Once upon a time, on a sunny afternoon, a curious young girl named Alice was sitting by the riverbank with her sister. Suddenly, a White Rabbit with pink eyes ran close by her, exclaiming, “Oh dear! Oh dear! I shall be too late!”
Intrigued, Alice followed the Rabbit down a large rabbit hole. She fell for what seemed like a very long time and landed softly in a curious hall filled with many locked doors.
Upon finding a tiny key, Alice discovered it unlocked a door to a beautiful garden. But she was too large to fit through! She then found a bottle with a label that read “DRINK ME.” After sipping the potion, she shrank.
As she wandered, Alice encountered numerous strange creatures, including a Caterpillar who asked her, “Who are YOU?” This puzzled Alice, who realized she had changed several times since the morning.
She then met the Cheshire Cat, grinning in a tree. “Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?” Alice asked. “That depends a good deal on where you want to get to,” said the Cat.
As Alice wanders through Wonderland, she comes upon a large table set under a tree. The table is laid out with many tea things, but despite its size, the Mad Hatter and the March Hare are crowded together at one corner.
“Have some wine,” the March Hare offers, though Alice notes there isn’t any wine.
“I don’t see any wine,” she remarks.
“There isn’t any,” replies the March Hare.
This nonsensical logic is characteristic of the tea party. Alice then becomes embroiled in their absurd conversation and etiquette. The Mad Hatter, with his large hat and wide, unsettling grin, asks riddles without answers and makes confusing remarks. He is obsessed with time and claims that it’s always six o’clock, a reason why they are having a perpetual tea party.
The March Hare, equally as strange, busily moves things around the table and participates in the nonsensical talk. A sleepy Dormouse sits between them, often getting pulled into their bizarre conversations and activities.
One of the most memorable parts of this encounter is when they celebrate their “unbirthdays.” The concept of an unbirthday, as explained by the Mad Hatter and the March Hare, is a day that is not your birthday. Since there are 364 unbirthdays in a year, they find it a cause for constant celebration.
Leaving the odd tea party behind, Alice wandered deeper into Wonderland and soon found herself in a peculiar wood where she couldn’t remember anything’s name, not even her own. Wandering aimlessly, she murmured, “Who am I? And what are all these things?”
It was there, in the midst of her confusion, that Alice met a gentle fawn. The fawn, also having forgotten what it was, showed no fear of Alice. “Hello, dear friend,” Alice said, smiling at the creature. “Shall we walk together?”
The fawn nuzzled her hand, and together they walked through the woods, forgetting their worries. But as they reached the other side, where memories returned, the fawn suddenly remembered it was a fawn and Alice was a human. With a startled look, it darted away, leaving Alice alone once more.
Continuing her journey, Alice found herself in a beautiful garden. She noticed a group of gardeners with bodies shaped like playing cards, frantically painting white roses red. “Why are you painting those roses?” Alice asked, puzzled.
One of the gardeners, shaped like the Two of Spades, whispered urgently, “The Queen – she ordered red roses, but we planted white by mistake! If she finds out, it’s off with our heads!”
Before Alice could respond, a trumpet sounded, and a grand procession entered the garden. It was led by the Queen of Hearts, a stern figure who commanded attention. “What’s this? Who are you?” the Queen demanded upon seeing Alice.
“I’m Alice,” she replied, trying to sound confident.
“Can you play croquet?” the Queen barked.
“Yes,” Alice answered, though she had never played croquet like this before, with flamingos as mallets and hedgehogs as balls.
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The croquet game that followed was one of the most absurd Alice had ever seen. The players all played at once, without waiting for turns, quarreling all the while, and the hedgehogs scuttled away whenever they were hit. The Queen was fierce and quick to anger, shouting, “Off with their head!” at the slightest annoyance.
Through this encounter, Alice experienced first-hand the fearsome and unpredictable nature of the Queen of Hearts and the bizarre rules that governed her kingdom. It was a meeting that left a lasting impression on Alice, as the strange and whimsical rules of Wonderland continued to unfold around her.
Leaving the bewildering croquet game behind, Alice continued to navigate the surreal world of Wonderland. Her journey brought her face-to-face with a variety of peculiar characters, each more eccentric than the last, further deepening the sense of wonder and confusion.
Her wanderings led her to a grand courtroom, where a trial was about to take place. The Knave of Hearts was accused of a most heinous crime – stealing the Queen’s tarts. The courtroom was a spectacle in itself, with a jury composed of various animals and birds and the King and Queen of Hearts presiding over the trial with great pomp.
As Alice watched, the trial unfolded in the most nonsensical manner. Witnesses were called, but their testimonies were either irrelevant or downright bizarre. The Mad Hatter was among them, and his testimony was as mad as the tea party Alice remembered. “I’m a poor man, your Majesty,” he began, but his words quickly descended into nonsense.
The Queen, with her characteristic impatience, demanded rapid progress. “Let the jury consider their verdict,” she declared, but the White Rabbit, who was serving as a herald, intervened, “Not yet, not yet! There’s a great deal more to come before that!”
Alice, who had grown quite large by this time, watched all this madness with increasing disbelief. She thought the whole thing was utterly ridiculous – a mockery of justice.
Finally, when the Queen, in her haste to punish the Knave, called for the sentence without a proper verdict, Alice couldn’t hold back any longer. She stood up, towering over everyone in the court, and exclaimed in a loud voice, “Who cares for you? You’re nothing but a pack of cards!”
Also Read: Peter Pan Bedtime Story
In an instant, chaos erupted in the courtroom. The cards rose into the air, flapping wildly like a flock of birds, and swooped down towards Alice.
At that very moment, Alice woke up. She found herself lying on the grassy riverbank, her head in her sister’s lap. All her strange adventures in Wonderland – the talking Rabbit, the Mad Hatter, the Cheshire Cat, the Queen of Hearts, and the peculiar trial – had been a curious dream.
Alice sat up, recalling her extraordinary dream with a mix of wonder and amusement. She recounted her adventures to her sister, who listened with a smile, as the sun continued to shine brightly on the peaceful riverbank.
Also read: The Princess with the Dragon’s Mark
Follow Up Questions
Why do you think Alice decided to follow the White Rabbit down the rabbit hole?
Which character in Wonderland would you like to meet and why?
How would you feel if objects around you changed sizes like in Alice’s adventures?
