by talking such nonsense!"

"I didn't mean it!" pleaded poor Alice. "But you're so easily offended,
you know!"

The Mouse only growled in reply.

"Please come back and finish your story!" Alice called after it. And the
others all joined in chorus, "Yes, please do!" but the Mouse only shook
its head impatiently and walked a little quicker.

"What a pity it wouldn't stay!" sighed the Lory, as soon as it was quite
out of sight; and an old Crab took the opportunity of saying to her
daughter, "Ah, my dear! Let this be a lesson to you never to lose
_your_ temper!" "Hold your tongue, Ma!" said the young Crab, a little
snappishly. "You're enough to try the patience of an oyster!"

"I wish I had our Dinah here, I know I do!" said Alice aloud, addressing
nobody in particular. "She'd soon fetch it back!"

"And who is Dinah, if I might venture to ask the question?" said the
Lory.

Alice replied eagerly, for she was always ready to talk about her pet:
"Dinah's our cat. And she's such a capital one for catching mice, you
ca'n't think! And oh, I wish you could see her after the birds! Why,
she'll eat a little bird as soon as look at it!"

This speech caused a remarkable sensation among the party. Some of the
birds hurried off at once; one old Magpie began wrapping itself up very
carefully, remarking "I really must be getting home; the night-air
doesn't suit my throat!" and a Canary called out in a trembling voice to
its children "Come away, my dears! It's high time you were all in bed!"
On various pretexts they all moved off, and Alice was soon left alone.

"I wish I hadn't mentioned Dinah!" she said to herself in a melancholy
tone. "Nobody seems to like her, down here, and I'm sure she's the best
cat in the world! Oh, my dear Dinah! I wonder if I shall ever see you
any more!" And here poor Alice began to cry again, for she felt very
lonely and low-spirited. In a little while, however, she again heard a
little pattering of footsteps in the distance, and she looked up
eagerly, half hoping that the Mouse had changed his mind, and was coming
back to finish his story.

CHAPTER IV

[Sidenote: _The Rabbit sends in a Little Bill_]

IT was the White Rabbit, trotting slowly back again, and
looking anxiously about as it went, as if it had lost something; and she
heard it muttering to itself, "The Duchess! The Duchess! Oh my dear
paws! Oh my fur and whiskers! She'll get me executed, as sure as ferrets
are ferrets! Where _c