Alice's Adventures In Wonderland
When seven year old Alice cannot resist following an unusual rabbit down a hole, she enters the dream like world of Wonderland. Here, everything is extraordinary - rabbits talk, cats materalise from nowhere, babies turn into pigs, and even Alice herself changes at times. Furthermore, an entire magisterial court, led by the King Of Hearts, proves to be nothing but a pack of cards. However, Alice, a courageous and polite heroine, overcomes all the obstacles presented to her in the bizarre world in which she finds herself.
1. UPS AND DOWNS. Sitting sleepily with her sister on a riverbank, Alice sees a White Rabbit in a waistcoat run past. Intrigued, she follows it down a hole. She wanders in to a hall lined with doors, opens one with a gold key and spies a beautiful garden. However, she cannot go into it because she is too large. Alice swallows from a bottle marked DRINK ME and shrinks, but now she cannot enter the garden because she has left the key on the table. Next, Alice eats some cake and, growing rapidly, weeps copiously at her size. The rabbit returns and drops his fan in alarm. Alice fans herself and shrinks again.
2. MEETING THE ANIMALS. Alice slips into the pool made from the tears which she wept when she found herself to have grown so much. While swimming, she meets a Mouse and accompanies it to dry land, where she finds other equally wet creatures. To dry off, a Dodo organizes a race, which is chaotic but energetic. Everyone is a winner and Alice hands out sweets as prizes. Unfortunately, she mentions her cat Dinah and drives the creatures away. The White Rabbit runs past again looking worried, and mistakes Alice for his maid. She runs to his house to look for his fan and gloves, finds a bottle from which she drinks, and expands to an enormous size. Unable to get into his room because Alice's bulk has jammed the door shut, The White Rabbit tries the window, but Alice knocks him over with her large hand.
3. A MAGIC MUSHROOM. After consulting his gardener, the rabbit sends a lizard down the chimney but Alice, now frightened, kicks it out. The Rabbit and other creatures then throw pebbles at her. They turn into cakes, which she eats, and she shrinks and can escape. As Alice walks along a path, she is questioned by a Caterpillar perched on a mushroom. He also asks her to recite 'you are old, Father William'. The Caterpillar tells Alice that she can alter her size by eating different sides of his mushroom. Experimenting, she shoots up in height above the trees.
4. THE DUCHESS'S KITCHEN. Alice watches a fish footman delivering an invitation to the Duchess's house for a game of croquet with the Queen. She then nibbles some mushroom to make herself small and enters the kitchen. It is full of noise and pepper, a bawling baby, a Cheshire Cat and pots flying around. Alarmed, Alice takes the baby, which turns into a piglet. The Cat reappears, thn vanishes, with a promise to meet Alice at the croquet game.
5. A TEA PARTY. Alice finds a huge table laid for tea with only three places occupied. Seated there are a Mad Hatter, a March Hare and a sleeping Dormouse. Braving their discouragement, she sits down, the Dormouse wakes up and tells a story of three sisters living at the bottom of a treacle well. Perplexed and annoyed, Alice leaves. She returns to the hallway where she first entered Wonderland nibbles mushroom to adjust her height and enters the beautiful garden. Here she finds gardeners painting the white roses red. The Queen of Hearts appears with her court.
6. THE MAD QUEEN. The Queen demands Alice's name and later when contradicted, roars, 'Off with her head!' Alice ignores this and hides the gardeners, whose execution the Queen has ordered on seeing white roses instead of the red ones she has insisted on. Alice joins a croquet match in which hedgehogs are balls and flamingos are mallets. This causes problems because the hedgehogs keep wandering off. Everybody plays while the Queen orders their executions The Cheshire Cat now reappears. The King demands to be introduced to it and the Queen orders the cat's execution, which proves impossible for it lacks a body. By the end of the game everyone except Alice has been arrested. The Queen then tells the Gryphon to introduce Alice to the Mock Turtle. The two friends reminisce about their schooldays under water, where the mock turtle was taught reeling and writhing.
7. THE MOCK TURTLE'S TALE. The Gryphon and the Mock Turtle dance the Lobster Quadrille for Alice and sing piteously. Alice tries hard not to mention that she has only encountered fish that has been cooked. Interrupted by cries that a trial is beginning, they hurry off. The King is the judge, the Rabbit is the clerk of the court, and the Knave of Hearts is the accused. The Mad Hatter, called as a witness, trembles too much to make any sense. Alice starts growing again, just before she is called to give evidence.
8. DREAM'S END. Standing up, Alice knocks over the jury box. She says she knows nothing, but the Rabbit produces new evidence. All of it is nonsense and the Queen demands the sentences before the verdict. When Alice complains, the members of the court, who are, in fact, a pack of cards, fly at her. She then wakes up on the riverbank to find leaves falling on her. Her sister listens to her dream and muses on Alice's tale of Wonderland.
Lewis Carroll (Author), Roger Blake (Narrator)
Audiobook
