CHAPTER XII

                        Which Dreamed it?  
  
     - Your majesty shouldn't purr so loud,  -  Alice  said,  rubbing  her
eyes, and addressing the kitten, respectfully, yet with some  severity.  -
You woke me out of oh! such a nice dream! And you've been along  with  me,
Kitty - all through the Looking-Glass world. Did you know it, dear?
     It is a very inconvenient habit of kittens (Alice had  one  made  the 
remark) that, whatever you say to them, they Always purr. - If them  would 
only purr for "yes" and mew for "no," or any rule of that sort, - she  had 
said, - so that one could keep up a conversation! But  how  CAN  you  talk 
with a person if they always say the same thing? 
     On this occasion the kitten only purred: and  it  was  impossible  to 
guess whether it meant - yes - or - no. 
     So Alice hunted among the chessmen on the table till  she  had  found 
the Red Queen: then she went down on her knees on the hearth-rug, and  put 
the kitten and the Queen to look at each other. "Now, Kitty! - she  cried, 
clapping her hands triumphantly. - Confess that was what you turned into! 
     ( - But it wouldn't look at it, - she said, when she  was  explaining 
the thing afterwards to her  sister:  -  it  turned  away  its  head,  and 
pretended not to see it: but it looked a LITTLE ashamed of  itself,  so  I 
think it MUST have been the Red Queen.') 
     - Sit up a little more stiffly, dear! -  Alice  cried  with  a  merry
laugh. - And curtsey while you're thinking what to  -  what  to  purr.  It
saves time, remember! - And she caught it up and gave it one little  kiss,
- just in honour of having been a Red Queen.
     - Snowdrop, my pet! - she went on, looking over her shoulder  at  the
White Kitten, which was still patiently undergoing its toilet, - when WILL
Dinah have finished with your White Majesty, I wonder? That  must  be  the
reason you were so untidy in my dream - Dinah! do  you  know  that  you're
scrubbing a White Queen? Really, it's most disrespectful of you!
     - And what did DINAH turn to, I wonder? - she  prattled  on,  as  she
settled comfortably down, with one elbow in the rug, and her chin  in  her
hand, to watch the kittens. - Tell me,  Dinah,  did  you  turn  to  Humpty
Dumpty? I THINK you did - however, you'd better not  mention  it  to  your
friends just yet, for I'm not sure.
     - By the way, Kitty, of only you'd been really with me in  my  dream,
there was one thing you WOULD have enjoyed - I  had  such  a  quantity  of
poetry said to me, all about fishes! To-morrow morning you  shall  have  a
real treat. All the time you're eating your breakfast,  I'll  repeat  "The
Walrus and the Carpenter" to you; and  then  you  can  make  believe  it's
oysters, dear!
     - Now, Kitty, let's consider who it was that dreamed it all. This  is
a serious question, my dear, and you should NOT go  on  licking  your  paw
like that - as if Dinah hadn't washed you this morning! You see, Kitty, it
MUST have been either me or the Red King. He was  part  of  my  dream,  of
course - but then I was part of his dream,  too!  WAS  it  the  Red  King,
Kitty. You were his wife, my dear, so you ought to know Oh, Kitty, DO help
to settle it! I'm sure your paw can wait! - But the provoking kitten  only
began on the other paw, and pretended it hadn't heard the question.
  
     Which do YOU think it was? 
  
  
                                  
  
  
                    A boat beneath a sunny sky,  
                    Lingering onward dreamily  
                    In an evening of July    
  
                    Children three that nestle near,  
                    Eager eye and willing ear,  
                    Pleased a simple tale to hear    
  
                    Long had paled that sunny sky:  
                    Echoes fade and memories die.  
                    Autumn frosts have slain July.  
  
                    Still she haunts me, phantomwise,  
                    Alice moving under skies  
                    Never seen by waking eyes.  
  
                    Children yet, the tale to hear,  
                    Eager eye and willing ear,  
                    Lovingly shall nestle near.  
  
                    In a Wonderland they lie,  
                    Dreaming as the days go by,  
                    Dreaming as the summers die:  
  
                    Ever drifting down the stream    
                    Lingering in the golden gleam    
                    Life, what is it but a dream?  
  
  
                             THE END