Читать книгу Алиса в Стране чудес / Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. Алиса в Зазеркалье / Through the Looking-glass, and What Alice Found There - Льюис Кэрролл, Льюїс Керролл, Furniss Harry - Страница 7

The Caterpillar and Alice looked at each other for some time in silence: at last the Caterpillar took the hookah out of its mouth, and said in a sleepy voice: “Who are YOU?”

Alice answered shyly, “I am not sure now. At least I know who I WAS when I got up this morning but I have changed several times since then.[77]

“What do you mean by that?” said the Caterpillar. “Explain yourself!”

“I can’t explain MYSELF, I’m afraid, sir” said Alice, “because I’m not myself, you see.”

“I don’t see,” said the Caterpillar.

“I’m afraid I can’t explain it more clearly,” Alice answered very politely, “because I can’t understand it myself.”

“You!” said the Caterpillar thoughtfully. “Who are YOU?”

And they were at the beginning of the conversation again. Alice drew herself up and said seriously: “I think, you must tell me who YOU are, first.”

“Why?” said the Caterpillar.

It was another difficult question; and as Alice could not think of any good reason,[78] she turned away.

“Come back!” the Caterpillar called her. “I’ve something important to say![79]”

Alice turned and came back again.

“Keep your temper,” said the Caterpillar.

“Is that all?” said Alice, hiding her anger as well as she could.

“No,” said the Caterpillar.

For some minutes it didn’t say anything, but at last it took the hookah out of its mouth and said, “So you think you’re changed, do you?”

“I’m afraid I am, sir,” said Alice; “I don’t keep the same size for ten minutes!”

“What size do you want to be?” it asked.

“Oh, it’s not actually the size,[80]” Alice answered; “it’s just not very pleasant to change so often, you know.”

“I DON’T know,” said the Caterpillar.

Alice said nothing: she felt that she was losing her temper.

“Is it fine now?” said the Caterpillar.

“Well, I would like[81] to be a LITTLE larger, sir,” said Alice: “three inches is not the best height.”

“It is a very good height!” said the Caterpillar angrily (it was exactly three inches high).

“But it’s not usual for me!” answered poor Alice. And she thought to herself, “The creatures here are so easily offended![82]”

“You’ll get used to it in time,” said the Caterpillar; and it put the hookah into its mouth and began smoking again.

This time Alice waited patiently until it spoke again. In a minute or two the Caterpillar took the hookah out of its mouth and yawned once or twice. Then it got down off the mushroom and crawled away in the grass, telling Alice, “One side will help you grow taller, and the other side will help you grow shorter.”

“One side of WHAT? The other side of WHAT?” thought Alice to herself.

“Of the mushroom,” said the Caterpillar, just as if she had asked it aloud;[83] and in another moment it was out of sight.

Alice looked at the mushroom thoughtfully for a minute and at last she put her arms around it as far as she could and broke off a piece of the mushroom with each hand. Then she very carefully started nibbling first at one piece and then at the other, and growing sometimes taller and sometimes shorter, until she was her usual height again.[84]

“Now I’m back to my right size: the next thing is to get into that beautiful garden – how can I do that, I wonder?” As she said this, she suddenly came to a little house about four feet high. “It’s not a good idea to come to those who live here THIS size – they will be very frightened!” So she started nibbling at the piece of the mushroom in her right hand again and soon she was only nine inches high.