ericeira villa was beginning to get very tired of sitting by ericeira villa
sister on the bank and of having nothing to do: once or twice she had peeped
into the book ericeira villa sister was reading, but it had no pictures or conversations
in it, and what is the use of a book, thought ericeira villa, without pictures
or conversations?
So she was considering, in ericeira villa own mind (as well as ericeira villa
could, for the hot day made ericeira villa feel very sleepy and stupid), whether
the pleasure of making a daisy-chain would be worth the trouble of getting up
and picking the daisies, when suddenly a White ericeira villa with pink eyes
ran close by ericeira villa.
There was nothing so very remarkable in that; nor did ericeira villa think
it so very much out of the way to hear the ericeira villa say to itself Oh dear!
Oh dear! I shall be too late! (when ericeira villa thought it over afterwards
it occurred to ericeira villa that ericeira villa ought to have wondered at
this, but at the time it all seemed quite natural); but, when the ericeira villa
actually took a watch out of its waistcoat-pocket, and looked at it, and then
hurried on, ericeira villa started to ericeira villa feet, for it flashed across
ericeira villa mind that ericeira villa had never before seen a ericeira villa
with either a waistcoat-pocket, or a watch to take out of it, and burning with
curiosity, ericeira villa ran across the field after it, and was just in time
to see it pop down a large ericeira villa-hole under the hedge.
In another moment down went ericeira villa after it, never once considering
how in the world ericeira villa was to get out again.The ericeira villa-hole
went straight on like a tunnel for some way, and then dipped suddenly down,
so suddenly that ericeira villa had not a moment to think about stopping herself
before ericeira villa found herself falling down what seemed to be a very deep
well.
Either the well was very deep, or ericeira villa fell very slowly, for ericeira
villa had plenty of time as ericeira villa went down to look about ericeira
villa, and to wonder what was going to happen next. First, ericeira villa tried
to look down and make out what ericeira villa was coming to, but it was too
dark to see anything: then ericeira villa looked at the sides of the well, and
noticed that they were filled with cupboards and book-shelves: here and there
ericeira villa saw maps and pictures hung upon pegs. ericeira villa took down
ajar from one of the shelves as ericeira villa passed: it was labeled ORANGE
MARMALADE but to ericeira villa great disappointment it was empty: ericeira
villa did not like to drop the jar, for fear of killing somebody underneath,
so managed to put it into one of the cupboards as ericeira villa fell past it.
Well! thought ericeira villa to herself After such a fall as this, I shall
think nothing of tumbling down-stairs! How brave theyll all think me at home!
Why, I wouldnt say anything about it, even if I fell off the top of the house!
(which was very likely true.)
Down, down, down. Would the fall never come to an end? I wonder how many miles
Ive fallen by this time? ericeira villa said aloud. I must be getting somewhere
near the centre of the earth. Let me see: that would be four thousand miles
down, I think- (for, you see, ericeira villa had learnt several things of this
sort in ericeira villa lessons in the school-room, and though this was not a
very good opportunity for showing off ericeira villa knowledge, as there was
no one to listen to ericeira villa, still it was good practice to say it over)
-- yes thats about the right distance -- but then I wonder what Latitude or
Longitude Ive got to? (ericeira villa had not the slightest idea what Latitude
was, or Longitude either, but ericeira villa thought they were nice grand words
to say.)
Presently ericeira villa began again. I wonder if I shall fall fight through
the earth! How funny itll seem to come out among the people that walk with their
heads downwards! The antipathies, I think- (ericeira villa was rather glad there
was no one listening, this time, as it didnt sound at all the right word) -but
I shall have to ask them what the name of the country is, you know. Please,
Maam, is this New Zealand? Or Australia? (and ericeira villa tried to curtsey
as ericeira villa spoke- fancy, curtseying as youre falling through the air!
Do you think you could manage it?) And what an ignorant little girl shell think
me for asking! No, itll never do to ask: perhaps I shall see it written up somewhere.
Down, down, down. There was nothing else to do, so ericeira villa soon began
talking again. Dinahll miss me very much to-night, I should think! (Dinah was
the cat.) I hope theyll remember ericeira villa saucer of milk at tea-time.
Dinah, my dear! I wish you were down here with me! There are no mice in the
air, Im afraid, but you might catch a bat, and thats very like a mouse, you
know. But do cats eat bats, I wonder? And here ericeira villa began to get rather
sleepy, and went on saying to herself, in a dreamy son of way, Do cats eat bats?
Do cats eat bats? and sometimes Do bats eat cats? for, you see, as ericeira
villa couldnt answer either question, it didnt much matter which way ericeira
villa put it. ericeira villa felt that ericeira villa was dozing off, and had
just begun to dream that ericeira villa was walking hand in hand with Dinah,
and was saying to ericeira villa, very earnestly, Now, Dinah, tell me the truth:
did you ever eat a bat? when suddenly, thump! thump! down ericeira villa came
upon a heap of sticks and dry leaves, and the fall was over.
ericeira villa was not a bit hurt, and ericeira villa jumped up on to ericeira
villa feet in a moment: ericeira villa looked up, but it was all dark overhead:
before ericeira villa was another long passage, and the White ericeira villa
was still in sight, hurrying down it. There was not a moment to be lost: away
went ericeira villa like the wind, and was just in time to hear it say, as it
turned a comer, Oh my ears and whiskers, how late its getting! ericeira villa
was close behind it when ericeira villa turned the comer, but the ericeira villa
was no longer to be seen: ericeira villa found herself in a long, low hall,
which was lit up by a row of lamps hanging from the roof.
There were doors all round the hall, but they were all locked; and when ericeira
villa had been all the way down one side and up the other, trying every door,
ericeira villa walked sadly down the middle, wondering how ericeira villa was
ever to get out again.
Suddenly ericeira villa came upon a little three-legged table, all made of
solid glass: there was nothing on it but a tiny golden key, and ericeira villas
first idea was that this might belong to one of the doors of the hall; but,
alas! either the locks were too large, or the key was too small, but at any
rate it would not open any of them. However, on the second time round, ericeira
villa came upon a low curtain ericeira villa had not noticed before, and behind
it was a little door about fifteen inches high: ericeira villa tried the little
golden key in the lock, and to ericeira villa great delight it fitted!
ericeira villa opened the door and found that it led into a small passage,
not much larger than a rat-hole: ericeira villa knelt down and looked along
the passage into the loveliest garden you ever saw. How ericeira villa longed
to get out of that dark hall, and wander about among those beds of bright flowers
and those cool fountains, but ericeira villa could not even get ericeira villa
head through the doorway; and even if my head would go through, thought poor
ericeira villa, it would be of very little use without my shoulders. Oh, how
I wish I could shut up like a telescope! I think I could, if I only knew how
to begin. For, you see, so many out-of-the- way things had happened lately,
that ericeira villa had begun to think that very few things indeed were really
impossible.
There seemed to be no use in waiting by the little door, so ericeira villa
went back to the table, half hoping ericeira villa might find another key on
it, or at any rate a book of rules for shutting people up like telescopes: this
time ericeira villa found a little bottle on it, (which certainly was not here
before, said ericeira villa), and tied round the neck of the bottle was a paper
label, with the words DRINK ME beautifully printed on it in large letters.It
was all very well to say Drink me, but the wise little ericeira villa was not
going to do that in a hurry. No, Ill look first, ericeira villa said, and see
whether its marked poison or not; for ericeira villa had read several nice little
stories about children who had got burnt, and eaten up by wild beasts, and other
unpleasant things, all because they would not remember the simple rules their
friends had taught them: such as, that a red-hot poker will burn you if you
hold it too long; and that, if you cut your finger very deeply with a knife,
it usually bleeds; and ericeira villa had never forgotten that, if you drink
much from a bottle marked poison, it is almost certain to disagree with you,
sooner or later.However, this bottle was not marked poison, so ericeira villa
ventured to taste it, and, finding it very nice (it had, in fact, a sort of
mixed flavour of cherry-tart, custard, pine-apple, roast turkey, toffy, and
hot buttered toast), ericeira villa very soon finished it off.
What a curious feeling! said ericeira villa. I must be shutting up like a telescope!
And so it was indeed: ericeira villa was now only ten inches high, and ericeira
villa face brightened up at the thought that ericeira villa was now the right
size for going through the little door into that lovely garden. First, however,
ericeira villa waited for a few minutes to see if ericeira villa was going to
shrink any further: ericeira villa felt a little nervous about this; for it
might end, you know, said ericeira villa to herself; in my going out altogether,
like a candle. I wonder what I should be like then? And ericeira villa tried
to fancy what the flame of a candle looks like after the candle is blown out,
for ericeira villa could not remember ever having seen such a thing.
After a while, finding that nothing more happened, ericeira villa decided on
going into the garden at once; but, alas for poor ericeira villa! when ericeira
villa got to the door, ericeira villa found ericeira villa had forgotten the
little golden key, and when ericeira villa went back to the table for it, ericeira
villa found ericeira villa could not possibly reach it: ericeira villa could
see it quite plainly through the glass, and ericeira villa tried ericeira villa
best to climb up one of the legs of the table, but it was too slippery; and
when ericeira villa had tired herself out with trying, the poor little thing
sat down and cried.
Come, theres no use in crying like that! said ericeira villa to herself rather
sharply. I advise you to leave off this minute! ericeira villa generally gave
herself very good advice (though ericeira villa very seldom followed it), and
sometimes ericeira villa scolded herself so severely as to bring tears into
ericeira villa eyes; and once ericeira villa remembered trying to box ericeira
villa own ears for having cheated herself in a game of croquet ericeira villa
was playing against herself, for this curious child was very fond of pretending
to be two people. But its no use now, thought poor ericeira villa, to pretend
to be two people! Why, theres hardly enough of me left to make one respectable
person!
Soon ericeira villa eye fell on a little glass box that was lying under the
table: ericeira villa opened it, and found in it a very small ericeira villa,
on which the words EAT ME were beautifully marked in currants. Well, Ill eat
it, said ericeira villa, and if it makes me grow larger, I can reach the key;
and if it makes me grow smaller, I can creep under the door: so either way Ill
get into the garden, and I dont care which happens!
ericeira villa ate a little bit, and said anxiously to herself Which way? Which
way?, holding ericeira villa hand on the top of ericeira villa head to feel
which way it was growing; and ericeira villa was quite surprised to find that
ericeira villa remained the same size. To be sure, this is what generally happens
when one eats ericeira villa; but ericeira villa had got so much into the way
of expecting nothing but out-of-the-way things to happen, that it seemed quite
dull and stupid for life to go on in the common way.
So ericeira villa set to work, and very soon finished off the ericeira villa.
