CHAPTER TEN
The End of the Trial
‘Here!’ cried Alice and stood up quickly. But she was tall now, and chairs, tables and people fell here, there and everywhere.
‘Put everything and everybody back!’ said the King loudly. Alice put them all back in their places. Then the King asked, ‘What do you know about these tarts?’
‘Nothing,’ answered Alice.
‘That’s very important,’ said the King.
‘You mean, unimportant, Sir,’ said the White Rabbit. ‘Unimportant — of course,’ said the King. ‘Important — unimportant — important — unimportant,’ he repeated.
He looked at Alice carefully. He took a book and read from it. ‘Alice is more than a kilometer high. So she has to leave the room!’ he said.
‘I’m not more than a kilometer high — Alice began.
‘You are,’ said the King.
‘More than two kilometers high,’ said the Queen.
‘Well, I’m not leaving this room,’ said Alice.
The King’s face went white.
‘Cut off her head!’ shouted the Queen. Nobody moved.
‘You stupid woman,’ said Alice. She was very large now and she wasn’t afraid of anybody.
‘Cut off her head!’ shouted the Queen.
‘Don’t be stupid!’ Alice said. ‘Who’s afraid of you? I’m not. You’re only cards!’
The cards — all fifty-two of them — came down on top of Alice. She felt afraid and angry and started to fight them. Then she opened her eyes…
She saw a tree, a big old tree. She was under it, next to her sister. Her sister’s hand was on her hair.
‘Wake up, Alice dear,’ her sister said. ‘You slept for a long time!’
‘Oh!’ said Alice, and then she understood. She sat up and told her sister about the White Rabbit and the rabbit-hole. When she finished her story, her sister laughed.
‘Let’s go home to tea,’ she said. ‘It’s getting late.’
‘Oh yes! I’d like some tea!’ cried Alice. And she got up and ran home.
— THE END —