3 Conversation¹ with a caterpillar²

'Now，'Alice said⁴ to herself．'First，I must get a little bigger，and second，I must find my way into that beautiful garden．I think that will be the best plan．But oh dear！How shall⁷ I get bigger？Perhaps⁸ I must eat or drink something，but the question is，what？'

Alice looked all around her at the flowers and the trees，but she could⁹ not see anything to eat．Then she saw¹⁰ a large mush- room near her．It was¹¹ as¹² tall as she was．She walked across¹³ to look at it，and there，on top of the mushroom，was a large caterpillar，smoking a pipe．After a while，the Caterpillar took¹⁷ the pipe¹⁵ out of its mouth and said to Alice in a slow，sleepy voice，'Who are you？'

'I don't really know，sir，'said Alice．'I know who I was when I got¹⁹ up this morning，but I have changed so often since²⁰ then．I think I am a different person²¹ now．'

'What do you mean by that？'said the Caterpillar．'Explain²² yourself！'

'I can't explain myself，sir，'said Alice，'because I'm not myself，you know．'

'I don't know，'said the Caterpillar．

'It's difficult to describe，'Alice replied²⁴ politely．'One minute I'm very small，the next minute I'm as tall as a house，then I'm small again．Usually，I stay the same all day，and changing so often feels very strange²⁶ to me．'

'You！'said the Caterpillar，in a very unfriendly²⁷ voice．'Who are you？'

They were now back at the beginning²⁸ of their conversation， which was not very helpful．Alice felt a little cross and decided³⁰ to walk away．

'Come back！'the Caterpillar called after her．'I've something important³¹ to say．'

This sounded better，so Alice turned back．

'Never get angry，'said the Caterpillar．

'Is that all？'said Alice，trying not to be angry．

'No，'said the Caterpillar．For some minutes it smoked its pipe and did³² not speak，but at last it took the pipe out of its mouth，and said，'So you've changed，have you？How tall do you want to be？'

'I would³³ like to be a little larger，sir，please，'said Alice．'Eight centimetres³⁴ is really very small．'

For a while¹⁶ the Caterpillar smoked its pipe．Then it shook³⁵ itself，got down off³⁶ the mushroom，and moved slowly³⁷ away into the grass．It did not look back at Alice，but said，'One side³⁸ will make you taller，and the other side will make you shorter．'

'One side of what？'thought³⁹ Alice to herself．

She did not say this aloud，but the Caterpillar said， mushroom．'Then it moved away into the wood．

Alice looked at the mushroom¹⁴ carefully，but it was round， and did not have sides．At last she broke⁴¹ off a piece in each hand from opposite⁴² sides⁴⁰ of the mushroom．She ate³ some of the piece in her left hand，and waited to see what would happen．

A minute later⁴³ her head was as high as the tallest tree in the wood，and she was looking at a sea of green leaves．Then a bird appeared⁴⁵ and began to fly around her head，screaming， 'Egg thief！Egg thief！Go away！'

'I'm not an egg thief，'said Alice．

'Oh no？'said the bird angrily．'But you eat eggs，don't you？'

'Well，yes，I do，but I don't steal⁴⁷ them，'explained Alice quickly．'We have them for breakfast，you know．'

'Then how do you get them，if you don't steal them？' screamed⁴⁸ the bird．

This was a difficult question to answer，so Alice brought⁴⁹ up her right hand through the leaves⁴⁴ and ate a little from the other piece of mushroom．She began to get smaller at once and， very carefully，she ate first from one hand，then from the other，until she was about twenty-five centimetres high．

'That's better，'she said to herself．'And now I must find that garden．'She began to walk through the wood，and after a while she came⁵⁰ to a little house．

3 和毛虫的谈话

“现在，”爱丽丝想。“第一，我得变大一点，第二，我必须想办法进到那个美丽的花园里。我想，这是最好的计划。但天哪！我怎么才能变大呢？也许我得吃点什么或喝点什么，但问题是，什么呢？”

爱丽丝看看周围的花和树，但她看不见有什么东西可吃。这时，她看见附近有一个大蘑菇，和她一样高。她走过去看了看，在那儿，在蘑菇顶上有一只大毛虫，正在吸烟斗呢。过了一会儿，毛虫从嘴里取出烟斗，慢慢地、困倦地对爱丽丝开口了，“你是谁？”

“先生，我确实也不知道，”爱丽丝说。今天早上我起床的时候还知道自己是谁，但那之后我变了那么多次。我想现在自己是个不同的人了。”

“你这么说是什么意思？”毛虫问。“解释一下！”

“我没法解释自己，先生，”爱丽丝说，“因为你知道吗，我现在不是自己了。”

“我不懂，”毛虫说。

“这很难解释，”爱丽丝礼貌地回答。“这一分钟我还很小，下一分钟我就和房子一样高了，然后我又变小了。通常，我一整天都没什么变化，这样频繁地变来变去真让我觉得奇怪。”

“你！”毛虫很不友好地说。“你是谁？”

现在他们又回到谈话的开头了，这于事无补。爱丽丝有点生气了，决定走开。

“回来！”毛虫在她后面嚷嚷。“我有重要的事要说。”

这听起来还差不多，爱丽丝转回来。

“任何时候都别生气，”毛虫说。

“就这些吗？”爱丽丝说，努力让自己别发火。

“不，”毛虫说。它吸着烟斗，好一会儿都没开口，最后把烟斗从嘴里抽出来，说道，“你已经变过了，对吗？你想长多高？”

“我很想长高一点，”爱丽丝说。“80厘米实在太矮了。”

毛虫吸了一会儿烟斗。然后它晃晃身子，从蘑菇上下来，慢慢地爬到草丛里。它没有回头看看爱丽丝．只是说，“一边可以让你长高，另一边可以让你变矮。”

“什么的一边？”爱丽丝心里想。

她并没说出声来，可毛虫说，“蘑菇的。”然后它进了森林。

爱丽丝仔细看了看蘑菇，蘑菇是圆的，没有两边。最后，她从蘑菇正相对的两边一手掰下一片。她吃了点左手里的那片，然后等着看看会发生什么。

一分钟后，她的头和森林里最高的树一样高，她看着那一片绿叶的海洋。这时，有只小鸟出现了并绕着她的头飞，尖叫着：“偷蛋的贼，偷蛋的贼，滚开！”

“我不是偷蛋的贼，”爱丽丝说。

“不是？”小鸟生气地说。“但你吃蛋，对不对？”

“对，我吃蛋，但我不偷蛋，”爱丽丝赶忙解释。“你知道，我们早饭吃蛋。”

“那么，如果不是偷，你们怎么弄到蛋的？”

这个问题很难回答，爱丽丝把右手从树叶间抽出来，吃了点那片蘑菇。她马上开始变小了，然后，她小心翼翼地吃点这片，吃点那片，直到她有25厘米那么高。

“这还差不多，”她对自己说。“现在我得找到那个花园。”她走进树林，过了一会儿到了一所小房子面前。