on it, or at
any rate, a book of rules for shutting people up like telescopes. This
time she found a little bottle on it ("which certainly was not here
before," said Alice), and tied round the neck of the bottle was a paper
label, with the words DRINK ME beautifully printed on it in large
letters. Alice tasted it, and very soon finished it off.

"What a curious feeling!" said Alice. "I must be shutting up like a
telescope."

And so it was, indeed; she was now only ten inches high, and her face
brightened up at the thought that she was now the right size for going
through the little door into that lovely garden.... But, alas for poor
Alice, when she got to the door she found she had forgotten the little
golden key, and when she went back to the table for it she found she
could not possibly reach it.

Soon her eye fell on a little glass box that was lying under the table.
She opened it, and found in it a very small cake, on which the words EAT
ME were beautifully marked in currants.

She very soon finished off the cake.

"Curiouser and curiouser!" cried Alice (she was so much surprised that
for the moment she quite forgot how to speak good English). "Now I'm
opening out like the largest telescope that ever was. Good-by feet!"
(for when she looked down at her feet they seemed to be almost out of
sight, they were getting so far off). "Oh, my poor little feet! I wonder
who will put on your shoes and stockings for you now, dears?"

Just at this moment her head struck against the roof of the hall; in
fact, she was now more than nine feet high, and she at once took up the
little golden key, and hurried off to the garden door.

Poor Alice! It was as much as she could do, lying down on one side, to
look through into the garden with one eye; but to get through was more
hopeless than ever. She sat down and began to cry again, shedding
gallons of tears, until there was a large pool all round her, about four
inches deep, and reaching half down the hall.

After a time she heard a little pattering of feet in the distance, and
she hastily dried her eyes to see what was coming. It was the White
Rabbit returning, splendidly dressed, with a pair of white kid gloves in
one hand and a large fan in the other. He came trotting along in a great
hurry, muttering to himself as he came, "Oh, the Duchess! the Duchess!
Or, won't she be savage if I've kept her waiting!"

Alice felt so desperate that she was ready to ask help of anyone; so,