Алиса в Стране чудес Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. Алиса в Зазеркалье Through the Looking-glass, and What Alice Found There by unknow

Author:unknow
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Иностранные языки, Зарубежная классика, Иностранные языки
Publisher: ООО «ЛитРес», www.litres.ru
Published: 2016-05-14T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 9. Queen Alice

‘Well, this is great!’ said Alice. ‘I never thought I would be a Queen so soon… and I’ll tell you, your majesty,’ she said to herself, ‘you shouldn’t lie on the grass like that!’

So she got up and walked about. She was afraid that the crown could fall off.

‘But if I am really a Queen…’ she began.

Everything happened so strangely that she didn’t even surprise when she saw the Red Queen and the White Queen, who were sitting close to her, one on each side. She wanted to ask them how they came there, but then she thought it would not be polite. However, she thought she should ask if the game was over. ‘Please, would you tell me… ’ she began, looking at the Red Queen.

‘Speak when somebody speaks to you!’ The Queen interrupted her.

‘But if everybody obeyed that rule,’ said Alice, ‘and if you only spoke when somebody spoke to you, and the other person always waited that you would begin, nobody would say anything!’

‘Don’t you understand, child… ’ cried the Red Queen, but then she stopped, thought a bit and suddenly changed the subject of the conversation.

‘What right have you to call yourself a Queen? You can’t be a Queen, till you’ve passed the examination.[269] And the sooner we begin it, the better. Always speak the truth… think before you speak… and write it down!’

There was then an uncomfortable silence for a minute or two. Finally the Red Queen said to the White Queen, ‘I invite you to Alice’s dinner-party this afternoon.’

The White Queen smiled and said ‘And I invite you.’

‘I didn’t know I have a party at all,’ said Alice; ‘but if it’s true, I think I should invite the guests.’

‘Now you can do it,’ the Red Queen said: ‘but I think you haven’t had many lessons in manners.’

‘Lessons don’t teach you manners,’ said Alice. ‘Lessons teach you to do sums[270] and so on.’

‘And do you know how to do Addition?[271]’ the White Queen asked. ‘What’s one and one and one and one and one and one and one and one and one and one?’

‘I don’t know,’ said Alice. ‘I lost count.[272]’

‘She can’t do Addition,’ the Red Queen interrupted. ‘Can you do Subtraction?[273] Take nine from eight.[274]’

‘I can’t,’ Alice said: ‘but… ’

‘She can’t do Subtraction,’ said the White Queen.

‘Can you do Division?[275] Divide a loaf by a knife… what’s the answer?’

‘I think… ’ Alice began, but the Red Queen already answered. ‘Bread-and-butter, of course. Try another Subtraction sum. Take a bone from a dog: what remains?’

Alice thought a bit. ‘The bone wouldn’t remain, of course, if I took it… and the dog wouldn’t remain; it would run to bite me… and I wouldn’t remain!’

‘Then you think nothing would remain?’ said the Red Queen.

‘I think that’s the answer.’

‘Wrong, as usual,’ said the Red Queen: ‘the dog’s temper would remain.’

‘But I don’t understand…’

‘Look here!’ the Red Queen cried. ‘The dog would lose its temper,[276] wouldn’t it?’

‘Perhaps it would,’ Alice said.

‘Then if the dog went away, its temper would remain!’ the Queen cried.

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