THROUGH THE LOOKING-GLASS

And What Alice Found There

By Lewis Carroll

About the Story

This book is like a chess game.

Alice is a white pawn.

She moves eleven times.

She wins at the end.

There are many characters.

Some are white. Some are red.

They are named after chess pieces.

Like the King. Like the Queen.

Like the Knight. Like the Pawn.

A Poem for the Reader

This poem is for a child.

The child has kind eyes.

The writer has not met the child.

But he wants to share a story.

The story started long ago.

It was a warm summer day.

Now it is cold outside.

Snow falls. Wind blows.

But inside, there is a warm fire.

The story will keep the child cozy.

Some parts of the story feel a little sad.

That is because summer is gone.

But the sadness will not spoil the fun.

Contents

• Chapter 1: Looking-Glass House
• Chapter 2: The Garden of Live Flowers
• Chapter 3: Looking-Glass Insects
• Chapter 4: Tweedledum and Tweedledee
• Chapter 5: Wool and Water
• Chapter 6: Humpty Dumpty
• Chapter 7: The Lion and the Unicorn
• Chapter 8: "It's My Own Invention"
• Chapter 9: Queen Alice
• Chapter 10: Shaking
• Chapter 11: Waking
• Chapter 12: Who Dreamed It?

Chapter 1: Looking-Glass House

The white kitten did nothing wrong.

It was the black kitten's fault.

The white kitten sat still.

An old cat washed its face.

The old cat's name was Dinah.

Dinah held the kitten down.

She rubbed its face with her paw.

The white kitten tried to purr.

It was being very good.

But the black kitten was done being washed.

Alice sat in a big chair.

She was half-asleep.

The black kitten played with some yarn.

Alice had been winding the yarn into a ball.

The kitten rolled the yarn everywhere.

Soon the yarn was all tangled up.

"Oh, you naughty kitten!" said Alice.

She picked up the kitten.

She gave it a little kiss.

"Dinah should teach you better manners!" she said.

Alice sat back down.

She held the kitten and the yarn.

She started winding the ball again.

But she talked the whole time.

She talked to the kitten.

She talked to herself too.

The kitten sat very still.

It watched the yarn go round and round.

Sometimes it touched the ball with its paw.

"Do you know what tomorrow is, Kitty?" Alice asked.

"I saw boys getting sticks today.

They were making a bonfire.

But it got too cold and snowy.

They had to stop.

We will see the bonfire tomorrow, Kitty."

Alice wrapped some yarn around the kitten's neck.

The kitten wiggled.

The ball of yarn rolled onto the floor.

It unwound again.

"I was so angry with you, Kitty!" Alice said.

"I almost put you out in the snow!

You would have deserved it too!

Now listen to your three naughty things.

Number one: you squeaked while Dinah washed you.

Number two: you pulled Snowdrop's tail.

You did it right when I gave her milk.

Number three: you unwound all my yarn!

That is three naughty things, Kitty.

I will save your punishment for later."

Alice listened to the snow outside.

It tapped softly on the window.

"I wonder if snow loves the trees," she said.

"Maybe snow covers them up like a blanket.

Maybe it says, 'Sleep now, little trees.

Wake up when summer comes.'

Then in summer, they turn green again!

They dance when the wind blows.

That would be so pretty!"

"Kitty, can you play chess?" Alice asked.

"You watched us play a game today.

You even purred when I said 'Check!'

It was a very good move.

I might have won the game.

But a silly Knight got in my way.

Kitty, let's pretend something fun."

Alice loved to say "Let's pretend."

She said it all the time.

Once she pretended to be a queen.

Once she pretended to be a hungry animal.

She scared her nurse that time!

"Let's pretend you are the Red Queen, Kitty!

Sit up straight and fold your arms.

You will look just like her!"

Alice held up a chess piece.

She showed the kitten how to sit.

But the kitten would not fold its arms.

"If you are not good," Alice said,

"I will send you through the mirror!

Into Looking-glass House!

How would you like that?"

"Let me tell you about Looking-glass House, Kitty.

I can see a room through the mirror.

It looks just like our room.

But everything is backwards there!

I wonder if they have a warm fire too.

Their books have words that go backward.

I wonder if kittens get milk there.

Maybe Looking-glass milk is not good to drink.

I can see a little hallway too.

It looks like our hallway.

But I do not know what is further on.

Oh, Kitty! I wish we could go inside!

I bet it has beautiful things in it.

Let's pretend we can walk through the mirror.

Let's pretend the glass turns soft, like fog.

Then we could just walk right through!

Look, Kitty! It really is turning soft!

It looks just like silver mist now!"

Alice stood on the fireplace shelf.

She was not sure how she got there.

The mirror was melting away.

It looked like bright, silver fog.

In one moment, Alice went through the glass.

She landed softly in the Looking-glass room.

First, she checked the fireplace.

Yes! There was a real fire!

It glowed just as bright as her own fire.

"So I will be warm here too," she thought.