Alice in Wonderland
One warm summer afternoon a girl named Alice sat under a big oak tree in the garden with her elder sister who was reading out a story to her. Weather being hot, Alice was feeling drowsy and eventually she dropped to sleep.
Suddenly she saw March Hare walking past her. He looked anxious and seemed to be in a hurry. He looked at his watch and exclaimed. “Oh God”! I am late again. He then quickly went into a burrow right next to her.
Alice decided to follow March Hare for she had grown curious and crawled up to the burrow and peeped inside. Then Alice entered the burrow carefully as it seemed to be sloping down gently and then suddenly, the sloping floor of the burrow came to an abrupt end and Alice started falling down a long and dark passage with a great speed.
“Oh dear,” thought Alice to herself. “This is going to ruin my clothes and hair.” At last the passage came to an end and she landed with a gentle plop on a bed of dry yellow leaves.
Alice looked around and was relieved to find a glimpse of March Hare who was passing through a little brown wooden gate. She quickly ran towards the door lest she may lose sight of him again. But to her utter disappointment, the gate was far too small for Alice to pass through.
As Alice was crying outside the gate, she spotted a small green bottle lying in the corner of the room. She picked up the bottle to see what it had inside. There was a label on the bottle that said. “Drink Me.” The moment Alice drank the liquid from the bottle, she started to become small. And soon she was small enough to get in through the door.
Alice was surprised to see two men sitting inside the room. They looked alike. “Hello there!” said one of them. “My name is Tweedledum”, and the person across the table is Tweedledbee. We are not twins but best friends.”
“Are you looking for someone?” asked Tweedledee.
“I am looking for March Hare,” replied Alice.
“Oh! March Hare just went out that way. He said he was in a hurry to meet the Hatter as they are to have tea together,” informed Tweedledum pointing towards the door at the end of the narrow room.
Alice ran through that door and was scared to find herself in the middle of the forest with no trace of March Hare.
“The Hatter lives at the other end of the forest,” said a voice from above. On looking up Alice saw a Cheshire cat who was grinning down at her from a tree trunk. The cat’s grin grew wider and wider until nothing remained of it except grin and soon enough even the grin vanished and nothing was left of the cat.
Alice ran down the forest path till she found March Hare and Hatter sitting in the garden, drinking coffee.
As Alice approached the table, March Hare suddenly exclaimed, “Oh my goodness! I am running late again!” and scampered down the path before Alice could even utter a word.
Alice was very defected. “Where has March Hare gone off now?” Alice asked Hatter.
“He has gone to meet the Queen of Hearts,” said the Hatter.
Alice hurried after March Hare and caught up with him just as he was entering the gates of the castle.
Suddenly she heard a loud voice, “Bow down to the Queen of Hearts.” Alice looked up to see the Queen of Hearts surrounded by soldiers which looked like they had stepped out of a deck of cards.
“Who is she?” asked the Queen of Hearts pointing a finger at Alice.
“My name is Alice. Who are you?” asked Alice
“How dare this little girl speak up in front of me!” Off with her head,” shouted the Queen of Hearts.
Alice looked straight into the Queen’s eyes and said clearly. “I am not afraid of you or your soldiers who are dressed like cards.” Immediately, the soldiers rushed towards Alice with their spears.
“You had better get out of here before anything happens,” said a voice from behind her. She turned around to see March Hare. He took her by the hand and led her away from the soldiers who were chasing her.
As Alice turned into a dark corner she realised that March Hare was no longer with her. Suddenly Alice felt somebody shaking her. On opening her eyes, she saw her sister smiling down at her. “That was quite a nap you had, Alice,” said her sister.
Alice then realized that she was having a dream!
