The group of animals sat on the land. They were a strange group. The birds had wet feathers and the animals had wet fur. Everyone was very wet and everyone was unhappy.
They talked about how to get dry. Alice talked to the animals like they were her friends. Alice had a long argument with the Lory. The Lory was a bird. The Lory said, "I am older than you, so I know more." Alice wanted to know the Lory’s age, but the Lory did not say.
Finally, the Mouse stood up. The Mouse seemed very important. The Mouse said, "Sit down and listen to me! I will make you dry." Everyone sat in a large circle. Alice looked at the Mouse. She was afraid of catching a cold.
The Mouse began to speak. He told a very boring story about a king from a long time ago. He thought the story was very "dry" because it was not interesting. He used many long words about history.
"Are you dry now?" the Mouse asked Alice. "No," Alice said sadly. "I am still very wet. Your story did not dry me."
The Dodo stood up. He was a large bird. The Dodo used very big words. The Eaglet said, "Speak simple English! I do not know those long words." The Eaglet was a young eagle.
The Dodo said, "The best thing to dry us is a Caucus-race (a strange race where people run in a circle)." Alice asked, "What is a Caucus-race?" The Dodo said, "The best way to explain it is to do it."
The Dodo marked a circle on the ground. He put all the animals in different places. There was no "one, two, three, go!" The animals began to run when they wanted. They stopped when they wanted.
They ran for half an hour. Soon, everyone was dry. The Dodo shouted, "The race is over!" All the animals asked, "Who won the race?"
The Dodo thought for a long time. Finally, the Dodo said, "Everyone won! Everyone must have a prize." The animals looked at Alice. They shouted, "Prizes! Prizes!"
Alice put her hand in her pocket. She found a box of comfits (small pieces of sweet candy). She gave one candy to every animal. There were exactly enough candies for everyone.
"But Alice must have a prize too," said the Mouse. The Dodo asked Alice, "What else is in your pocket?" Alice said, "Only a thimble (a small metal cap for your finger used when you sew)."
The Dodo took the thimble. Then he gave it back to Alice. He said, "Please accept this beautiful thimble." All the animals cheered. Alice thought it was very silly, but she did not laugh.
Then the animals ate their candies. The big birds said the candies were too small. The small birds almost choked. But soon they were finished. They sat in a circle again.
Alice asked the Mouse, "Please tell me your story. Why do you hate cats and dogs?" The Mouse sighed. He said, "My tale (another word for a story) is long and sad."
Alice looked at the Mouse’s tail. She thought he said his "tail" was long. Alice was confused. She did not listen to the Mouse’s words because she was thinking about his tail.
The Mouse became very angry. "You are not listening!" the Mouse shouted. Alice said, "I am sorry! Please do not be angry." But the Mouse walked away.
"Please come back!" Alice called. The other animals called too. but the Mouse did not come back. Alice was sad. She said, "I wish my cat Dinah was here! She would bring the Mouse back."
"Who is Dinah?" the Lory asked. Alice said, "Dinah is my cat. She is very good at catching mice. And she eats birds very quickly!"
All the birds became very afraid. They did not want to stay with a girl who had a cat. One by one, the animals and birds left. Soon, Alice was all alone again.
"I wish I did not talk about Dinah," Alice said. "Nobody here likes her." Alice began to cry because she was lonely. Then she heard the sound of small footsteps again. She hoped the Mouse was coming back. End.