`Ah, well! It means much the same thing,' said the Duchess,
digging her sharp little chin into Alice's shoulder as she added,
`and the moral of THAT is--"Take care of the sense, and the
sounds will take care of themselves."'

`How fond she is of finding morals in things!' Alice thought to
herself.

`I dare say you're wondering why I don't put my arm round your
waist,' the Duchess said after a pause: `the reason is, that I'm
doubtful about the temper of your flamingo. Shall I try the
experiment?'

`HE might bite,' Alice cautiously replied, not feeling at all
anxious to have the experiment tried.

`Very true,' said the Duchess: `flamingoes and mustard both
bite. And the moral of that is--"Birds of a feather flock
together."'

`Only mustard isn't a bird,' Alice remarked.

`Right, as usual,' said the Duchess: `what a clear way you
have of putting things!'

`It's a mineral, I THINK,' said Alice.

`Of course it is,' said the Duchess, who seemed ready to agree
to everything that Alice said; `there's a large mustard-mine near
here. And the moral of that is--"The more there is of mine, the
less there is of yours."'

`Oh, I know!' exclaimed Alice, who had not attended to this
last remark, `it's a vegetable. It doesn't look like one, but it
is.'

`I quite agree with you,' said the Duchess; `and the moral of
that is--"Be what you would seem to be"--or if you'd like it put
more simply--"Never imagine yourself not to be otherwise than
what it might appear to others that what you were or might have
been was not otherwise than what you had been would have appeared
to them to be otherwise."'

`I think I should understand that better,' Alice said very
politely, `if I had it written down: but I can't quite follow it
as you say it.'

`That's nothing to what I could say if I chose,' the Duchess
replied, in a pleased tone.

`Pray don't trouble yourself to say it any longer than that,'
said Alice.

`Oh, don't talk about trouble!' said the Duchess. `I make you
a present of everything I've said as yet.'

`A cheap sort of present!' thought Alice. `I'm glad they don't
give birthday presents like that!' But she did not venture to
say it out loud.

`Thinking again?' the Duchess asked, with another dig of her
sharp little chin.

`I've a right to think,' said Alice sharply, for she was
beginning to feel a little worried.

`Just about as much right,' said the Duchess, `as pigs have to fly;
and the m--'

But here, to Alice's great surprise, the Duchess's voice died
away, even in the middle of her favourite word `moral,' and the
arm that was linked into hers began to tremble. Alice looked up,
and there stood the Queen in front of them, with her arms folded,
frowning like a thunderstorm.

`A fine day, your Majesty!' the Duchess began in a low, weak
voice.

`Now, I give you fair warning,' shouted the Queen, stamping on
the ground as she spoke; `either you or your head must be off,
and that in about half no time! Take your choice!'

The Duchess took her choice, and was gone in a moment.

`Let's go on with the game,' the Queen said to Alice; and Alice
was too much frightened to say a word, but slowly followed her
back to the croquet-ground.

The other guests had taken advantage of the Queen's absence,
and were resting in the shade: however, the moment they saw her,
they hurried back to the game, the Queen merely remarking that a
moment's delay would cost them their lives.

All the time they were playing the Queen never left off
quarrelling with the other players, and shouting `Off with his
head!' or `Off with her head!' Those whom she sentenced were
taken into custody by the soldiers, who of course had to leave
off being arches to do this, so that by the end of half an hour
or so there were no arches left, and all the players, except the


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