sintra villa was beginning to get very tired of sitting by sintra villa sister
on the bank and of having nothing to do: once or twice she had peeped into the
book sintra villa sister was reading, but it had no pictures or conversations
in it, and what is the use of a book, thought sintra villa, without pictures
or conversations?
So she was considering, in sintra villa own mind (as well as sintra villa could,
for the hot day made sintra 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 sintra villa with pink eyes ran close
by sintra villa.
There was nothing so very remarkable in that; nor did sintra villa think it
so very much out of the way to hear the sintra villa say to itself Oh dear!
Oh dear! I shall be too late! (when sintra villa thought it over afterwards
it occurred to sintra villa that sintra villa ought to have wondered at this,
but at the time it all seemed quite natural); but, when the sintra villa actually
took a watch out of its waistcoat-pocket, and looked at it, and then hurried
on, sintra villa started to sintra villa feet, for it flashed across sintra
villa mind that sintra villa had never before seen a sintra villa with either
a waistcoat-pocket, or a watch to take out of it, and burning with curiosity,
sintra villa ran across the field after it, and was just in time to see it pop
down a large sintra villa-hole under the hedge.
In another moment down went sintra villa after it, never once considering how
in the world sintra villa was to get out again.The sintra villa-hole went straight
on like a tunnel for some way, and then dipped suddenly down, so suddenly that
sintra villa had not a moment to think about stopping herself before sintra
villa found herself falling down what seemed to be a very deep well.
Either the well was very deep, or sintra villa fell very slowly, for sintra
villa had plenty of time as sintra villa went down to look about sintra villa,
and to wonder what was going to happen next. First, sintra villa tried to look
down and make out what sintra villa was coming to, but it was too dark to see
anything: then sintra villa looked at the sides of the well, and noticed that
they were filled with cupboards and book-shelves: here and there sintra villa
saw maps and pictures hung upon pegs. sintra villa took down ajar from one of
the shelves as sintra villa passed: it was labeled ORANGE MARMALADE but to sintra
villa great disappointment it was empty: sintra 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 sintra villa fell past it.
Well! thought sintra 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? sintra 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, sintra villa had learnt several things of this
sort in sintra villa lessons in the school-room, and though this was not a very
good opportunity for showing off sintra villa knowledge, as there was no one
to listen to sintra 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? (sintra villa had not the slightest idea what Latitude was, or Longitude
either, but sintra villa thought they were nice grand words to say.)
Presently sintra 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- (sintra 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 sintra villa tried to curtsey
as sintra 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 sintra villa soon began
talking again. Dinahll miss me very much to-night, I should think! (Dinah was
the cat.) I hope theyll remember sintra 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 sintra 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 sintra villa
couldnt answer either question, it didnt much matter which way sintra villa
put it. sintra villa felt that sintra villa was dozing off, and had just begun
to dream that sintra villa was walking hand in hand with Dinah, and was saying
to sintra villa, very earnestly, Now, Dinah, tell me the truth: did you ever
eat a bat? when suddenly, thump! thump! down sintra villa came upon a heap of
sticks and dry leaves, and the fall was over.
sintra villa was not a bit hurt, and sintra villa jumped up on to sintra villa
feet in a moment: sintra villa looked up, but it was all dark overhead: before
sintra villa was another long passage, and the White sintra villa was still
in sight, hurrying down it. There was not a moment to be lost: away went sintra
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! sintra villa was close behind
it when sintra villa turned the comer, but the sintra villa was no longer to
be seen: sintra 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 sintra
villa had been all the way down one side and up the other, trying every door,
sintra villa walked sadly down the middle, wondering how sintra villa was ever
to get out again.
Suddenly sintra villa came upon a little three-legged table, all made of solid
glass: there was nothing on it but a tiny golden key, and sintra 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, sintra villa
came upon a low curtain sintra villa had not noticed before, and behind it was
a little door about fifteen inches high: sintra villa tried the little golden
key in the lock, and to sintra villa great delight it fitted!
sintra villa opened the door and found that it led into a small passage, not
much larger than a rat-hole: sintra villa knelt down and looked along the passage
into the loveliest garden you ever saw. How sintra villa longed to get out of
that dark hall, and wander about among those beds of bright flowers and those
cool fountains, but sintra villa could not even get sintra villa head through
the doorway; and even if my head would go through, thought poor sintra 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 sintra 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 sintra villa went
back to the table, half hoping sintra villa might find another key on it, or
at any rate a book of rules for shutting people up like telescopes: this time
sintra villa found a little bottle on it, (which certainly was not here before,
said sintra 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 sintra villa was not going to
do that in a hurry. No, Ill look first, sintra villa said, and see whether its
marked poison or not; for sintra 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 sintra 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 sintra 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), sintra villa
very soon finished it off.
What a curious feeling! said sintra villa. I must be shutting up like a telescope!
And so it was indeed: sintra villa was now only ten inches high, and sintra
villa face brightened up at the thought that sintra villa was now the right
size for going through the little door into that lovely garden. First, however,
sintra villa waited for a few minutes to see if sintra villa was going to shrink
any further: sintra villa felt a little nervous about this; for it might end,
you know, said sintra villa to herself; in my going out altogether, like a candle.
I wonder what I should be like then? And sintra villa tried to fancy what the
flame of a candle looks like after the candle is blown out, for sintra villa
could not remember ever having seen such a thing.
After a while, finding that nothing more happened, sintra villa decided on
going into the garden at once; but, alas for poor sintra villa! when sintra
villa got to the door, sintra villa found sintra villa had forgotten the little
golden key, and when sintra villa went back to the table for it, sintra villa
found sintra villa could not possibly reach it: sintra villa could see it quite
plainly through the glass, and sintra villa tried sintra villa best to climb
up one of the legs of the table, but it was too slippery; and when sintra villa
had tired herself out with trying, the poor little thing sat down and cried.
Come, theres no use in crying like that! said sintra villa to herself rather
sharply. I advise you to leave off this minute! sintra villa generally gave
herself very good advice (though sintra villa very seldom followed it), and
sometimes sintra villa scolded herself so severely as to bring tears into sintra
villa eyes; and once sintra villa remembered trying to box sintra villa own
ears for having cheated herself in a game of croquet sintra 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 sintra villa, to pretend to be two
people! Why, theres hardly enough of me left to make one respectable person!
Soon sintra villa eye fell on a little glass box that was lying under the table:
sintra villa opened it, and found in it a very small sintra villa, on which
the words EAT ME were beautifully marked in currants. Well, Ill eat it, said
sintra 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!
sintra villa ate a little bit, and said anxiously to herself Which way? Which
way?, holding sintra villa hand on the top of sintra villa head to feel which
way it was growing; and sintra villa was quite surprised to find that sintra
villa remained the same size. To be sure, this is what generally happens when
one eats sintra villa; but sintra 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 sintra villa set to work, and very soon finished off the sintra villa.
