The Knave shook his head with a sigh. "Do I look like it?" he said.
(Which it was plain he did not, as he was made of card board.)
"All right, so far," said the King, and he went on: "'We know it to be
true'--that's the ju-ry, of course--'I gave her one, they gave him
two'--that must be what he did with the tarts, you know--"
"But it goes on, 'they all came back from him to you,'" said Al-ice.
"Why, there they are," said the King, point-ing to the tarts. "Isn't
that as clear as can be? Then it goes on, 'before she had this fit'--you
don't have fits, my dear, I think?" he said to the Queen.
[Illustration]
"No! no!" said the Queen in a great rage, throw-ing an ink-stand at the
Liz-ard as she spoke.
"Then the words don't fit you," he said, and looked round the court with
a smile. But no one spoke. "It's a pun," he added in a fierce tone, then
all the court laughed.
"Let the ju-ry now bring in their verdict," the King said.
"No! no!" said the Queen. "Sen-tence first--then the ver-dict."
"Such stuff!" said Al-ice out loud. "Of course the ju-ry must make--"
"Hold your tongue!" screamed the Queen.
"I won't!" said Al-ice.
"Off with her head!" shout-ed the Queen at the top of her voice. No one
moved.
"Who cares for you?" said Al-ice. (She had grown to her full size by
this time.) "You are noth-ing but a pack of cards!"
At this the whole pack rose up in the air and flew down up-on her; she
gave a lit-tle scream and tried to beat them off--and found her-self
ly-ing on the bank with her head in the lap of her sis-ter, who was
brush-ing a-way some dead leaves that had fluttered down from the trees
on to her face.
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