Alice's adventures in wonderland Alice, Cheshire Cat

Alice was a little startled by seeing the Cheshire Cat sitting on a bough of a tree a few yards off. The Cat only grinned when it saw Alice. It looked good-natured, she thought: still it had very long claws and a great many teeth, so she felt that it ought to be treated with respect.

" Cheshire-Puss," she began, rather timidly, as she did not at all know whether it would like the name : however, it only grinned a little wider. "Come, it's pleased so far," thought Alice, and she went on. " Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here ? "

" That depends a good deal on where you want to get to," said the Cat.

" I don't much care where " said Alice.

" Then it doesn't matter which way you go," said the Cat.

" so long as I get somewhere," Alice added as an explanation.

"Oh, you 're sure to do that," said the Cat, " if you only walk long enough."

Alice felt that this could not be denied, so she tried another question. " What sort of people live about here ? "

" In that direction," the Cat said, waving its right paw round, " lives a Hatter : and in that direction," waving the other paw, " lives a March Hare. Visit either you like, they 're both mad.'

" But I don't want to go among mad people," Alice remarked.

" Oh, you can't help that," said the Cat : "we're all mad here. I'm mad. You're mad."

" How do you know I 'm mad ? " said Alice.

" You must be," said the Cat, " or you wouldn't have come here."

Alice didn't think that proved it at all: however, she went on: " And how do you know that you 're mad ?"

" To begin with," said the Cat, " a dog 's not mad. You grant that?"

" I suppose so," said Alice.

" Well, then," the Cat went on, " you see a dog growls when it's angry, and wags its tail when it's pleased. Now I growl when I 'm pleased, and wag my tail when I'm angry. Therefore I'm mad."

" I call it purring, not growling," said Alice.

" Call it what you like' said the Cat. " Do you play croquet with the Queen today ? "

" I should like it very much," said Alice, " but I haven't been invited yet."

" You 'll see me there," said the Cat, and vanished.

Title Alice's adventures in wonderland. Author: Lewis Carroll. Publisher: Macmillan, 1898. First Published 1865. Original from: Harvard University. Digitized: Sep 20, 2007. Length: 192 pages, with original illustrations by Sir John Tenniel (28 February 1820 – 25 February 1914)

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