“Well, perhaps not,” said Alice in a soothing tone: “don’t be angry\nAnd yet I wish I could show you our cat Dinah: I think you’d\ntake a fancy to cats if you could only see her\nabout her any more if you’d rather not.”\n“We indeed!” cried the Mouse, who was trembling down to the end of his\n“As if _I_ would talk on such a subject\n_hated_ cats: nasty, low, vulgar things\nDon’t let me hear the name\n“I won’t indeed!” said Alice, in a great hurry to change the subject of\nA little bright-eyed terrier, you\nknow, with oh, such long curly brown hair\nSo she called softly after it, “Mouse dear\nled the way, and the whole party swam to the shore\nAt last the Mouse, who seemed to be a person of authority among them,\ncalled out, “Sit down, all of you, and listen to me\nyou dry enough!” They all sat down at once, in a large ring, with the\nAlice kept her eyes anxiously fixed on it, for she\nfelt sure she would catch a bad cold if she did not get dry very soon\n“Ahem!” said the Mouse with an important air, “are you all ready\nis the driest thing I know\nSilence all round, if you please\nEdwin and Morcar, the earls of\nMercia and Northumbria—’”\n“Ugh!” said the Lory, with a shiver\n“I beg your pardon!” said the Mouse, frowning, but very politely: “Did\n“Not I!” said the Lory hastily\n“I thought you did,” said the Mouse\nWilliam’s conduct at first was moderate\nof his Normans—’ How are you getting on now, my dear?” it continued,\nturning to Alice as it spoke\nsaid, “_Everybody_ has won, and all must have prizes.”\n“But who is to give the prizes?” quite a chorus of voices asked\none a-piece, all round\n“But she must have a prize herself, you know,” said the Mouse\n“Of course,” the Dodo replied very gravely\n“What else have you got in\nyour pocket?” he went on, turning to Alice\n“Only a thimble,” said Alice sadly\n“Hand it over here,” said the Dodo\nHowever, it was over at last, and they sat down again in a ring, and\nbegged the Mouse to tell them something more\n“Mine is a long and a sad tale!” said the Mouse, turning to Alice, and\n“A knot!” said Alice, always ready to make herself useful, and looking\n“Oh, do let me help to undo it!”\n“I shall do nothing of the sort,” said the Mouse, getting up and\n“You insult me by talking such nonsense!”\n“I didn’t mean it!” pleaded poor Alice\n“But you’re so easily offended,\nThe Mouse only growled in reply\nLet this be a lesson to you never to lose\n