ALICE [Rises, and talks sleepily. The Queens disappear. ALICE climbs from the arm of the chair to the back of another and so on up to the mantel ledge, where she picks her way daintily between the vases.] I - don't know how I - can get- through. I've tried before but the glass was hard and I was afraid of cutting my fingers [She feels the glass and is amazed to find it like gauze.] Why, it's soft like gauze; it's turning into a sort of mist; why, it's easy to get through! Why - why I'm going through! [She disappears.] SCENE TWO [Is Scene One, reversed. The portieres are black and red squares like a chessboard. A soft radiance follows the characters mysteriously. As the curtain rises ALICE comes through the looking glass; steps down, looks about in wonderment and goes to see if there is a " fire." The RED QUEEN rises out of the grate and faces her haughtily.] ALICE Why, you're the Red Queen! RED QUEEN Of course I am! Where do you come from? And where are you going? Look up, speak nicely, and don't twiddle your fingers! ALICE I only wanted to see what the looking glass was like. Perhaps I've lost my way. RED QUEEN I don't know what you mean by your way; all the ways about here belong to me. Curtsey while you're thinking what to say. It saves time. ALICE I'll try it when I go home; the next time I'm a little late for dinner. RED QUEEN It's time for you to answer now; open your mouth a little wider when you speak, and always say, "Your Majesty." I suppose you don't want to lose your name? No, indeed. ALICE RED QUEEN And yet I don't know, only think how convenient it would be if you could manage to go home without it! For instance, if the governess wanted to call you to your lessons, she would call out "come here," and there she would have to leave off, because there wouldn't be any name for her to call, and of course you wouldn't have to go, you know. ALICE That would never do, I'm sure; the governess would never think of excusing me from lessons for that. If she couldn't remember my name, she'd call me "Miss," as the servants do. RED QUEEN Well, if she said "Miss," and didn't say anything more, of course you'd miss your lessons. I dare say you can't even read this book. ALICE It's all in some language I don't know. Why, it's a lookingglass book, of course! And if I hold it up to a glass, the words will all go the right way again. JABBERWOCKY 'Twas brillig, and the slithy toves All mimsy were the borogoves, And the mome raths outgrabe. It seems very pretty, but it's rather hard to understand; somehow it seems to fill my head with ideas — only I don't exactly know what they are. RED QUEEN I daresay you don't know your geography either. Look at the map! [She takes a right angle course to the portieres and points to them with her sceptre.] ALICE It's marked out just like a big chessboard. I wouldn't mind. being a pawn, though of course I should like to be a Red Queen best. RED QUEEN That's easily managed. When you get to the eighth square you'll be a Queen. It's a huge game of chess that's being all over the world. Come on, we've got to run. Faster, don't try to talk. played I can't. ALICE RED QUEEN Faster, faster. ALICE Are we nearly there? RED QUEEN Nearly there! Why, we passed it ten minutes ago. Faster. You may rest a little now. |