Archive for June 10, 2010
Alice vs. the Puppy.
Posted by: Meg Hunt
Book: Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland (purchase on Amazon)
Hardly knowing what she did, she picked up a little bit of stick, and held it out to the puppy; whereupon the puppy jumped into the air off all its feet at once, with a yelp of delight, and rushed at the stick, and made believe to worry it; then Alice dodged behind a great thistle, to keep herself from being run over; and the moment she appeared on the other side, the puppy made another rush at the stick, and tumbled head over heels in its hurry to get hold of it; then Alice, thinking it was very like having a game of play with a cart-horse, and expecting every moment to be trampled under its feet, ran round the thistle again; then the puppy began a series of short charges at the stick, running a very little way forwards each time and a long way back, and barking hoarsely all the while, till at last it sat down a good way off, panting, with its tongue hanging out of its mouth, and its great eyes half shut.
Sticking to a lesser known scene this month, but one of my favorites (even though it was a bit of a pain as a kid playing Alice in Wonderland on my Commodore 64!)– it seems like a good spot to rest on the ridiculousness of Wonderland and a little girl having fun in a potentially dangerous situation. This giant puppy obviously means no threat, but being a giant (or Alice being so little) she could easily get crushed. Still, this is part of what Wonderland is all about– there’s threats of violence, mad people, and tangled logic about, and while often it’s perplexing to our little heroine, she takes it in great stride and always seems to have fun while exploring her topsy turvy environment.
Thanks again for your patience on the posting schedule! I do hope you’ll agree it was worth the wait!
