"This is very strange!" Alice cried. Alice was very surprised. She was growing very fast. She looked down at her feet. They were very far away. Alice thought, "Goodbye, feet! Who will put on your shoes now?"
Alice was now more than nine feet tall. Her head hit the roof of the hall. Alice took the tiny golden key. She ran to the garden door. But Alice was still too big. She could only look into the garden with one eye.
Alice sat down and began to cry again. She cried many tears. Soon, there was a large pool (a small area of water) around her. The water was four inches deep. It went halfway down the hall.
Alice heard the sound of small feet. She dried her eyes. The White Rabbit was coming back. The White Rabbit wore nice clothes. He carried a pair of white gloves (clothes for the hands) and a large fan.
The White Rabbit was in a great hurry. He said to himself, "Oh! The Duchess (a woman from a very important family) will be very angry! I am late!" Alice was desperate. She wanted help from anyone.
Alice said in a quiet voice, "Please, sir—" The White Rabbit was very scared. He dropped the gloves and the fan. He ran away into the darkness very fast. Alice picked up the fan and the gloves.
The hall was very hot. Alice used the fan while she talked. "Everything is so strange today," Alice said. "I wonder if I am the same person. Was I the same when I woke up this morning?"
Alice thought about the other children she knew. She thought about a girl named Mabel. Mabel did not know many things. Alice tried to remember her school lessons. She tried to do math.
Alice said, "Four times five is twelve. No, that is wrong. London is the capital of Paris. No, that is wrong too!" Alice began to cry again. She thought she was Mabel now.
Alice looked down at her hands. She was wearing one of the White Rabbit's gloves. "How did I do that?" Alice asked. "I must be growing small again."
Alice went to the glass table. She was now only two feet tall. She was shrinking (becoming smaller) very fast. Alice realized the fan was making her small. She dropped the fan quickly.
"That was close!" Alice said. She was glad she did not disappear. Alice ran to the small door. But the door was closed. The golden key was still on the high glass table.
"Things are worse now," Alice thought. "I am very small." Suddenly, Alice's foot slipped. Splash! Alice was in salt water up to her chin.
At first, Alice thought she was in the sea. But then Alice realized the truth. She was in the pool of her own tears. Alice swam around. She said, "I wish I did not cry so much!"
Alice heard a splash in the water. She saw a mouse. Alice thought, "Maybe this mouse can talk." Alice said, "O Mouse, do you know the way out of this pool?"
The Mouse did not answer. Alice thought, "Maybe it is a French mouse." Alice spoke a sentence in French. The Mouse jumped out of the water. The Mouse was very afraid.
"Oh, I am sorry!" Alice said. "I forgot you do not like cats." The Mouse cried, "Would you like cats if you were me?" Alice felt bad for the Mouse.
Alice talked about her cat, Dinah. Alice said, "Dinah is very sweet. She is very good at catching mice." The Mouse was very angry now. Alice said, "We will not talk about cats anymore."
Then Alice talked about a dog near her house. She said the dog was very useful. She said the dog killed all the rats. The Mouse swam away from Alice very fast.
"Please come back, dear Mouse!" Alice called. "We will not talk about cats or dogs." The Mouse turned around. The Mouse swam slowly back to Alice.
The Mouse said, "Let's go to the shore. Then I will tell you my story." The pool was now full of birds and animals. There was a Duck, a Dodo, and many others. Alice led them all to the land. Version second.