n and uninteresting, but that all the rest
was as different as possible. For instance, the pictures on the
wall next the fire seemed to be all alive, and the very clock on
the chimney-piece (you know you can only see the back of it in the
Looking-glass) had got the face of a little old man, and grinned at her.

'They don't keep this room so tidy as the other,' Alice thought to
herself, as she noticed several of the chessmen down in the hearth among
the cinders: but in another moment, with a little 'Oh!' of surprise, she
was down on her hands and knees watching them. The chessmen were walking
about, two and two!

'Here are the Red King and the Red Queen,' Alice said (in a whisper, for
fear of frightening them), 'and there are the White King and the White
Queen sitting on the edge of the shovel--and here are two castles
walking arm in arm--I don't think they can hear me,' she went on, as she
put her head closer down, 'and I'm nearly sure they can't see me. I feel
somehow as if I were invisible--'

Here something began squeaking on the table behind Alice, and made her
turn her head just in time to see one of the White Pawns roll over and
begin kicking: she watched it with great curiosity to see what would
happen next.

'It is the voice of my child!' the White Queen cried out as she rushed
past the King, so violently that she knocked him over among the cinders.
'My precious Lily! My imperial kitten!' and she began scrambling wildly
up the side of the fender.

'Imperial fiddlestick!' said the King, rubbing his nose, which had been
hurt by the fall. He had a right to be a LITTLE annoyed with the Queen,
for he was covered with ashes from head to foot.

Alice was very anxious to be of use, and, as the poor little Lily was
nearly screaming herself into a fit, she hastily picked up the Queen and
set her on the table by the side of her noisy little daughter.

The Queen gasped, and sat down: the rapid journey through the air had
quite taken away her breath and for a minute or two she could do nothing
but hug the little Lily in silence. As soon as she had recovered her
breath a little, she called out to the White King, who was sitting
sulkily among the ashes, 'Mind the volcano!'

'What volcano?' said the King, looking up anxiously into the fire, as if
he thought that was the most likely place to find one.

'Blew--me--up,' panted the Queen, who was still a little out of breath.
'Mind you come up--the regular way--don't get