The King said: “I turned cold to the very ends of my whiskers!”

“You haven’t got any whiskers,” the Queen said.

“This horrible moment,” the King went on, “I will never, never forget!”

There was a book near Alice on the table, and she opened it and read.

YKCOWREBBAJ

 
sevot yhtils eht dna ,gillirb sawT‘
ebaw eht ni elbmig dna eryg diD
,sevogorob eht erew ysmim llA
.ebargtuo shtar emom eht dnA
 

At first she was puzzled very much, but then she understood everything. “It’s a Looking-glass book, of course! And if I hold it up to a glass, the words will all go the right way again.” This was the poem that Alice read.

JABBERWOCKY

 
’Twas brillig, and the slithy toves
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe;
All mimsy were the borogoves,
And the mome raths outgrabe.⁵
 

“It is very pretty,” Alice said, “but it’s very hard to understand!”

Suddenly, she thought she wanted see the rest of the house. She decided to start with the garden.

Exercises

1. Choose the right variant:

1. Alice was sleeping in the great arm-chair.

2. Alice was talking to herself and to the kitten.

3. Alice was doing her homework.

4. Alice was reading a book.

2. Why was Alice angry with the kitten?

1. The kitten was very noisy.

2. The kitten played with the ball of yarn.

3. The room was in a mess while the kitten was playing with the ball of yarn.

4. The kitten was very dirty.

3. What was Alice’s favourite phrase?

1. Let’s play…

2. Let’s build a snowman!

3. Let’s go for a walk!