A large rose-tree stood near the entrance of the garden: theroses growing on it were white, but there were three gardeners atit, busily painting them red. Alice thought this a very curiousthing, and she went nearer to watch them, and just as she came upto them she heard one of them say, `Look out now, Five! Don't gosplashing paint over me like that!'

`I couldn't help it,' said Five, in a sulky tone; `Seven joggedmy elbow.'

On which Seven looked up and said, `That's right, Five! Alwayslay the blame on others!'

`YOU'D better not talk!' said Five. `I heard the Queen say onlyyesterday you deserved to be beheaded!'

`What for?' said the one who had spoken first.

`That's none of YOUR business, Two!' said Seven.

`Yes, it IS his business!' said Five, `and I'll tell him--itwas for bringing the cook tulip-roots instead of onions.'

Seven flung down his brush, and had just begun `Well, of allthe unjust things--' when his eye chanced to fall upon Alice, asshe stood watching them, and he checked himself suddenly: theothers looked round also, and all of them bowed low.

`Would you tell me,' said Alice, a little timidly, `why you arepainting those roses?'

Five and Seven said nothing, but looked at Two. Two began in alow voice, `Why the fact is, you see, Miss, this here ought tohave been a RED rose-tree, and we put a white one in by mistake;and if the Queen was to find it out, we should all have our headscut off, you know. So you see, Miss, we're doing our best, aforeshe comes, to--' At this moment Five, who had been anxiouslylooking across the garden, called out `The Queen! The Queen!'and the three gardeners instantly threw themselves flat upontheir faces. There was a sound of many footsteps, and Alicelooked round, eager to see the Queen.

First came ten soldiers carrying clubs; these were all shapedlike the three gardeners, oblong and flat, with their hands andfeet at the corners: next the ten courtiers; these wereornamented all over with diamonds, and walked two and two, as thesoldiers did. After these came the royal children; there wereten of them, and the little dears came jumping merrily along handin hand, in couples: they were all ornamented with hearts. Nextcame the guests, mostly Kings and Queens, and among them Alicerecognised the White Rabbit: it was talking in a hurried nervousmanner, smiling at everything that was said, and went by withoutnoticing her. Then followed the Knave of Hearts, carrying theKing's crown on a crimson velvet cushion; and, last of all thisgrand procession, came THE KING AND QUEEN OF HEARTS.

Alice was rather doubtful whether she ought not to lie down onher face like the three gardeners, but she could not rememberevery having heard of such a rule at processions; `and besides,what would be the use of a procession,' thought she, `if peoplehad all to lie down upon their faces, so that they couldn't seeit?' So she stood still where she was, and waited.

When the procession came opposite to Alice, they all stoppedand looked at her, and the Queen said severely `Who is this?'She said it to the Knave of Hearts, who only bowed and smiled inreply.

`Idiot!' said the Queen, tossing her head impatiently; and,turning to Alice, she went on, `What's your name, child?'

`My name is Alice, so please your Majesty,' said Alice verypolitely; but she added, to herself, `Why, they're only a pack ofcards, after all. I needn't be afraid of them!'

`And who are THESE?' said the Queen, pointing to the threegardeners who were lying round the rosetree; for, you see, asthey were lying on their faces, and the pattern on their backswas the same as the rest of the pack, she could not tell whetherthey were gardeners, or soldiers, or courtiers, or three of herown children.

`How should I know?' said Alice, surprised at her own courage.`It's no business of MINE.'

The Queen turned crimson with fury, and, after glaring at herfor a moment like a wild beast, screamed `Off with her head!Off--'

`Nonsense!' said Alice, very loudly and decidedly, and theQueen was silent.

The King laid his hand upon her arm, and timidly said`Consider, my dear: she is only a child!'

The Queen turned angrily away from him, and said to the Knave`Turn them over!'

The Knave did so, very carefully, with one foot.

`Get up!' said the Queen, in a shrill, loud voice, and thethree gardeners instantly jumped up, and began bowing to theKing, the Queen, the royal children, and everybody else.

`Leave off that!' screamed the Queen. `You make me giddy.'And then, turning to the rose-tree, she went on, `What HAVE youbeen doing here?'

`May it please your Majesty,' said Two, in a very humble tone,going down on one knee as he spoke, `we were trying--'

`I see!' said the Queen, who had meanwhile been examining theroses. `Off with their heads!' and the procession moved on,three of the soldiers remaining behind to execute the unfortunategardeners, who ran to Alice for protection.

`You shan't be beheaded!' said Alice, and she put them into alarge flower-pot that stood near. The three soldiers wanderedabout for a minute or two, looking for them, and then quietlymarched off after the others.

`Are their heads off?' shouted the Queen.

`Their heads are gone, if it please your Majesty!' the soldiersshouted in reply.

`That's right!' shouted the Queen. `Can you play croquet?'

The soldiers were silent, and looked at Alice, as the questionwas evidently meant for her.

`Yes!' shouted Alice.

`Come on, then!' roared the Queen, and Alice joined theprocession, wondering very much what would happen next.

`It's--it's a very fine day!' said a timid voice at her side.She was walking by the White Rabbit, who was peeping anxiouslyinto her face.

`Very,' said Alice: `--where's the Duchess?'

`Hush! Hush!' said the Rabbit in a low, hurried tone. Helooked anxiously over his shoulder as he spoke, and then raisedhimself upon tiptoe, put his mouth close to her ear, andwhispered `She's under sentence of execution.'

`What for?' said Alice.

`Did you say "What a pity!"?' the Rabbit asked.

`No, I didn't,' said Alice: `I don't think it's at all a pity.I said "What for?"'

`She boxed the Queen's ears--' the Rabbit began. Alice gave alittle scream of laughter. `Oh, hush!' the Rabbit whispered in afrightened tone. `The Queen will hear you! You see, she camerather late, and the Queen said--'

`Get to your places!' shouted the Queen in a voice of thunder,and people began running about in all directions, tumbling upagainst each other; however, they got settled down in a minute ortwo, and the game began. Alice thought she had never seen such acurious croquet-ground in her life; it was all ridges andfurrows; the balls were live hedgehogs, the mallets liveflamingoes, and the soldiers had to double themselves up and tostand on their hands and feet, to make the arches.

The chief difficulty Alice found at first was in managing herflamingo: she succeeded in getting its body tucked away,comfortably enough, under her arm, with its legs hanging down,but generally, just as she had got its neck nicely straightenedout, and was going to give the hedgehog a blow with its head, itWOULD twist itself round and look up in her face, with such apuzzled expression that she could not help bursting out laughing:and when she had got its head down, and was going to begin again,it was very provoking to find that the hedgehog had unrolleditself, and was in the act of crawling away: besides all this,there was generally a ridge or furrow in the way wherever shewanted to send the hedgehog to, and, as the doubled-up soldierswere always getting up and walking off to other parts of theground, Alice soon came to the conclusion that it was a verydifficult game indeed.

The players all played at once without waiting for turns,quarrelling all the while, and fighting for the hedgehogs; and ina very short time the Queen was in a furious passion, and wentstamping about, and shouting `Off with his head!' or `Off withher head!' about once in a minute.

Alice began to feel very uneasy: to be sure, she had not asyet had any dispute with the Queen, but she knew that it mighthappen any minute, `and then,' thought she, `what would become ofme? They're dreadfully fond of beheading people here; the greatwonder is, that there's any one left alive!'

She was looking about for some way of escape, and wonderingwhether she could get away without being seen, when she noticed acurious appearance in the air: it puzzled her very much atfirst, but, after watching it a minute or two, she made it out tobe a grin, and she said to herself `It's the Cheshire Cat: now Ishall have somebody to talk to.'

`How are you getting on?' said the Cat, as soon as there wasmouth enough for it to speak with.

Alice waited till the eyes appeared, and then nodded. `It's nouse speaking to it,' she thought, `till its ears have come, or atleast one of them.' In another minute the whole head appeared,and then Alice put down her flamingo, and began an account of thegame, feeling very glad she had someone to listen to her. TheCat seemed to think that there was enough of it now in sight, andno more of it appeared.

`I don't think they play at all fairly,' Alice began, in rathera complaining tone, `and they all quarrel so dreadfully one can'thear oneself speak--and they don't seem to have any rules inparticular; at least, if there are, nobody attends to them--andyou've no idea how confusing it is all the things being alive;for instance, there's the arch I've got to go through nextwalking about at the other end of the ground--and I should havecroqueted the Queen's hedgehog just now, only it ran away when itsaw mine coming!'

`How do you like the Queen?' said the Cat in a low voice.

`Not at all,' said Alice: `she's so extremely--' Just thenshe noticed that the Queen was close behind her, listening: soshe went on, `--likely to win, that it's hardly worth whilefinishing the game.'

The Queen smiled and passed on.

`Who ARE you talking to?' said the King, going up to Alice, andlooking at the Cat's head with great curiosity.

`It's a friend of mine--a Cheshire Cat,' said Alice: `allow meto introduce it.'

`I don't like the look of it at all,' said the King: `however,it may kiss my hand if it likes.'

`I'd rather not,' the Cat remarked.

`Don't be impertinent,' said the King, `and don't look at melike that!' He got behind Alice as he spoke.

`A cat may look at a king,' said Alice. `I've read that insome book, but I don't remember where.'

`Well, it must be removed,' said the King very decidedly, andhe called the Queen, who was passing at the moment, `My dear! Iwish you would have this cat removed!'

The Queen had only one way of settling all difficulties, greator small. `Off with his head!' she said, without even lookinground.

`I'll fetch the executioner myself,' said the King eagerly, andhe hurried off.

Alice thought she might as well go back, and see how the gamewas going on, as she heard the Queen's voice in the distance,screaming with passion. She had already heard her sentence threeof the players to be executed for having missed their turns, andshe did not like the look of things at all, as the game was insuch confusion that she never knew whether it was her turn ornot. So she went in search of her hedgehog.

The hedgehog was engaged in a fight with another hedgehog,which seemed to Alice an excellent opportunity for croqueting oneof them with the other: the only difficulty was, that herflamingo was gone across to the other side of the garden, whereAlice could see it trying in a helpless sort of way to fly upinto a tree.

By the time she had caught the flamingo and brought it back,the fight was over, and both the hedgehogs were out of sight:`but it doesn't matter much,' thought Alice, `as all the archesare gone from this side of the ground.' So she tucked it awayunder her arm, that it might not escape again, and went back fora little more conversation with her friend.

When she got back to the Cheshire Cat, she was surprised tofind quite a large crowd collected round it: there was a disputegoing on between the executioner, the King, and the Queen, whowere all talking at once, while all the rest were quite silent,and looked very uncomfortable.

The moment Alice appeared, she was appealed to by all three tosettle the question, and they repeated their arguments to her,though, as they all spoke at once, she found it very hard indeedto make out exactly what they said.

The executioner's argument was, that you couldn't cut off ahead unless there was a body to cut it off from: that he hadnever had to do such a thing before, and he wasn't going to beginat HIS time of life.

The King's argument was, that anything that had a head could bebeheaded, and that you weren't to talk nonsense.

The Queen's argument was, that if something wasn't done aboutit in less than no time she'd have everybody executed, all round.(It was this last remark that had made the whole party look sograve and anxious.)

Alice could think of nothing else to say but `It belongs to theDuchess: you'd better ask HER about it.'

`She's in prison,' the Queen said to the executioner: `fetchher here.' And the executioner went off like an arrow.

The Cat's head began fading away the moment he was gone, and,by the time he had come back with the Dutchess, it had entirelydisappeared; so the King and the executioner ran wildly up anddown looking for it, while the rest of the party went back to the game.