the time that Richard was thinking, said
"I won't." Richard, therefore, plunged into the water without her, and
swam for the tree. Before he had got half-way, however, he heard Alice
crying "Richard! Richard!" This was just what he wanted. So he turned
back, and Alice threw herself into the water. With Richard's help she
swam pretty well, and they reached the tree. "Now for the next!" said
Richard; and they swam to the next, and then to the third. Every tree
they reached was larger than the last, and every tree before them was
larger still. So they swam from tree to tree, till they came to one
that was so large that they could not see round it. What was to be
done? Clearly to climb this tree. It was a dreadful prospect for Alice,
but Richard proceeded to climb; and by putting her feet where he put his,
and now and then getting hold of his ankle, she managed to make
her way up. There were a great many stumps where branches had withered
off, and the bark was nearly as rough as a hill-side, so there was
plenty of foothold for them. When they had climbed a long time, and
were getting very tired indeed, Alice cried out, "Richard, I shall
drop--I shall. Why did you come this way?" And she began once more to
cry. But at that moment Richard caught hold of a branch above his head,
and reaching down his other hand got hold of Alice, and held her till
she had recovered a little. In a few moments more they reached the fork
of the tree, and there they sat and rested. "This is capital!" said
Richard, cheerily.

"What is?" asked Alice, sulkily.

"Why, we have room to rest, and there's no hurry for a minute or two.
I'm tired."

"You selfish creature!" said Alice. "If you are tired, what must I be!"

"Tired too," answered Richard. "But we've got on bravely. And look!
what's that?"

By this time the day was gone, and the night so near, that in the
shadows of the tree all was dusky and dim. But there was still light
enough to discover that in a niche of the tree sat a huge horned owl,
with green spectacles on his beak, and a book in one foot. He took no
heed of the intruders, but kept muttering to himself. And what do you
think the owl was saying? I will tell you. He was talking about the
book that he held upside down in his foot.

"Stupid book this-s-s-s! Nothing in it at all! Everything upside down!
Stupid ass-s-s-s! Says owls can't read! _I_ can read backwards!"

"I think that is the goblin again," said Richard, in a whisper.