“I never saw one, or heard of one,” said Alice
They very soon came upon a Gryphon, lying fast asleep in the sun
(If
you don’t know what a Gryphon is, look at the picture.) “Up, lazy
thing!” said the Queen, “and take this young lady to see the Mock
Turtle, and to hear his history
I must go back and see after some
executions I have ordered;” and she walked off, leaving Alice alone
with the Gryphon
Alice did not quite like the look of the creature,
but on the whole she thought it would be quite as safe to stay with it
as to go after that savage Queen: so she waited
The Gryphon sat up and rubbed its eyes: then it watched the Queen till
she was out of sight: then it chuckled
“What fun!” said the Gryphon,
half to itself, half to Alice
“What _is_ the fun?” said Alice
“It’s all her fancy, that: they never
executes nobody, you know
“What is his sorrow?” she asked the Gryphon, and the
Gryphon answered, very nearly in the same words as before, “It’s all
his fancy, that: he hasn’t got no sorrow, you know
Come on!”

So they went up to the Mock Turtle, who looked at them with large eyes
full of tears, but said nothing
Alice thought to
herself, “I don’t see how he can _ever_ finish, if he doesn’t begin.”
But she waited patiently
Alice was very nearly getting up and
saying, “Thank you, sir, for your interesting story,” but she could not
help thinking there _must_ be more to come, so she sat still and said
nothing
“When we were little,” the Mock Turtle went on at last, more calmly,
though still sobbing a little now and then, “we went to school in the
sea
The master was an old Turtle—we used to call him Tortoise—”

“Why did you call him Tortoise, if he wasn’t one?” Alice asked
At last the
Gryphon said to the Mock Turtle, “Drive on, old fellow
Don’t be all
day about it!” and he went on in these words:

“Yes, we went to school in the sea, though you mayn’t believe it—”

“I never said I didn’t!” interrupted Alice
“You did,” said the Mock Turtle
“Hold your tongue!” added the Gryphon, before Alice could speak again
“Yes,” said Alice, “we learned French and music.”

“And washing?” said the Mock Turtle
“Certainly not!” said Alice indignantly
then yours wasn’t a really good school,” said the Mock Turtle in a
tone of great relief
“I
only took the regular course.”

“What was that?” inquired Alice
“What is it?”

The Gryphon lifted up both its paws in surprise
Never heard of
uglifying!” it exclaimed
“Well, I can’t show it you myself,” the Mock Turtle said: “I’m too
stiff
And the Gryphon never learnt it.”

“Hadn’t time,” said the Gryphon: “I went to the Classics master,
though
“And how many hours a day did you do lessons?” said Alice, in a hurry
to change the subject
“Ten hours the first day,” said the Mock Turtle: “nine the next, and so
on.”

“What a curious plan!” exclaimed Alice
“Then the eleventh day must have been
a holiday?”

“Of course it was,” said the Mock Turtle
“And how did you manage on the twelfth?” Alice went on eagerly
“That’s enough about lessons,” the Gryphon interrupted in a very
decided tone: “tell her something about the games now.”




CHAPTER X
The Lobster Quadrille


The Mock Turtle sighed deeply, and drew the back of one flapper across
his eyes
He looked at Alice, and tried to speak, but for a minute or
two sobs choked his voice
“Same as if he had a bone in his throat,”
said the Gryphon: and it set to work shaking him and punching him in
the back
“What sort of a dance is it?”

“Why,” said the Gryphon, “you first form into a line along the
sea-shore—”

“Two lines!” cried the Mock Turtle
“Seals, turtles, salmon, and so on;
then, when you’ve cleared all the jelly-fish out of the way—”

“_That_ generally takes some time,” interrupted the Gryphon
“—you advance twice—”

“Each with a lobster as a partner!” cried the Gryphon
“Of course,” the Mock Turtle said: “advance twice, set to partners—”

“—change lobsters, and retire in same order,” continued the Gryphon
“Then, you know,” the Mock Turtle went on, “you throw the—”

“The lobsters!” shouted the Gryphon, with a bound into the air
“—as far out to sea as you can—”

“Swim after them!” screamed the Gryphon
“Turn a somersault in the sea!” cried the Mock Turtle, capering wildly
about
“Change lobsters again!” yelled the Gryphon at the top of its voice
“It must be a very pretty dance,” said Alice timidly
“Would you like to see a little of it?” said the Mock Turtle
“Come, let’s try the first figure!” said the Mock Turtle to the
Gryphon
“We can do without lobsters, you know
Which shall sing?”

“Oh, _you_ sing,” said the Gryphon
“There’s a porpoise close behind us, and he’s treading on my tail
See how eagerly the lobsters and the turtles all advance