Garden Of Memory [OUAT]

Chapter Three. Cup OF Tea

Narrator POV 

Poor Alice. I'm afraid she'd eaten a little too much of the mushroom. In five seconds, she was twenty feet tall. In ten seconds, a rather near-sighted crow started building a next in her hair. But in twenty seconds, thank goodness, Alice remembered the other side of the mushroom. And in less time than it takes me to say all this, Alice was once again her normal size. 

After shrinking to an appropriate height, Alice arrives at the home of a Duchess, who owns a perpetually grinning Cheshire Cat. 

Alice POV

I walk "Oh, well. This is much better. Now let's see. Where was I?" Someone singing in the distance "Oh yes" I approach it "The White rabbit. Which way did he go? To the left? Or to the right? Or did he just..."

The Cheshire cat says "'Twas brillig, and the slithy toves, did gyre and gimble in the wabe. All mimsy were the borogoves, and the momeraths outgrabe."

"Now who in the world is... why it's coming from up in that tree..."

"'Twas brilllig, and the slithy toves, did gyre and gimble in the wabe...All mimsy were the borogoves... .. and the momeraths outgrabe..."

"Why, why it's a cat!" 

"A Cheshire Cat." he continues singing.

"But, but you keep disappearing. You go on and off again. Like a light. Oh, please!"

"Now you see me, now you don't. Puzzling, isn't it?" 

"Yes. Yes, it is. But if you don't mind, I... I'd like to ask you which way I ought to go."

"Well, that depends on where you want to go to, does it? That's logic." he continues singing. 

"Oh, it really doesn't matter, as long as I... Oh, now you're doing it again. Must you jump around so fast and disappear and reappear and..."

"You know, if you'd really like to know... he went that way."

"Who did?"

"The white rabbit."

"He did?"

"He did what?"

"Uh, went that way?"

"Who did?"

I snap "The white rabbit!"

"What rabbit?"

I take a deep breath "But didn't you just say... I mean... well you just said..."

"Oh well, forget it. Can you stand on your head?"

I groan "Oh!"

The Cheshire cat starts again "Twas... However, if I were looking for a white rabbit, which I very rarely do—my favorite colors being plum, puce, heliotrope and livid. However, if I were, I would ask the Mad Hatter."

"The Mad Hatter?"

"Or, if you'd rather, there's the March Hare. Of course, he's mad, too."

"But I don't want to go among mad people!"

"Oh, you can't possibly help that. Most everyone's mad here. Ha... ha ha ha ha ha! 'Twas brilllig,.. I'm not all there myself. 'Twas brilllig and the slithy toves, did gyre and gimble in the wabe..." The Cheshire Cat directs me toward the Hatter and March Hare before disappearing, leaving his grin behind.

I groan more "Oh, goodness. Oh well. If I ever want to find the White Rabbit, I'll just have to see the March Hare." 

* Garden Of Memory *