know. Come on."

Soon they saw the Mock Tur-tle sitting sad and lone on a ledge of rock,
and as they came near, Al-ice could hear him sigh as if his heart would
break. "What makes him so sad?" Al-ice asked.

"It's all a whim of his," said the Gry-phon; "he hasn't got no grief,
you know. Come on!"

[Illustration]

So they went up to the Mock Tur-tle, who looked at them with large eyes
full of tears, but did not speak.

"This here young la-dy," said the Gry-phon, "she wants for to know
a-bout your past life, she do."

"I'll tell it to her," said the Mock Tur-tle in a deep, sad tone: "sit
down both of you and don't speak a word till I get through."

So they sat down, and no one spoke for some time.

"Once," said the Mock Tur-tle at last, with a deep sigh, "I was a re-al
Tur-tle. When we were young we went to school in the sea. We were taught
by an old Tur-tle--we used to call him Tor-toise--"

"Why did you call him Tor-toise, if he wasn't one?" Al-ice asked.

"He taught us, that's why," said the Mock Tur-tle: "you are quite dull
not to know that!"

"Shame on you to ask such a sim-ple thing," add-ed the Gry-phon; then
they both sat and looked at poor Al-ice, who felt as if she could sink
into the earth.

At last the Gry-phon said to the Mock Tur-tle, "Drive on, old fellow!
Don't be all day a-bout it!" and he went on in these words:

"Yes, we went to school in the sea, though you mayn't think it's true--"

"I didn't say I did not!" said Al-ice.

"You did," said the Mock Tur-tle.

"Hold your tongue," add-ed the Gry-phon.

The Mock Tur-tle went on:

"We were well taught--in fact we went to school each day--"

"I've been to a day school too," said Alice; "you needn't be so proud as
all that."

"Were you taught wash-ing?" asked the Mock Tur-tle.

"Of course not," said Al-ice.

"Ah! then yours wasn't a good school," said the Mock Tur-tle. "Now at
_ours_ they had at the end of the bill, 'French, mu-sic, and
wash-ing--ex-tra.'"

"You couldn't have need-ed it much in the sea," said Al-ice.

"I didn't learn it," said the Mock Tur-tle, with a sigh. "I just took
the first course."

"What was that?" asked Al-ice.

"Reel-ing and Writh-ing, of course, at first," the Mock Tur-tle said.
"An old eel used to come once a week. He taught us to drawl, to stretch
and to faint in coils."

"What was that like?" Al-ice asked.

"Well, I can't show you, my-self," he said: "I'm too stiff. And the
Gry-phon didn't le