And the mome raths outgrabe.

            `Beware the Jabberwock, my son!
              The jaws that bite, the claws that catch!
            Beware the Jujub bird, and shun
              The frumious Bandersnatch!'

            He took his vorpal sword in hand:
              Long time the manxome foe he sought --
            So rested he by the Tumtum gree,
              And stood awhile in thought.

            And as in uffish thought he stood,
              The Jabberwock, with eyes of flame,
            Came whiffling through the tulgey wook,
              And burbled as it came!

            One, two!  One, two!  And through and through
              The vorpal blade went snicker-snack!
            He left it dead, and with its head
              He went galumphing back.

            `And has thou slain the Jabberwock?
              Come to my arms, my beamish boy!
            O frabjous day!  Calloh!  Callay!
              He chortled in his joy.

            `Twas brillig, and the slithy toves
              Did gyre and gimble in the wabe;
            All mimsy were the borogoves,
              And the mome raths outgrabe.

  `It seems very pretty,' she said when she had finished it, `but
it's RATHER hard to understand!'  (You see she didn't like to
confess, ever to herself, that she couldn't make it out at all.)
`Somehow it seems to fill my head with ideas -- only I don't exactly
know what they are!  However, SOMEBODY killed SOMETHING: that's
clear, at any rate -- '

 `But oh!' thought Alice, suddenly jumping up, `if I don't make haste
I shall have to go back through the Looking-glass, before I've seen
what the rest of the house is like!  Let's have a look at the garden
first!'  She was out of the room in a moment, and ran down stairs --
or, at least, it wasn't exactly running, but a new invention of hers
for getting down stairs quickly and easily, as Alice said to herself.
She just kept the tips of her fingers on the hand-rail, and floated
gently down without even touching the stairs with her feet; then she
floated on through the hall, and would have gone straight out at the
door in the same way, if she hadn't caught hold of the door-post.
She was getting a little giddy with so much floating in the air, and
was rather glad to find herself walking again in the natural way.

                           CHAPTER II

                   The Garden of Live Flowers

  `I should see the garden far better,' said Alice to herself, `if I
could get to the top of that hill: and here's a path that leads
straight to it -- at least, no, it doesn't do that -- ' (after going
a few yards along the path, and turning several sharp corners), `but
I suppose it will at last.  But how curiously it twists!  It's more
like a corkscrew than a path! Well, THIS turn goes to the hill, I
suppose -- no, it doesn't! This goes straight back to the house!
Well then, I'll try it the other way.'

  And so she did: wandering up and down, and trying turn after turn,
but always coming back to the house, do what she would. Indeed, once,
when she turned a corner rather more quickly than usual, she ran
against it before she could stop herself.

  `It's no use talking about it," Alice said, looking up at the house
and pretending it was arguing with her.  `I'm NOT going in again yet.
I know I should have to get through the Looking-glass again -- back
into the old room -- and there'd be an end of all my adventures!'

  So, resolutely turning back upon the house, she set out once more
down the path, determined to keep straight on till she got to the
hill.  For a few minutes all went on well, and she was just saying,
`I really SHALL do it this time -- ' when the path gave a sudden
twist and shook itself (as she described it afterwards), and the next
moment she found herself actually walking in at the door.

  'Oh, it's too bad!' she cried.  `I never saw such a house for
getting in the way!  Never!'

  However, there was the hill full in sight, so there was nothing to
be done but start again.  This time she came upon a large flower-bed,
with a border of daisies, and a willow-tree growing in the middle.

  `O Tiger-lily,' said Alice, addressing herself to one that was
waving gracefully about in the wind, `I WISH you could talk!'

  `We CAN talk,' said the Tiger-lily: `when there's anybody worth
talking to."

  Alice was so astonished that she could not speak for a minute: it
quite seemed to take her breath away.  At length, as the Tiger-lily
only went on waving about, she spoke again, in a timid voice --
almost in a whisper.  `And can ALL the flowers talk?'