The Caterpillar and Alice looked at each other for a long time. The Caterpillar took the hookah (a long pipe used for smoking) out of its mouth. It spoke to Alice in a sleepy voice. "Who are you?" the Caterpillar asked.
Alice felt shy. She said, "I do not know, sir. I know who I was this morning. But I changed many times today." The Caterpillar looked at Alice. "What do you mean?" the Caterpillar asked. "Explain yourself!"
"I cannot explain myself," Alice said. "I am not myself today. It is very confusing to change size so many times." The Caterpillar said, "It is not confusing." Alice thought it was very strange.
Alice told the Caterpillar about her day. She said she could not remember her school lessons. The Caterpillar told Alice to say a poem about an old man named Father William. Alice stood up and started the poem.
In the poem, Father William was very old. He had white hair. But the old man stood on his head. He jumped through a door. He ate a whole bird with the bones. He was very strong and clever.
When Alice finished, the Caterpillar said, "That is not right. The words are all wrong." Alice felt sad. She wanted to be her normal size again. The Caterpillar asked, "What size do you want to be?"
Alice said, "Three inches is a very small height." The Caterpillar was exactly three inches tall. It was very angry. The Caterpillar said, "It is a very good height!" Then the Caterpillar crawled away into the grass.
The Caterpillar said one more thing before it disappeared. "One side will make you grow taller. The other side will make you grow shorter." Alice looked at the mushroom (a plant with a large, round top). "The side of what?" Alice asked.
"The mushroom," the Caterpillar said. Alice looked at the round mushroom. She did not know which side was which. Alice reached out her arms. She broke off a piece from the right side. Then she broke off a piece from the left side.
Alice ate a small bit from the right side. Suddenly, her chin hit her foot! She was shrinking (becoming smaller) very fast. Alice quickly ate a bit from the other piece. Her neck grew very long.
Alice looked down. Her head was high above the trees. Her neck was like a long serpent (a large snake). A bird flew into Alice’s face. The bird was a Pigeon. The Pigeon was very angry.
"Serpent!" the Pigeon screamed. "I am not a serpent!" Alice said. "I am a little girl." The Pigeon did not believe Alice. "You have a long neck! You eat eggs! You are a serpent!" the Pigeon shouted.
Alice said, "I eat eggs, but I am not a serpent." The Pigeon was still angry, but it flew back to its nest. Alice was careful now. She ate a little bit of one piece, then the other.
Finally, Alice was the right size again. She felt happy. "Now I must find the beautiful garden," Alice said. She walked through the woods and saw a small house. The house was only four feet high.
Alice thought, "I am too big for that house. The people inside will be afraid of me." Alice ate a bit of the mushroom again. She became nine inches tall. Then Alice walked toward the little house.