Sibling Rivalry
"Tweedledum and TweedledeeAgreed to have a battle;
For Tweedledum said Tweedledee
Had spoiled his nice new rattle.
Just then flew down a monstrous crow,
As black as a tar-barrel;
Which frightened both the heroes so,
They quite forgot their quarrel."
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I am absolutely exhausted from that last session, but I still have one more patient to see before I head home. Tweedledee and Tweedledum are fairly new patients of mine. I would call them odd gentlemen, but they are pretty run of the mill people here in Wonderland. They insist on dressing alike and the only way I can tell the difference is that one of them has 'DUM' embroidered on his collar, and the other 'DEE.' I have made some progress with them, but the session usually ends with one of them challenging the other to a battle and that is when I kick them out.
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"Hello, gentlemen. How are we doing today?"
Tweedledee: About as good as could be expected.
Tweedledum: I rightfully agree. You see...
Tweedledee: That dreadful Alice ran into us earlier in the woods. We were trying to recite our latest poem...
Tweedledum: The Walrus and The Carpenter, but she kept interrupting. She is very impatient and even though she knows my name, she kept calling me "First Boy"....
Tweedledee: And me "Next Boy!"
"Well, that was very impolite of her, but as the both of you know we are here to talk about your issues, not Alice's."
Tweedledum: Well, we know why we are here, Doc, but that doesn't mean that manners should be forgotten.
Tweedledee: We tried to introduce ourselves properly and shake her, but she didn't seem thrilled at the thought of touching us.
Tweedledum: Speak for yourself! I think she didn't want to touch you, not me. I actually think she was quite fond of me. I have been called a good dancer once or twice.
Tweedledee: You must be joking, dear brother. Everyone knows that I am the superior dancer, not to mention a wonderful singer.
Tweedledum: Oh, please! Alice was clearly smiling at me during our rendition of 'Here we go round the mulberry bush.'
Tweedledee: That's because she was trying not to laugh at you! My snores sound better than your singing any day!
"Enough now, gentlemen! We are here to try and work out your issues towards one another and that is going to be impossible if the two of you are picking one another apart. Now, you said earlier that you two had just finished a poem. What was it called again?"
Tweedledee: The Walrus...
Tweedledum: And The Carpenter!
"Well, that is wonderful news. What is the poem about?"
Tweedledee: Well, it is about a Walrus and a Carpenter, of course!
Tweedledum: And a whole beach full of oysters. You see, the Walrus and the Carpenter invite four of the oysters to join them on their walk.
Tweedledee: The eldest oyster does not approve, as he sees these two characters for their true intentions. Many more of the oysters refuse to listen to the eldest oyster...
Tweedledum: And join the Walrus and Carpenter on their walk. After a mile or so the group stopped to rest and the Walrus said, "The time has come, to talk of many things. Of shoes and ships and sealing wax, of cabbages and kings. And why the sea is boiling hot and whether pigs have wings."
Tweedledee: At this point the oysters realize their looming fate, as dinner for the walrus and the carpenter. After realizing all the oysters are gone the Walrus begins to weep...
Tweedledum: But only because there were no more oysters to eat! Don't forget that point, brother. That is why Alice liked him at first you see...
Tweedledee: Contrariwise, she thought they were both quite evil, if you will remember correctly!
"OK guys, enough about Alice! What happened today after you recited your poem for her?"
Tweedledum: Well, that is where it all fell apart. You see, my brother here left my brand-new rattle out in the rain and it rusted!
Tweedledee: I tried to apologize, but all he did was yell and stomp around like a monster, so I just hid inside my umbrella until he calmed down.
Tweedledum: And that is when I asked him to a battle. Battling is the best way to work out your problems, you see.
Tweedledee: I asked Alice to help me get dressed for the battle, putting a bolster around my neck so my head wouldn't get cut off. It was clear she cared for me more...
Tweedledum: She helped us both, you moron!
Tweedledee: Well, I let you have the sword! The only thing I had to defend myself was my umbrella!
"Well, what happened next? As I see that both of you still have your heads attached to your bodies, I can assume no one was gravely injured."
Tweedledee: We never got to start our battle.
Tweedledum: And my brother has yet to replace my rattle.
Tweedledee: A giant black cloud began flying our way.
Tweedledum: We realized it was the crow coming to stay.
Tweedledee: Scared to death, we took to our heels and were out of sight.
Tweedledum: We ran and ran into the black of night.
"Well,
what an interesting story. I hope you two will realize that there
are
other ways to solve problems besides battling one another.
Someone
could have really gotten hurt! For next week's session, I want
you
both
to write a poem about things you like about one another. This
will be
a great way for you guys to see the good in one another, instead of
always focusing on the bad. See you two next week!"
Author's Note:
Tweedledee and Tweedledum originated in a poem by John Byrom and have been found not only in Lewis Carroll's "Wonderland," but in an anonymous nursery rhyme (found above), comic books, and even a song by Bob Dylan. I used the chapter entitled "Tweedledee and Tweedledum" from Through the Looking Glass and What Alice Found There as my source material. Although the White Rabbit does not appear in this sequel, I am still using him as my unifying storyteller and therapist to all Wonderland's residents. Tweedledee and Tweedledum are well known for their little quarrels and I took that element from the original source to create a therapy session in which they must address their jealousy issues towards one another. In the original story, the two brothers intend to have a battle between each other, but they are frightened off by a black crow and never get to. The two of them are always butting heads, but they often get sidetracked from their fighting, which is why they never have their battle. For me, it seemed like although they picked on one another when it came to someone else picking on them, they would band together. I used this element when they ran into Alice and she was her usual rude self to them. I also enjoyed the fact that they were often finishing each others sentences, which made writing their dialogue very fun!
Source: Through the Looking Glass & What Alice Found There (1871) by Lewis Carroll. Chapter Four: Tweedledee and Tweedledum
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Image Information: Tweedledee & Tweedledum from school play. Laguna Middle School
Tweedledee & Tweedledum from American McGee's Alice. Flickr Album
Tweedledee & Tweedledum at Disneyland. Flickr Album
Back to introduction
Image Information: Tweedledee & Tweedledum from school play. Laguna Middle School
Tweedledee & Tweedledum from American McGee's Alice. Flickr Album
Tweedledee & Tweedledum at Disneyland. Flickr Album