over, and, the moment she appeared at
the other side, the puppy made another dart at the stick, and
tumbled head over heels in its hurry to get hold: 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 begin 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.

This seemed to Alice a good opportunity for making her escape.
She set off at once, and ran till the puppy's bark sounded quite
faint in the distance, and till she was quite tired and out of
breath.

"And yet what a dear little puppy it was!" said Alice, as she
leant against a buttercup to rest herself, and fanned herself
with her hat. "I should have liked teaching it tricks, if--if I'd
only been the right size to do it! Oh! I'd nearly forgotten that
I've got to grow up again! Let me see; how _is_ it to be managed?
I suppose I ought to eat or drink something or other, but the
great question is what?"

The great question certainly was, what? Alice looked all round
her at the flowers and the blades of grass but could not see
anything that looked like the right thing to eat under the
circumstances. There was a large mushroom near her, about the
same height as herself, and when she had looked under it, and on
both sides of it, and behind it, it occurred to her to look and
see what was on the top of it.

She stretched herself up on tiptoe, and peeped over the edge of
the mushroom, and her eyes immediately met those of a large blue
caterpillar, which was sitting with its arms folded, quietly
smoking a long hookah, and taking not the least notice of her or
of anything else.

[Illustration]

For some time they looked at each other in silence: at last the
caterpillar took the hookah out of its mouth, and languidly
addressed her.

"Who are you?" said the caterpillar.

This was not an encouraging opening for a conversation: Alice
replied rather shyly, "I--I hardly know, sir, just at present--at
least I know who I was when I got up this morning, but I think I
must have been changed several times since that."

"What do you mean by that?" said the caterpillar, "explain
yourself!"

"I ca'n't explain myself, I'm afraid, sir," sa