mouse again took a minute or two to think about it, and then
said, "It was a treacle-well."

"There's no such thing," Alice was beginning very angrily, but the
Hatter and the March Hare went "Sh! sh!"

"I want a clean cup," interrupted the Hatter. "Let's all move one place
on." He moved on as he spoke, and the Dormouse followed him; the March
Hare moved into the Dormouse's place, and Alice rather unwillingly took
the place of the March Hare.

"They were learning to draw," the Dormouse went on, yawning and rubbing
its eyes, for it was getting very sleepy, "and they drew all manner of
things--everything that begins with an M----"

"Why with an M?" said Alice.

"Why not?" said the March Hare.

The Dormouse had closed its eyes by this time, and was going off into a
doze; but, on being pinched by the Hatter, it woke up again with a
little shriek, and went on, "----that begins with an M, such as
mouse-traps, and the moon, and memory, and muchness--you know you say
things are 'much of a muchness'--did you ever see such a thing as a
drawing of a muchness?"

"Really, now you ask me," said Alice, confused, "I don't think----"

"Then you shouldn't talk," said the Hatter.

This piece of rudeness was more than Alice could bear; she got up in
disgust, and walked off. The Dormouse fell asleep instantly, and neither
of the others took the least notice of her going, though she looked back
once or twice, half hoping that they would call after her.

The last time she saw them, they were trying to put the Dormouse into
the teapot.

_V.--The Mock Turtle's Story and the Lobster Quadrille_

Alice got into the beautiful garden at last, but she had to nibble a bit
of the mushroom again to bring herself down to twelve inches after she
had got the golden key, so as to get through the little door. It was a
lovely garden, and in it was the Queen's croquet-ground. The Queen of
Hearts was very fond of ordering heads to be cut off. "Off with his
head!" was her favourite phrase whenever anybody displeased her. She
asked Alice to play croquet with her, but they had no rules; they had
live flamingoes for mallets, and the soldiers had to stand on their
hands and feet to form the hoops. It was extremely awkward, especially
as the balls were hedgehogs, who sometimes rolled away without being
hit. The Queen had a great quarrel with the Duchess, and wanted to have
her head off.

Alice found the state of affairs in the lovely garden not at