Alice in Wonderland (63)

Alice in Wonderland (63)

The White Rabbit put on his spectacles.

"Where shall I begin, please your Majesty ? " he asked.

" Begin at the biginning, " the king said, " and go on till you come to the end, then stop. "

These were the verses the White Rabbit read:ー

" They told me you had been to her,
    And mentioned me to him:
 She gave me a good character,
    But  said I could not swim.

 He sent them word I had not gone
   (We know it to be true) :
 If she should push the matter on,
   What would become of you ?

 I gave her one, they gave him two,
    You gave us three or more;
 They all returned from him to you,
    though they were mine before.

 If  I or she should chance to be
   Involved in this affair,
 He trusts to you to set them free,
   Exactly as we were.

 My notion was that you had been
　　(Before she had this fit)
 An obstacle that come between
   Him, and ourselves, and it.

 Don't let him know she likes them best,
   For this must ever be
 A secret, kept from all the rest,
   Between yourself and me.       "

"That's the most important piece of evidence we've heard yet, " said the King, rubbing his hands, " so now let the juryー　"

" The verses were so strange, " thought Alice.
" If any one of them can explain it, I'll give him sixpence," said Alice.
※
(もし誰か一人でも、いまの詩を説明できるものなら、六ペンスをあげてもいいわ。)

She had grown so large in the last few minutes that she wasn't a bit afraid of interrupting him.
" I don't believe there's an atom of meaning in it. "

" If there's no meaning in it, " said the king, " that save a world of trouble, you know, as we needn't try to find any.  And yet I don't know," he went on.

He spreads out the verses on his knee, and looked at them with one eye.

" I seem to see some meaning in them, after all,’ーsaid I could swimー’
" You can't swim, can you? " he added, turning to the Knave.

The Knave shook his head sadly.
" Do I look like it ? " he said.

" All right, so far, " said the king, and he went on.

"ーWe　knew it to be trueー, that's the jury, of course. ーI gave her one, they gave him twoー, why, that must be what he did with the tarts, you know. "

" But, it goes on ' ーthey all returned from him to youー,’ " said Alice.

" Why, there they are ! " said the king, pointing to the tarts on the table.



" Nothing can be clearer than that. "

(63/65)