Down he sank in a chair—ran his hands through his hair— And chanted in mimsiest tones Words whose utter inanity proved his insanity, While he rattled a couple of bones.

"'As wet as ever,' said Alice in a melancholy tone: 'it doesn’t seem to dry me at all.'"

"'Only a thimble,' said Alice sadly."

“Why, I wouldn’t say anything about it, even if I fell off the top of the house!” (Which was very likely true.)

Without rest or pause—while those frumious jaws Went savagely snapping around— He skipped and he hopped, and he floundered and flopped, Till fainting he fell to the ground.

“Keep your temper,” said the Caterpillar. “Is that all?” said Alice, swallowing down her anger as well as she could. “No,” said the Caterpillar. Alice thought she might as well wait, as she had nothing else to do, and perhaps it might tell her something worth hearing.

'Said the mouse to the cur, "Such a trial, dear sir, With no jury or judge, would be wasting our breath." "I’ll be judge, I’ll be jury," Said cunning old Fury: "I’ll try the whole cause, and condemn you to death."'"

“As if it wasn’t trouble enough hatching the eggs,” said the Pigeon; “but I must be on the look-out for serpents night and day! Why, I haven’t had a wink of sleep these three weeks!” “I’m very sorry you’ve been annoyed,” said Alice, who was beginning to see its meaning.

"'I had not!' cried the Mouse, sharply and very angrily."

"We should all of us grieve, as you well may believe, If you never were met with again— But surely, my man, when the voyage began, You might have suggested it then?

"In the matter of Treason the pig would appear To have aided, but scarcely abetted: While the charge of Insolvency fails, it is clear, If you grant the plea 'never indebted.'

"I shall only look up and say, ‘Who am I then? Tell me that first, and then, if I like being that person, I’ll come up: if not, I’ll stay down here till I’m somebody else.’"

But while he was seeking with thimbles and care, A Bandersnatch swiftly drew nigh And grabbed at the Banker, who shrieked in despair, For he knew it was useless to fly.

“However, the Multiplication Table doesn’t signify: let’s try Geography.”

"Taking Three as the subject to reason about— A convenient number to state— We add Seven, and Ten, and then multiply out By One Thousand diminished by Eight.

“London is the capital of Paris, and Paris is the capital of Rome, and Rome—no, that’s all wrong, I’m certain!”

The Fish-Footman began by producing from under his arm a great letter, nearly as large as himself, and this he handed over to the other, saying, in a solemn tone, “For the Duchess. An invitation from the Queen to play croquet.”

When she looked down at her feet, they seemed to be almost out of sight, they were getting so far off.

"It is this, it is this—" "We have had that before!" The Bellman indignantly said. And the Baker replied "Let me say it once more. It is this, it is this that I dread!

Suddenly she came upon a little three-legged table, all made of solid glass. There was nothing on it except a tiny golden key, and Alice’s first thought was that it might belong to one of the doors of the hall.

“Curiouser and curiouser!” cried Alice (she was so much surprised, that for the moment she quite forgot how to speak good English).

“I hope they’ll remember her saucer of milk at tea-time. Dinah my dear! I wish you were down here with me! There are no mice in the air, I’m afraid, but you might catch a bat, and that’s very like a mouse, you know. But do cats eat bats, I wonder?”

"I shall be punished for it now, I suppose, by being drowned in my own tears! That will be a queer thing, to be sure! However, everything is queer to-day."

Navigation was always a difficult art, Though with only one ship and one bell: And he feared he must really decline, for his part, Undertaking another as well.

"'I wish I had our Dinah here, I know I do!' said Alice aloud, addressing nobody in particular. 'She’d soon fetch it back!'"

As Alice could not think of any good reason, and as the Caterpillar seemed to be in a very unpleasant state of mind, she turned away. “Come back!” the Caterpillar called after her. “I’ve something important to say!” This sounded promising, so Alice turned and came back again.

“I should have liked teaching it tricks very much, if—if I’d only been the right size to do it! Oh dear! I’d nearly forgotten that I’ve got to grow up again! Let me see—how is it to be managed? I suppose I ought to eat or drink something or other; but the great question is, what?”

The Frog-Footman repeated, in the same solemn tone, only changing the order of the words a little, “From the Queen. An invitation for the Duchess to play croquet.” Then they both bowed low, and their curls got entangled together.

In the midst of the word he was trying to say, In the midst of his laughter and glee, He had softly and suddenly vanished away— For the Snark was a Boojum, you see.

He came as a Butcher: but gravely declared, When the ship had been sailing a week, He could only kill Beavers. The Bellman looked scared, And was almost too frightened to speak:

She was rather glad there was no one listening, this time, as it didn’t sound at all the right word. “—but I shall have to ask them what the name of the country is, you know. Please, Ma’am, is this New Zealand or Australia?”

"His form is ungainly—his intellect small—" (So the Bellman would often remark) "But his courage is perfect! And that, after all, Is the thing that one needs with a Snark."

The Boots and the Broker were sharpening a spade— Each working the grindstone in turn: But the Beaver went on making lace, and displayed No interest in the concern:

They hunted till darkness came on, but they found Not a button, or feather, or mark, By which they could tell that they stood on the ground Where the Baker had met with the Snark.

“Come, there’s no use in crying like that!” said Alice to herself, rather sharply; “I advise you to leave off this minute!”

"'But oh, beamish nephew, beware of the day, If your Snark be a Boojum! For then You will softly and suddenly vanish away, And never be met with again!'

"There was no 'One, two, three, and away,' but they began running when they liked, and left off when they liked, so that it was not easy to know when the race was over."

"'As wet as ever,' said Alice in a melancholy tone: 'it doesn’t seem to dry me at all.'"

She had never forgotten that, if you drink much from a bottle marked “poison,” it is almost certain to disagree with you, sooner or later. However, this bottle was not marked “poison,” so Alice ventured to taste it.

"Just the place for a Snark! I have said it twice: That alone should encourage the crew. Just the place for a Snark! I have said it thrice: What I tell you three times is true."

“Let me see: I’ll give them a new pair of boots every Christmas.”

But the Judge said he never had summed up before; So the Snark undertook it instead, And summed it so well that it came to far more Than the Witnesses ever had said!

The Mouse looked at her rather inquisitively, and seemed to wink with one of its little eyes, but it said nothing.

"'Tis a pitiful tale," said the Bellman, whose face Had grown longer at every word: "But, now that you've stated the whole of your case, More debate would be simply absurd.

But the very same plan to the Beaver occurred: It had chosen the very same place: Yet neither betrayed, by a sign or a word, The disgust that appeared in his face.

"'Speak English!' said the Eaglet. 'I don’t know the meaning of half those long words, and, what’s more, I don’t believe you do either!'"

Alice laughed so much at this, that she had to run back into the wood for fear of their hearing her; and when she next peeped out the Fish-Footman was gone, and the other was sitting on the ground near the door, staring stupidly up into the sky. Alice went timidly up to the door, and knocked.

"'It is a long tail, certainly,' said Alice, looking down with wonder at the Mouse’s tail; 'but why do you call it sad?'"

After a time she heard a little pattering of feet in the distance, and she hastily dried her eyes to see what was coming.

It was so kind of you to come! And you are very nice!' The Carpenter said nothing but Cut us another slice: I wish you were not quite so deaf — I've had to ask you twice!'