Alice

I've been at 'Alice in Wonderland' with renewed interest yet again. Sometimes when I'm bored or too stressed and feel like a break, I love to pick up the book, take a random page and read on. Somehow every time I read it I seem to discover something new...either discover a new perspective, a hidden humour or just a new sentiment towards it...

The recent interest seems to be oozing out of me from time to time... verses figured in my FB status messages ... and it replaced the usual rhymes and songs that I sing with Pattu.

I realised the seriousness of this addiction when a colleague chipped, 'You eat Eggs?' on seeing me chomping on an egg sandwich (he didn't know I am a lacto-ovo-vegetarian), to which I said, 'Yeah, I've never been introduced to the Egg, so I can eat it...you see?'

I saw 'Duh??! on his face...obviously he didn't see.

For those who don't know Alice that well, here's the excerpt:

At last the Red Queen began. `You've missed the soup and fish,' she said. `Put on the joint!'

And the waiters set a leg of mutton before Alice, who looked at it rather anxiously, as she had never had to carve a joint before.
`You look a little shy; let me introduce you to that leg of mutton,' said the Red Queen. `Alice -- Mutton; Mutton -- Alice.' The leg of mutton got up in the dish and made a little bow to Alice; and Alice returned the bow, not knowing whether to be frightened or amused.

`May I give you a slice?' she said, taking up the knife and fork, and looking from one Queen to the other. `Certainly not,' the Red Queen, very decidedly: `it isn't etiquette to cut any one you've been introduced to. Remove the joint!' And the waiters carried it off, and brought a large plum-pudding in its place.

`I won't be introduced to the pudding, please,' Alice said rather hastily, `or shall we get no dinner at all. May I give you some?' But the Red Queen looked sulky, and growled `Pudding -- Alice; Alice -- Pudding. Remove the pudding!' and the waiters took it always so quickly that Alice couldn't return its bow.

However, she didn't see why the Red Queen should be the only one to give orders, so, as an experiment, she called out `Waiter! Bring back the pudding!' and there it was again in a moment like a conjuring-trick. It was so large that she couldn't help feeling a little shy with it, as she had been with the mutton; however, she conquered her shyness by a great effort and cut a slice and handed it to the Red Queen.

`What impertinence!' said the Pudding. `I wonder how you'd like it, if I were to cut a slice out of you, you creature!' `It spoke in a thick, suety sort of voice, and Alice hadn't a word to say in reply: she could only sit and look at it and gasp.

`Make a remark,' said the Red Queen: `it's ridiculous to leave all the conversation to the pudding!'