Alice's Adventures in Wonderland

Rabbit-Hole
Alice was beginning to get very tired of sitting by her sister on the bank, and
of having nothing to do: once or twice she had peeped into the book her sister
was reading, but it had no pictures or conversations in it, 'and what is the use
of a book,' thought Alice 'without pictures or conversations?'
So she was considering in her own mind (as well as she could, for the hot
day made her feel very sleepy and stupid), whether the pleasure of making a
daisy-chain would be worth the trouble of getting up and picking the daisies,
when suddenly a White Rabbit with pink eyes ran close by her.
There was nothing so very remarkable in that; nor did Alice think it
so very much out of the way to hear the Rabbit say to itself, 'Oh dear! Oh dear!
I shall be late!' (when she thought it over afterwards, it occurred to her that she
ought to have wondered at this, but at the time it all seemed quite natural); but
when the Rabbit actually took a watch out of its waistcoat-pocket, and looked
at it, and then hurried on, Alice started to her feet, for it flashed across her
mind that she had never before seen a rabbit with either a waistcoat-pocket, or
a watch to take out of it, and burning with curiosity, she ran across the field
after it, and fortunately was just in time to see it pop down a large rabbit-hole
under the hedge.
In another moment down went Alice after it, never once considering how in
the world she was to get out again.
The rabbit-hole went straight on like a tunnel for some way, and then dipped
suddenly down, so suddenly that Alice had not a moment to think about
stopping herself before she found herself falling down a very deep well.
Either the well was very deep, or she fell very slowly, for she had plenty of
time as she went down to look about her and to wonder what was going to
happen next. First, she tried to look down and make out what she was coming
to, but it was too dark to see anything; then she looked at the sides of the well,
and noticed that they were filled with cupboards and book-shelves; here and
there she saw maps and pictures hung upon pegs. She took down a jar from
one of the shelves as she passed; it was labelled 'ORANGE MARMALADE',
but to her great disappointment it was empty: she did not like to drop the jar
for fear of killing somebody, so managed to put it into one of the cupboards as
she fell past it.
'Well!' thought Alice to herself, 'after such a fall as this, I shall think nothing
of tumbling down stairs! How brave they'll all think me at home! Why, I
wouldn't say anything about it, even if I fell off the top of the house!' (Which
was very likely true.)
Down, down, down. Would the fall never come to an end! 'I wonder how
many miles I've fallen by this time?' she said aloud. 'I must be getting
somewhere near the centre of the earth. Let me see: that would be four
thousand miles down, I think—' (for, you see, Alice had learnt several things
of this sort in her lessons in the schoolroom, and though this was not
a very good opportunity for showing off her knowledge, as there was no one to
listen to her, still it was good practice to say it over) '—yes, that's about the
right distance—but then I wonder what Latitude or Longitude I've got to?'
(Alice had no idea what Latitude was, or Longitude either, but thought they
were nice grand words to say.)
Presently she began again. 'I wonder if I shall fall right through the earth!
How funny it'll seem to come out among the people that walk with their heads
downward! The Antipathies, I think—' (she was rather glad there was no one
listening, this time, as it didn't sound at all the right word) '—but I shall have
to ask them what the name of the country is, you know. Please, Ma'am, is this
New Zealand or Australia?' (and she tried to curtsey as she spoke—
fancy curtseying as you're falling through the air! Do you think you could
manage it?) 'And what an ignorant little girl she'll think me for asking! No, it'll
never do to ask: perhaps I shall see it written up somewhere.'
Down, down, down. There was nothing else to do, so Alice soon began
talking again. 'Dinah'll miss me very much to-night, I should think!' (Dinah
was the cat.) 'I hope they'll remember her saucer of milk at tea-time. Dinah my
dear! I wish you were down here with me! There are no mice in the air, I'm
afraid, but you might catch a bat, and that's very like a mouse, you know. But
do cats eat bats, I wonder?' And here Alice began to get rather sleepy, and
went on saying to herself, in a dreamy sort of way, 'Do cats eat bats? Do cats
eat bats?' and sometimes, 'Do bats eat cats?' for, you see, as she couldn't
answer either question, it didn't much matter which way she put it. She felt
that she was dozing off, and had just begun to dream that she was walking
hand in hand with Dinah, and saying to her very earnestly, 'Now, Dinah, tell
me the truth: did you ever eat a bat?' when suddenly, thump! thump! down she
came upon a heap of sticks and dry leaves, and the fall was over.
Alice was not a bit hurt, and she jumped up on to her feet in a moment: she
looked up, but it was all dark overhead; before her was another long passage,
and the White Rabbit was still in sight, hurrying down it. There was not a
moment to be lost: away went Alice like the wind, and was just in time to hear
it say, as it turned a corner, 'Oh my ears and whiskers, how late it's getting!'
She was close behind it when she turned the corner, but the Rabbit was no
longer to be seen: she found herself in a long, low hall, which was lit up by a
row of lamps hanging from the roof.
There were doors all round the hall, but they were all locked; and when
Alice had been all the way down one side and up the other, trying every door,
she walked sadly down the middle, wondering how she was ever to get out
again.
Suddenly she came upon a little three-legged table, all made of solid glass;
there was nothing on it except a tiny golden key, and Alice's first thought was
that it might belong to one of the doors of the hall; but, alas! either the locks
were too large, or the key was too small, but at any rate it would not open any
of them. However, on the second time round, she came upon a low curtain she
had not noticed before, and behind it was a little door about fifteen inches
high: she tried the little golden key in the lock, and to her great delight it
fitted!
Alice opened the door and found that it led into a small passage, not much
larger than a rat-hole: she knelt down and looked along the passage into the
loveliest garden you ever saw. How she longed to get out of that dark hall, and
wander about among those beds of bright flowers and those cool fountains, but
she could not even get her head through the doorway; 'and even if my head
would go through,' thought poor Alice, 'it would be of very little use without
my shoulders. Oh, how I wish I could shut up like a t