Alice in the Rabbit Hole
Hello again, boys and girls. We have an exciting week ahead of us
because all of our guests this week will be giving us new, juicy
details about Alice. Today we have a very special guest. If
you do
recall, the first person little Alice met was the White Rabbit.
She
was lounging around by a river with her sister on one of the hottest
days of the year, bored out of her mind while her sister was busy,
enthralled in her novel. The next thing Alice knew, a little
White
Rabbit came sprinting across, crying about how late he was! I do
find
the Rabbit quite amusing because he is such the stickler for time and
loves to panic if he is even the eensiest bit late, but listen to me,
rambling on like I am. Mr. White Rabbit, if you will come out,
please...
(applause)
Cheshire Cat: Well hello there, White Rabbit, and welcome
back to
our show.
White Rabbit: Yes, yes, I've really not much time.
I'm
going to be late you know..
Cheshire Cat: I know, I know, Rabbit. We've only got
a few
questions
about our young Alice. Please sit still for just a few minutes
while
you help clear some things up for us.
White Rabbit (fidgeting nonstop):
Ok, Cat. But like I said,
I'd really hate to be l..
Cheshire Cat: LATE! We understand! Now please,
Mr.
Rabbit. Explain
to the rest of us here what happened on that fateful day that you met
Alice.
White Rabbit: Before I begin, please, bring your body back
here. It
makes me feel uneasy when your head is just floating there...
As
the Cat stated, Alice was laying
about, killing time in the hot sun while her sister was sitting beside
her and reading her book. I, on the other hand, was running a bit
late
for a brunch at the Queen's castle. (As the Rabbit mentioned the
Queen, his ears drooped and he cowered down in his chair.) You do
not want to be late
to
anything involved with the Queen, because with that temper of hers she
will not even think twice about beheading you! I was so worried
that
I was going to be late that I hardly even noticed Alice and her sister,
until I saw Alice following me from the corner of my eye! Now, I
didn't have time for chit chat, so when she followed me down the
rabbit's hole I still chose to ignore her...
Cheshire Cat: Yes, the girl is almost too curious for her
own
good. I
watched and sniggered from afar as she followed you down that
hole.
Alice does say the silliest things when she thinks no one is listening,
I must say. She thought she was falling through the earth!
She must
be mad!
White Rabbit: You're the mad one, Cat! I hate when
you're
there and I
don't know it... Anyway, by the time I reached the bottom I had no time
to waste to ask her what she was doing following me, let alone where
she intended on going, so I left her to her own devices. I exited
through one of my many doors in the hallway of my home, and I really
can't tell you what transpired after that, but I'm sure YOU can, Cat,
because I'm sure you were lurking around somewhere.
Cheshire Cat: Oh, yes. Poor Alice was so confused in
that
hallway of
yours because there were so many doors, yet every single one of them
was locked! She tried every single one and was about to give up
until
she noticed the little glass table on the other end of the hallway, on
which your which your spare key was sitting, Rabbit. Don't you
know
you're
supposed to hide those? Anyway, she tried the key in every single
door, but it was either too big for the keyhole or too small!
Afterwards, she sank down to the floor in frustration, just in time to
discover a tiny door hidden by a curtain right next to her! She
opened
the tiny door, which was barely big enough for a mouse to fit through,
and discovered the most beautiful garden she had ever seen. She
so
badly wanted to visit this garden that she decided to go back to the
little glass table, hoping to find some other clue. This is when
I
snuck a bottle labeled "Drink Me" and put it on the table! Alice
must
never have listened to her parents when they warned her to never take
drinks from strangers, or to pick them up off strange tables for that
matter, and she
drank the whole thing! Next thing she knew, Alice was only a few
inches tall and the perfect size to fit through the hidden door!
Of
course, poor Alice forgot the key on the table and was now nowhere near
tall enough to reach it. She began to panic and cry hysterically,
berating herself for being so forgetful, when she noticed the very tiny
piece of cake underneath the table labeled "Eat Me," which was
strategically placed there by yours truly. I did wait a few
minutes
because it was quite comical watching her get into such a fuss.
Without hesitation, she ate the cake right up, which gave her the
opposite effect of what the drink gave her!
White Rabbit: Cat, I really must be going.
Cat!
PLEASE bring your body back!
Cheshire Cat: Okay, okay, but you really are no fun,
Rabbit. If
you'll come back tomorrow we'll have plenty more Alice stories to
tell...
White Rabbit: Sure, I'll just need a definite time!
Thanks
for having me.
Cheshire Cat: Our pleasure! See you guys
tomorrow!
Author's Note: I used the same basic story as in the original
story
while adding new details. I really want the White Rabbit to come
off
as this kind of strange, time-obsessed character who does not really
share anything about himself and is extremely aloof. I used the
Cheshire Cat as the narrator because he can disappear and reappear on
the spot, so he is perfect because Alice doesn't even know he is
there! His disappearing trick was also perfect because it enabled
me to make him responsible for some of the weird accidents in the
original novel, like where the bottle came from. He pities Alice
and snickers at her for the mistakes she
makes
along the way, even though she is a young girl and doesn't know much
about the world. In the original story, we never really get why
the
"Drink Me" bottle is there or the "Eat Me" cake, so I thought the
Cheshire Cat would be the perfect trickster to put them there.
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Picture of the Cheshire Cat. Websource: Sander's
Art Studio.
Book Title: Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
Author: Lewis Carroll
Year Published: 1865
Web Source: Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
