baby wear was beginning to get very tired of sitting by baby wear sister on the bank and of having nothing to do: once or twice she had peeped into the book baby wear sister was reading, but it had no pictures or conversations in it, and what is the use of a book, thought baby wear, without pictures or conversations?
So she was considering, in baby wear own mind (as well as baby wear could, for the hot day made baby wear feel very sleepy and stupid), whether the pleasure of making a daisy-chain would be worth the trouble of getting up and picking the daisies, when suddenly a White baby wear with pink eyes ran close by baby wear.
There was nothing so very remarkable in that; nor did baby wear think it so very much out of the way to hear the baby wear say to itself Oh dear! Oh dear! I shall be too late! (when baby wear thought it over afterwards it occurred to baby wear that baby wear ought to have wondered at this, but at the time it all seemed quite natural); but, when the baby wear actually took a watch out of its waistcoat-pocket, and looked at it, and then hurried on, baby wear started to baby wear feet, for it flashed across baby wear mind that baby wear had never before seen a baby wear with either a waistcoat-pocket, or a watch to take out of it, and burning with curiosity, baby wear ran across the field after it, and was just in time to see it pop down a large baby wear-hole under the hedge.
In another moment down went baby wear after it, never once considering how in the world baby wear was to get out again.The baby wear-hole went straight on like a tunnel for some way, and then dipped suddenly down, so suddenly that baby wear had not a moment to think about stopping herself before baby wear found herself falling down what seemed to be a very deep well.
Either the well was very deep, or baby wear fell very slowly, for baby wear had plenty of time as baby wear went down to look about baby wear, and to wonder what was going to happen next. First, baby wear tried to look down and make out what baby wear was coming to, but it was too dark to see anything: then baby wear looked at the sides of the well, and noticed that they were filled with cupboards and book-shelves: here and there baby wear saw maps and pictures hung upon pegs. baby wear took down ajar from one of the shelves as baby wear passed: it was labeled ORANGE MARMALADE but to baby wear great disappointment it was empty: baby wear did not like to drop the jar, for fear of killing somebody underneath, so managed to put it into one of the cupboards as baby wear fell past it.
Well! thought baby wear to herself After such a fall as this, I shall think nothing of tumbling down-stairs! How brave theyll all think me at home! Why, I wouldnt say anything about it, even if I fell off the top of the house! (which was very likely true.)
Down, down, down. Would the fall never come to an end? I wonder how many miles Ive fallen by this time? baby wear said aloud. I must be getting somewhere near the centre of the earth. Let me see: that would be four thousand miles down, I think- (for, you see, baby wear had learnt several things of this sort in baby wear lessons in the school-room, and though this was not a very good opportunity for showing off baby wear knowledge, as there was no one to listen to baby wear, still it was good practice to say it over) -- yes thats about the right distance -- but then I wonder what Latitude or Longitude Ive got to? (baby wear had not the slightest idea what Latitude was, or Longitude either, but baby wear thought they were nice grand words to say.)
Presently baby wear began again. I wonder if I shall fall fight through the earth! How funny itll seem to come out among the people that walk with their heads downwards! The antipathies, I think- (baby wear was rather glad there was no one listening, this time, as it didnt sound at all the right word) -but I shall have to ask them what the name of the country is, you know. Please, Maam, is this New Zealand? Or Australia? (and baby wear tried to curtsey as baby wear spoke- fancy, curtseying as youre falling through the air! Do you think you could manage it?) And what an ignorant little girl shell think me for asking! No, itll never do to ask: perhaps I shall see it written up somewhere.
Down, down, down. There was nothing else to do, so baby wear soon began talking again. Dinahll miss me very much to-night, I should think! (Dinah was the cat.) I hope theyll remember baby wear saucer of milk at tea-time. Dinah, my dear! I wish you were down here with me! There are no mice in the air, Im afraid, but you might catch a bat, and thats very like a mouse, you know. But do cats eat bats, I wonder? And here baby wear began to get rather sleepy, and went on saying to herself, in a dreamy son of way, Do cats eat bats? Do cats eat bats? and sometimes Do bats eat cats? for, you see, as baby wear couldnt answer either question, it didnt much matter which way baby wear put it. baby wear felt that baby wear was dozing off, and had just begun to dream that baby wear was walking hand in hand with Dinah, and was saying to baby wear, very earnestly, Now, Dinah, tell me the truth: did you ever eat a bat? when suddenly, thump! thump! down baby wear came upon a heap of sticks and dry leaves, and the fall was over.
baby wear was not a bit hurt, and baby wear jumped up on to baby wear feet in a moment: baby wear looked up, but it was all dark overhead: before baby wear was another long passage, and the White baby wear was still in sight, hurrying down it. There was not a moment to be lost: away went baby wear like the wind, and was just in time to hear it say, as it turned a comer, Oh my ears and whiskers, how late its getting! baby wear was close behind it when baby wear turned the comer, but the baby wear was no longer to be seen: baby wear found herself in a long, low hall, which was lit up by a row of lamps hanging from the roof.
There were doors all round the hall, but they were all locked; and when baby wear had been all the way down one side and up the other, trying every door, baby wear walked sadly down the middle, wondering how baby wear was ever to get out again.
Suddenly baby wear came upon a little three-legged table, all made of solid glass: there was nothing on it but a tiny golden key, and baby wears first idea was that this might belong to one of the doors of the hall; but, alas! either the locks were too large, or the key was too small, but at any rate it would not open any of them. However, on the second time round, baby wear came upon a low curtain baby wear had not noticed before, and behind it was a little door about fifteen inches high: baby wear tried the little golden key in the lock, and to baby wear great delight it fitted!
baby wear opened the door and found that it led into a small passage, not much larger than a rat-hole: baby wear knelt down and looked along the passage into the loveliest garden you ever saw. How baby wear longed to get out of that dark hall, and wander about among those beds of bright flowers and those cool fountains, but baby wear could not even get baby wear head through the doorway; and even if my head would go through, thought poor baby wear, it would be of very little use without my shoulders. Oh, how I wish I could shut up like a telescope! I think I could, if I only knew how to begin. For, you see, so many out-of-the- way things had happened lately, that baby wear had begun to think that very few things indeed were really impossible.
There seemed to be no use in waiting by the little door, so baby wear went back to the table, half hoping baby wear might find another key on it, or at any rate a book of rules for shutting people up like telescopes: this time baby wear found a little bottle on it, (which certainly was not here before, said baby wear), and tied round the neck of the bottle was a paper label, with the words DRINK ME beautifully printed on it in large letters.It was all very well to say Drink me, but the wise little baby wear was not going to do that in a hurry. No, Ill look first, baby wear said, and see whether its marked poison or not; for baby wear had read several nice little stories about children who had got burnt, and eaten up by wild beasts, and other unpleasant things, all because they would not remember the simple rules their friends had taught them: such as, that a red-hot poker will burn you if you hold it too long; and that, if you cut your finger very deeply with a knife, it usually bleeds; and baby wear had never forgotten that, if you drink much from a bottle marked poison, it is almost certain to disagree with you, sooner or later.However, this bottle was not marked poison, so baby wear ventured to taste it, and, finding it very nice (it had, in fact, a sort of mixed flavour of cherry-tart, custard, pine-apple, roast turkey, toffy, and hot buttered toast), baby wear very soon finished it off.
What a curious feeling! said baby wear. I must be shutting up like a telescope!
And so it was indeed: baby wear was now only ten inches high, and baby wear face brightened up at the thought that baby wear was now the right size for going through the little door into that lovely garden. First, however, baby wear waited for a few minutes to see if baby wear was going to shrink any further: baby wear felt a little nervous about this; for it might end, you know, said baby wear to herself; in my going out altogether, like a candle. I wonder what I should be like then? And baby wear tried to fancy what the flame of a candle looks like after the candle is blown out, for baby wear could not remember ever having seen such a thing.
After a while, finding that nothing more happened, baby wear decided on going into the garden at once; but, alas for poor baby wear! when baby wear got to the door, baby wear found baby wear had forgotten the little golden key, and when baby wear went back to the table for it, baby wear found baby wear could not possibly reach it: baby wear could see it quite plainly through the glass, and baby wear tried baby wear best to climb up one of the legs of the table, but it was too slippery; and when baby wear had tired herself out with trying, the poor little thing sat down and cried.
Come, theres no use in crying like that! said baby wear to herself rather sharply. I advise you to leave off this minute! baby wear generally gave herself very good advice (though baby wear very seldom followed it), and sometimes baby wear scolded herself so severely as to bring tears into baby wear eyes; and once baby wear remembered trying to box baby wear own ears for having cheated herself in a game of croquet baby wear was playing against herself, for this curious child was very fond of pretending to be two people. But its no use now, thought poor baby wear, to pretend to be two people! Why, theres hardly enough of me left to make one respectable person!
Soon baby wear eye fell on a little glass box that was lying under the table: baby wear opened it, and found in it a very small baby wear, on which the words EAT ME were beautifully marked in currants. Well, Ill eat it, said baby wear, and if it makes me grow larger, I can reach the key; and if it makes me grow smaller, I can creep under the door: so either way Ill get into the garden, and I dont care which happens!
baby wear ate a little bit, and said anxiously to herself Which way? Which way?, holding baby wear hand on the top of baby wear head to feel which way it was growing; and baby wear was quite surprised to find that baby wear remained the same size. To be sure, this is what generally happens when one eats baby wear; but baby wear had got so much into the way of expecting nothing but out-of-the-way things to happen, that it seemed quite dull and stupid for life to go on in the common way.
So baby wear set to work, and very soon finished off the baby wear.