DUCHESS 'Tis so, and the moral of that is "Oh, 'tis love, 'tis love, that makes the world go round!" ALICE Somebody said, that it's done by everybody minding their own business. DUCHESS Ah, well! It means much the same thing, and the moral of that is "Take care of the sense, and the sounds will take care of themselves." ALICE How fond you are of finding morals in things. DUCHESS I daresay you're wondering why I don't put my arm round your waist. The reason is, that I'm doubtful about the temper of your flamingo. Shall I try the experiment? He might bite. ALICE DUCHESS Very true; flamingoes and mustard both bite. And the moral of that is "Birds of a feather flock together." Only mustard isn't a bird. ALICE DUCHESS Right, as usual; what a clear way you have of putting things. It's a mineral, I think. ALICE DUCHESS Of course it is; there's a large mustard mine near here. And the moral of that is "The more there is of mine, the less there is of yours." ALICE Oh! I know, it's a vegetable. It doesn't look like one, but it is. DUCHESS I quite agree with you, and the moral of that is "Be what you would seem to be;" or, if you'd like it put more simply, "Never imagine yourself not to be otherwise than what it might appear to others that what you were or might have been was not otherwise than what you had been would have appeared to them to be otherwise." ALICE I think I should understand that better if I had it written down, but I can't quite follow it as you say it. DUCHESS That's nothing to what I could say if I chose. ALICE Pray don't trouble yourself to say it any longer than that. DUCHESS Oh, don't talk about trouble; I make you a present of everything I've said as yet. Uhm! ALICE DUCHESS Thinking again? ALICE I've got a right to think. DUCHESS - Just about as much right as pigs have to fly, and the moral [The arm of the DUCHESS begins to tremble and her voice dies down. The QUEEN OF HEARTS stands before them with folded arms and frowning like a thunderstorm.] DUCHESS A fine day, your Majesty. QUEEN Now, I give you fair warning, either you or your head must be off, and that in about half no time. Take your choice! [The DUCHESS goes meekly into the house.] [She goes off and shouts at intervals, " Off with his head; off with her head."] How are you getting on? CAT ALICE It's no use speaking to you till your ears have come. I don't think they play at all fairly and they all quarrel so and they don't seem to have any rules in particular. And you've no idea how confusing it is with all the things alive; there's the arch I've got to go through next walking about at the other end of the ground - and I should have croqueted the Queen's hedgehog just now, only it ran away when it saw mine coming. [The KING, QUEEN and entire court enter. The QUEEN is near to ALICE. The music stops and all look at ALICE questioningly.] [ALICE tries to propitiate the QUEEN.] - likely to win, [Music continues.] that it's hardly worth while finishing the game. [QUEEN smiles and passes on.] |