"Here!" Alice cried. She forgot she was now very large. Alice jumped up quickly. Her skirt hit the jury-box (the place where the jury sits). All the jurors fell onto the floor.
Alice felt very bad. She began to pick them up. She remembered her goldfish at home. Alice thought the jurors might die if she did not put them back quickly.
Alice put Bill the Lizard back into the box head first. His tail moved sadly because he could not move his body. The King of Hearts spoke in a grave voice. He said the trial must stop until the jury was ready.
"What do you know about this?" the King of Hearts asked Alice. "Nothing," Alice said. "Nothing at all?" the King of Hearts asked. "Nothing at all," Alice said.
The King of Hearts told the jury this was very important. The White Rabbit interrupted. "You mean it is unimportant (not important), your Majesty," the White Rabbit said. The King of Hearts quickly agreed.
Then the King of Hearts read from his book. "Rule forty-two," the King of Hearts said. "Everyone more than a mile high must leave the court." Everyone looked at Alice.
Alice said, "I am not a mile high." The Queen of Hearts said, "You are two miles high." Alice refused to leave. She said the King of Hearts just made up that rule.
The White Rabbit jumped up. "There is more evidence!" the White Rabbit said. He had a piece of paper with verses (lines of a poem). The King of Hearts said the Knave of Hearts wrote it.
The Knave of Hearts said he did not sign his name. "That is worse!" the King of Hearts said. "Honest men sign their names." The Queen of Hearts said, "This proves he is guilty."
Alice said, "It proves nothing!" The White Rabbit read the poem aloud. The poem was full of nonsense. The King of Hearts tried to find a meaning in the words.
The King of Hearts told the jury to decide on a verdict (the final decision of a trial). But the Queen of Hearts shouted, "No! The sentence (the punishment for a crime) first! The verdict later!"
Alice said loudly, "That is nonsense! You cannot have the sentence first!" The Queen of Hearts was purple with anger. "Hold your tongue!" the Queen of Hearts screamed.
"I will not!" Alice said. "Off with her head!" the Queen of Hearts shouted. But nobody moved. Alice was now her full size.
"Who cares about you?" Alice said. "You are only a pack of cards!" Suddenly, all the cards flew into the air. They fell down on Alice. Alice gave a small scream.
Alice woke up on the grass. Her head was in the lap of Aunt Em. Her sister was brushing dead leaves from Alice's face. "Wake up, Alice!" her sister said. "You had a very long sleep."
"I had a very strange dream!" Alice said. Alice told her sister all about the White Rabbit and Wonderland. Then Alice ran home for her tea. Alice was very happy.
Alice's sister sat on the grass. She watched the sun go down. She thought about Alice's dream. She imagined the White Rabbit, the March Hare, and the Queen of Hearts.
The sister thought about the future. She saw Alice as a grown woman. Alice would still have a kind heart. Alice would tell the story of Wonderland to other children. Their eyes would be bright and happy.