Lewis Carroll
English
Alice, a young girl, finds herself in the world beyond the looking-glass. She enters the room by climbing through a mirror, which she discovers has become soft like gauze. Once inside, she finds that the room is a reflection of her own drawing-room, but with things going the opposite way. The chessmen on the mantelpiece are alive and walking about. She encounters the White Queen and White King, who are very small and covered in ashes. Alice helps them, and the King tries to make a memorandum of the strange event. Alice finds a book written in a language she doesn't understand, which turns out to be a Looking-Glass book. She reads the poem 'Jabberwocky' but finds it difficult to comprehend. Alice then ventures into the garden, where the flowers can talk. The Tiger-lily and Rose comment on her appearance and nature. She meets the Red Queen, who explains the nature of the world, where one must run very fast to stay in the same place. Alice becomes a pawn in a giant chess game, aiming to reach the Eighth Square to become a Queen. She travels by train, encountering various strange insects and passengers, and learns that in this world, things are not as they seem. Her journey continues through a wood where things have no names, and she meets Tweedledum and Tweedledee, who are preparing for a battle over a broken rattle. They recite 'The Walrus and the Carpenter' and reveal that the Red King is dreaming, and Alice is merely a part of his dream. Alice then encounters the White Queen, who lives backwards in time, with the concept of 'jam to-morrow but never jam today'. She then visits a shop where she is served by an old Sheep, who sells her an egg. The egg hatches into Humpty Dumpty, who sits on a wall and discusses the meaning of words, asserting his authority over their interpretation. He explains 'Jabberwocky' using his peculiar logic. The White Knight, a clumsy inventor, offers Alice advice and accompanies her to the end of the wood, constantly falling off his horse. Alice finally crosses the last brook and finds herself crowned Queen. As Queen Alice, she is subjected to an examination by the Red and White Queens, involving nonsensical arithmetic and logic. She then attends a chaotic feast where the food and guests are bizarre. The feast descends into madness, with candles growing, bottles flying, and the soup ladle walking. Alice, overwhelmed by the absurdity, overturns the table, ending the chaos. She then shakes the Red Queen, who transforms into the white kitten, Snowdrop. Alice wakes up back in her own room, with Snowdrop beside her. She realizes the entire adventure was a dream and wonders if she or the Red King was the dreamer. The book concludes with a poem reflecting on the ephemeral nature of dreams and childhood.
