Chapter 12
Alice felt delighted a lot having been thanked by the Duchess. She was on cloud nine. Her happiness knew no bounds. She said to the Duchess, “O young lady! I have never found you in such a happy and hilarious mood. After all it was my duty to take care of your cat.”
Saying these words Alice shook hands with the Duchess who was very excited and enthusiastic. Alice said to herself, ‘The pepper in the kitchen made me so savage towards the Duchess that I got ready to speak ill of the Duchess. If I were the Duchess some day, I would never keep pepper in my kitchen. Pepper makes people ferocious and violent. The Duchess is a fine lady. I should never do any harm to her.’ In a few minutes, Alice was lost in day-dreaming. She had almost forgotten the presence of the Duchess close to her. She again said to herself, ‘If I were the Duchess, I would keep other spices in the kitchen. Pepper is the worst enemy which makes one hot-tempered. It induces anger and creates fissure between friends relatives, neighbours, near and dear ones.’
All of a sudden, the Duchess shook her badly. As a result, Alice got out of the world of make-believe. The Duchess observed, “O dear! Are you not yourself today? You seem to be in the world of make-believe. I think you have forgotten to talk to me. That is why you are not paying any attention to my presence here.”
Alice stated, “This is not so, dear Duchess. I really like your presence. I appreciate your efforts.” But in her heart of hearts Alice did not like the Duchess at all. She didn’t like her being so close to her. Alice hated the Duchess on two counts.
Firstly, the Duchess was not pretty. She was quite ugly. Alice never approved of her ugliness. Secondly, the Duchess was the same height as Alice. As a result she rested her sharp chin on the shoulder of Alice, which Alice never approved of.
Alice was trying her level best to keep the Duchess at an arm’s length. But she had not succeeded in doing so as yet. The more she tried to go away from the Duchess, the more she found her close to her. Now Alice was fed up of her presence. But she did not want to reveal her intention. So, she kept up the polite conversation with the Duchess.
She said, “Dear lady! The game has been played in good spirit. At present, it is going on smoothly, without any obstacle. But the Queen is very violent and aggressive. She is very merciless. She does not spare anybody.”
Hearing the words of Alice, the Duchess nodded in the affirmative. She said to Alice, “Dear, you are absolutely right. The Queen is very violent. Had you not arrived on time. My cat would have been put to death. I am greatly indebted to you for this act of yours. Anyhow, you must be wondering why I don’t put my arm around your waist. There are two reasons for this. Firstly, we are the same height; secondly, I have no idea as regards the temper of your flamingo. Maybe it can hit me sharply with its pointed beak. What do you say? Speak plainly whether I am right or wrong. If you permit me, I would like to carry out an experiment in order to see whether the flamingo bites me or not.”
But Alice was not interested in the experiment. In order to discourage the Duchess Alice observed, “The flamingo may bite you terribly. It is very violent towards strangers. You had better not to try any experiment. It may cost you very heavy.”
The Duchess thought for a while. Afterwards, she stated, “Dear Little girl, you are absolutely right. A flamingo is a sea bird. It can attack at any time. It is said that birds of a feather flock together. You can’t rely on a bird completely. Birds are dumb animals. They can’t express their emotions. So, we can’t judge whether they are happy or sad.”
Hearing the reply of the Duchess Alice said to herself, ‘The Duchess is quite shrewd. She is always in a hurry to find morals in things. What a mind she has got!’
After a minute or so, Alice said to the Duchess, “For your kind information, mustard is a mineral. It is not a bird. If I am not mistaken, it is extracted from deep under the ground.”
The Duchess stated, “Very well said, O little girl. I fully see eye to eye with you. Undoubtedly, you are correct.”
The Duchess seemed ready to agree to everything that Alice said. Alice was again lost in the world of day-dreaming, unaware of the presence of the Duchess.
Seeing Alice the Duchess came forward and whispered in Alice’s ear, “You are again in your imaginative world. Come out of it and listen to me. I have an urgent piece of work to be completed by you.”
Saying these words she shook Alice badly. This time Alice felt irritated a lot and muttered, “Don’t I have right to think even? It is none of your business. The Almighty God has provided each of us with a brain. The brain helps us to think as per our requirement. What is the harm in doing so?”
Hardly had Alice finished up her sentence when she felt that some strong hand had caught hold of her wrist. To her utter surprise, the voice of the Duchess died away. When Alice looked without lifting her eyes, she saw that the hands of the Duchess were beginning to tremble.
When she looked up, she was in a state of shock. The Queen with all her majestic grandeur was standing in front of her like a mountain. Seeing the Queen the lips of the Duchess were sealed. Somehow, the Duchess gathered courage and said very timidly, “Your Majesty! Isn’t it a fine day? A breeze is blowing. Everything is fine today.”
The Queen paid no attention to what the Duchess said. She roared loudly and thundered at the Duchess saying, “Hey you! Listen to me carefully. Your death is imminent. I won’t spare your life. Now the choice is yours. Sacrifice either your head or yourself. Don’t take too much time.”
Hearing the words of the Queen the Duchess had no alternative but to accede to the order of the Queen. Having taken her choice the Duchess was on her way. The Queen turned to Alice and observed, “You little girl! What are you doing here? Let us move on to the croquet ground. We have very short time. So, be quick.”
Hearing the words of the Queen Alice felt scared a lot. She was too frightened to say ‘no’ to the Queen. Without uttering a single word she meekly followed the Queen wherever she went. The other players in the croquet ground had taken under advantages of the Queen’s absence.
As there was no queen, they sat under a shady tree and rested there for a long time. It has been rightly said—When the cat is away, the mice will play. No sooner did they see the Queen than they rushed back to the croquet ground and started playing. They again got into bitter quarrels with one another.
The Queen with all attention shouted loudly, “Put him behind bars, put her behind bars. Off with his head! Off with her head!”
By the time the game finished, all the players with the exception of the King, the Queen and Alice were sentenced to death. The soldiers at the behest of the Queen caught each and every player and put them in the prison. Now they all were to be hanged till death.
After some time, the Queen moved to Alice and asked her, “Dear! These all players are foolish. They have flouted the rules of the game. They will be hanged soon. Would you like to know what a Mock turtle is? Would you like to know a little about it?”
Hearing the words of the queen Alice got excited and curious to know about the Mock turtle. She said to the Queen, “Yes, your Highness. Please show me the Mock turtle. I don’t know what a Mock Turtle is.”
“Very surprising that you have no idea of Mock Turtle. Well, it is a sort of thing which Mock Turtle soup is made of. It is very tasty and delicious.”
“But I have never heard of it,” said Alice in a baffling tone.
“Then follow me. I show you what Mock Turtle is. I shall narrate you its entire history,” said the Queen. Alice was walking behind the Queen who was giving herself too much airs.
On their way, they sat under a shady tree. Hardly had they rested for some time, when the King reached there and said to the Queen, “O merciless lady! Have mercy on the innocent victims. What have these innocent players done to you? They should not be put to death. If you don’t revoke your order, I have the right to revoke the order.”
Saying these words the King called the soldiers and said, “Go and release all the players. They are free from our custody. They may go wherever they like.”
Thus the King ordered pardon to all the sentenced victims. Seeing the generosity of the King Alice was all praise for the king. She went over to the King and thanked him for his large heart. She said, “Your Highness, you are great. A great king is not one who captures and kills his enemies but he is one who pardons all the sins of his enemies. Today you have proved it right. I bow to you. Hats off to you.”
The Queen got jealous of the King and Alice but dared not say anything to the King. After the King had gone away the Queen along with Alice came across a Gryphon. The Gryphon was fast asleep. Seeing it the Queen got mad in rage. She kicked it hard and said, “You lazybone! Get up at once and tell this young girl about Mock Turtle. Take her along and show her Mock Turtle. Alco, narrate its history as well.”
Leaving Alice there with the Gryphon the Queen went back to the place where the players were to be sentenced to death. Alice did not went to stay there but she preferred to be there with the cruel merciless Queen. Moreover she had to abide by the order of the Queen.
After the Queen had gone, Alice sat comfortably in front of the Gryphon. After a minute or so the Gryphon sat up very lazily and rubbed its eyes hard. Seeing Alice it smiled a little bit and whispered very softly, “What fun and frolic it is!”
Alice was amazed at the words uttered by the Gryphon. She said to it, “Would you like to tell me what fun you are talking about? How is it funny? Please tell me everything in detail.”
The Gryphon kept mum for some time. After taking a deep breath it observed, “It is funny because none has been hanged to death as yet. It is the Queen’s mere fancy. In her imagination only, she presumes that everybody should be hanged till death. Isn’t it funny and hilarious? Now follow me. I want to show you something.”
Alice did as she was told. Hardly had they covered a little distance when they came across the Mock turtle. The Mock turtle was feeling sad and lonely. He was sitting there all alone on a little piece of rock.
Seeing Alice and the Gryphon the Mock turtle began to weep inconsolably. Alice said to the Gryphon, “Dear! What is the matter that the Mock Turtle is weeping so terribly? Why does he look so sad and disappointed? Has the Queen sentenced him to death as well? Has anybody else tried to hurt him? I have full sympathy towards the Mock Turtle. My heart pains seeing his miserable condition. Tell me what the matter is.”
The Gryphon took a deep sigh and stated, “You will be surprised to know that his present condition is the result of his imagination. I mean to say that his sorrow is only in his imagination. That is all. I would like to make one thing very clear. You have been living in wonderland. Every now and then, these strange happenings take place. Things happen in a style which you can’t dream of.”
Afterwards, both the Gryphon and Alice went up to the Mock Turtle whose eyes were welled up with tears. But he didn’t say anything to them. Going forward the Gryphon said to the Mock turtle, “Dear! I have come to you on purpose. This young girl is very keen to know about your history. She has come a long way. Please tell her your history and oblige. Are you ready to do as you are told?”
The Mock Turtle thought for a moment and observed, “I have no problem in narrating you my history. But I have one condition. You will have to keep mum throughout the story. Neither of you will interrupt me in any way. If you are ready then I can start with my history.”
Alice and the Gryphon exchanged glancers with each other. Both got ready and promised the Mock Turtle that they would not interfere during the story. The Mock Turtle, promised thus ordered them to take their seats.
Thereupon the Mock Turtle began the story :
“Long, long ago, I was a real turtle as you see in films or in documentaries.” After uttering these words the Mock Turtle went into deep silence. Both Alice and the Gryphon waited for some time but the Mock turtle did not break his silence. All of a sudden, the Mock turtle began to sob.
But Alice and the Gryphon remained silent lest the Mock Turtle should stop narrating the story. It went on for quite some time. After an hour or so the Mock Turtle resumed, “I lived in the vast sea. That was my temple of education. My master was a big turtle. Everybody in the sea called me ‘tortoise’. To my mind, I had the best of education there under the guidance of so many experienced teachers.” But Alice could not help interrupting. She at once shouted, “Yes, I have been to school as well. My teachers too are experienced and love me very much.”
The Mock Turtle got irritated as Alice had interrupted him. He said, “You needn’t be proud of your education and teachers.” This mere discussion took the shape of a heated argument between the Mock turtle and Alice. But good sense dawned upon Alice who thought it wise to remain silent and not to ask too many questions. The Gryphon requested Alice not to say or ask anything. Alice saw eye to eye with the Gryphon.
