hedgehog with the head of the flamingo. In this way, I shall save myself from the fear of execution.’
But alas! Her flamingo had slipped out of her hands and climbed up a tall tree. Alice tried her level best to bring it down but to no purpose. By the time she succeeded in bringing it down, the fight between the two hedgehogs was over.
When Alice reached the site where the two hedgehogs were involved in a fight; she stood dazed. No hedgehog was to be seen there. Both of them had disappeared. Alice became sad and disappointed. She had no alternative but to go back to the Cheshire cat.
She tucked the flamingo under her armpit and was on her way. When she reached the Cheshire cat was resting. She saw a huge crowd of spectators. A fight was going on between the executioner and the royal couple.
Seeing Alice the Queen felt very happy. She said to Alice, “Dear, come here and settle the dispute among us.”
Alice asked in a baffling tone, “Let me know first what the matter is. Only then can I sort it out.”
Now the King came forward and explained thus, “Dear little girl! It is very simple. Listen to it very carefully and then speak your mind. Needless to say, the Cheshire cat is to be executed. But the hangman says that unless and until he sees the entire body of the cat, he can’t cut off its head. According to him, ‘How could one cut off one’s head without seeing one’s body? This is his viewpoint. According to me, the head is to be beheaded. When he sees the head, why doesn’t he behead it? What is the point in seeing the entire body? The Queen says that what is to be done must be done without much delay. If it happens so, she will have everyone present here beheaded.”
Listening to the words of the King all the spectators present there were filled with fright. A shiver of fear ran down their spines. They had their hearts in their mouths. Alice too began to tremble with fear. Somehow, she gathered courage and said to be the King, “Your Highness! I have heard the viewpoint of each and everybody. But I would like to mention one thing. This Cheshire cat belongs to the Duchess. You had better ask her about it. Only then should you reach any conclusion.”
The King looked at the Queen and asked her what was to be done. The Queen observed, “But the Duchess is behind bers. What do you say now?”
Alice with her palms joined in reverence said to the King, “Your Highness! This matter needs urgent attention. I again say to you to call the Duchess here.”
Now the King ordered one of his soldiers, “Go and bring the Duchess here at once. Come back quickly.”
Off went the soldier like an arrow released from the bow. After some time the soldier accompanied by the Duchess reached there. In the meantime, an interesting thing happened. The entire Cheshire cat had disappeared slowly, but steadily.
Now the King and the executioner ran here, there and everywhere. But there was no cat to be found. Even the Queen’s courtiers and soldiers started searching for the cat but all in vain. The spectators sitting there were all praise for Alice. They returned back to the croquet ground.
