It was a warm, quiet afternoon. Alice sat on the grassy riverbank with her sister, who was reading a book. But Alice wasn’t interested. The book had no pictures or conversations—how boring! She gazed at the sky, wondering if anything interesting would happen. Just then, something very unusual caught her eye: a white rabbit with pink eyes ran past her. But what was even more strange was that the rabbit was wearing a coat, carrying a pocket watch, and talking to himself.
“Oh dear! Oh dear! I shall be too late!” he said, hurrying along.
Alice was so surprised that she jumped to her feet. A talking rabbit? With a watch? Without thinking twice, she ran after him. The rabbit popped into a hole under a hedge, and Alice followed him without hesitation. Suddenly, she was falling—down, down, down a deep tunnel. She had no idea where she was going or how long the fall would last. She passed cupboards, shelves, and strange objects floating beside her. After what felt like forever, she landed softly on the floor of a curious hallway.
All around her were tiny doors. She wanted to go through one, but she was much too big. Then, she saw a small glass table with a little key on it. On the table was a bottle labeled “Drink Me.” Alice drank a sip, and in an instant, she began to shrink. Soon, she was small enough to go through the door, which led to a beautiful garden. But before she could enter, she realized she had forgotten the key on the table—and now she was too small to reach it!
Alice’s adventure had only just begun. She discovered magical things that made her grow big and small again. She met a Mouse who told dry stories to help everyone get dry after swimming in a pool of her own tears. She joined a strange race called the Caucus Race where everyone ran in circles and no one ever won. Everything in Wonderland was upside down and full of nonsense.
As she wandered through this odd world, Alice met a blue Caterpillar sitting on a mushroom and smoking a hookah. He asked her, “Who are you?” Alice didn’t know how to answer. She wasn’t sure anymore. After changing size so many times, she didn’t feel like herself at all. The Caterpillar gave her some advice and told her one side of the mushroom would make her taller and the other would make her shorter. She broke off pieces and carried them with her.
Further along, she saw a grinning Cheshire Cat sitting in a tree. He was the strangest creature yet. He could appear and disappear at will, and his wide smile often stayed even after the rest of him had gone. The Cat pointed her toward two places—the Mad Hatter’s house or the March Hare’s. Alice chose the March Hare’s.
Soon, she found herself at a long tea table where the Mad Hatter, the March Hare, and a sleepy Dormouse sat. They were having a never-ending tea party. The conversation was full of riddles, jokes, and complete nonsense. The Hatter asked, “Why is a raven like a writing desk?” but never gave an answer. The whole tea party was wild and silly, and Alice eventually got tired of it and left.
Next, she arrived at the royal garden where some playing cards were painting white roses red. They were afraid of the Queen of Hearts, who was fierce and loud. When the Queen arrived, she shouted, “Off with their heads!” at nearly everyone. Alice was invited to play croquet, but the game was strange—the balls were hedgehogs, and the mallets were flamingos. Everyone cheated, and the Queen kept losing her temper.
Later, a trial was held in the Queen’s court. The Knave of Hearts was accused of stealing the Queen’s tarts. The court was filled with silliness. Witnesses gave nonsense answers. The rules kept changing. Alice, who had grown tall again, stood up for what was right. She told the Queen that she wasn’t afraid and that the court was ridiculous.
The Queen shouted, “Off with her head!” and all the cards flew up into the air and rushed at Alice.
But just then—poof!—Alice woke up. She was back under the tree with her sister. It had all been a dream. A strange, magical, and wonderful dream. She smiled to herself, remembering the rabbit, the tea party, the cat’s grin, and the Queen’s shouting. Nothing in Wonderland made sense, but it had been the most exciting adventure she ever had.
As her sister continued reading, Alice sat quietly, dreaming of the curious world she had visited. A world where animals talked, dreams walked, and nothing was ever what it seemed.
