Алиса в Стране чудес / Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. Алиса в Зазеркалье / Through the Looking-glass, and What Alice Found There

“There’s too much pepper in that soup!” Alice remarked to herself sneezing.

There was too much pepper in the air too. Even the Duchess sneezed sometimes; and the baby was sneezing and crying all the time. The only things in the kitchen that did not sneeze[93 - The only things in the kitchen that did not sneeze – Единственные, кто на кухне не чихал] were the cook and a large cat which was grinning widely.[94 - which was grinning – который ухмылялся]

“Please could you tell me,” said Alice, a little modestly, “why your cat grins like that?”

“It’s a Cheshire cat,” said the Duchess, “and that’s why.[95 - that’s why – вот почему] Pig!”

Alice saw that the Duchess addressed the baby and not her so she decided to continue:

“I didn’t know that Cheshire cats always grinned; in fact, I didn’t know that cats COULD grin.”

“They all can,” remarked the Duchess; “and most of them do.”

“Hey! You may nurse it a bit,[96 - You may nurse it a bit – Ты можешь его немного понянчить] if you like!” the Duchess said to Alice, throwing the baby to her. “I must go and get ready to play croquet with the Queen,” and she hurried out of the room.

Alice caught the baby with some difficulty. And it took her some time to start nursing it because it was wriggling and grunting all the time.[97 - it was wriggling and grunting all the time – он извивался и хрюкал все время]As soon as she could keep it tight in her hands[98 - As soon as she could keep it tight in her hands – Как только она смогла держать его крепко в руках] she took it out into the open air.

Alice was just beginning to think to herself, “Now, what will I do with this creature when I get it home?” when it grunted again, so loudly, that she looked down into its face in some alarm. There could be NO mistake about it:[99 - There could be NO mistake about it – НИКАКОЙ ошибки быть не могло] it was a pig, and she felt quite absurd to keep it in her hands.

So she put the little creature down and it trotted away into the wood. Suddenly she saw the Cheshire cat sitting in a tree. The Cat only grinned when it saw Alice.

“Cheshire Puss,” she began shyly. The Cat only grinned a little wider. “Could you please tell me which way to go from here?”

“It depends on[100 - It depends on… – Зависит от того…] where you want to get to,” said the Cat.

“It’s not so important for me where – ” said Alice.

“Then it doesn’t matter[101 - Then it doesn’t matter… – Тогда не важно…] which way you go,” said the Cat.

“ – until I get SOMEWHERE,” Alice added as an explanation.

“Oh, you’ll surely do that,” said the Cat, “if you walk long enough.[102 - if you walk long enough – Если ты будешь идти достаточно долго]”

“And what people live about here?” asked Alice.

“In THAT direction,” the Cat said, waving its right paw, “lives a Hatter: and in THAT direction,” waving the other paw, “lives a March Hare. Visit the one that you like: they’re both mad.”

“But I don’t want to go to mad people,” Alice answered.

“Oh,” said the Cat: “but we’re all mad here. I’m mad. You’re mad.”

“How do you know I’m mad?” inquired Alice.

“You must be,” said the Cat, “or you wouldn’t be here.[103 - or you wouldn’t be here – или тебя бы здесь не было] Do you play croquet with the Queen to-day?”

“I would like it very much,” said Alice, “but I haven’t been invited yet.[104 - I haven’t been invited yet – Меня еще не пригласили]”

“You’ll see me there,” said the Cat, and vanished.

Suddenly it appeared again.

“By-the-way, what became of the baby?” wondered the Cat. “I forgot to ask.”

“It turned into a pig,” Alice quietly said.

“I thought so,” said the Cat, and vanished again.

Alice waited a little but it did not appear, so she walked in the direction of the March Hare’s house. “I’ve seen hatters before,” she said to herself; “the March Hare will be much more interesting, and perhaps as this is May it won’t be absolutely mad – at least not as mad as it was in March.” As she said this, she looked up, and there was the Cat again, sitting on a tree.

“Did you say pig, or fig?” asked the Cat.

“I said pig,” replied Alice; “and could you please stop appearing and vanishing so suddenly?”

“All right,” answered the Cat; and this time it vanished slowly, beginning with the end of the tail, and ending with the grin, which remained in the tree for some time.

“Well! I’ve often seen a cat without a grin,” thought Alice; “but a grin without a cat! It’s the most curious thing I ever saw in my life!”

And she walked to the March Hare’s house. She saw it quite soon: the chimneys looked like ears and the roof was covered with fur.

Chapter 7. A Mad Tea-Party

There was a table under a tree in front of the house, and the March Hare and the Hatter were having tea at it: a Dormouse[105 - Dormouse – соня (Сони – мелкие и средние по размерам грызуны, внешне похожие на мышей или на белок; эти ночные животные держат пальму первенства по продолжительности сна)] was sitting between them, fast asleep.[106 - fast asleep – крепко спала]

The table was large, but the three[107 - the three – эти трое] were all together at one corner of it: “No room![108 - No room! – Нет места!] No room!” they cried out when they saw Alice. “There’s a LOT of room!” said Alice indignantly, and she sat down in a large arm-chair at one end of the table.

“Have some wine,” the March Hare said in an encouraging tone.

Alice looked all round the table, but there was nothing on it except tea. “I don’t see any wine,” she remarked.

“There isn’t any,” said the March Hare.

“Then it wasn’t very polite of you[109 - Then it wasn’t very polite of you… – Тогда с вашей стороны было невежливо…] to offer it,” said Alice angrily.

“It wasn’t very polite of you to sit down without invitation,” said the March Hare.

“I didn’t know it was YOUR table,” said Alice; “it’s laid[110 - it’s laid – он (стол) накрыт] for much more than three.”

The party sat silent for a minute. The Hatter spoke first. “What day of the month is it?” he said, turning to Alice: he had taken his watch out of his pocket, and was looking at it, shaking it, and holding it to his ear.

Alice thought a little, and then said “The fourth.”

“Two days wrong![111 - Two days wrong! – Ошиблась на два дня!]” noted the Hatter. “I told you butter couldn’t help!” he added looking angrily at the March Hare.

“It was the BEST butter,” the March Hare replied. He took the watch and looked at it unhappily: then he put it into his cup of tea, and looked at it again: but he could only repeat, “It was the BEST butter.”

“What a funny watch!” Alice remarked. “It tells the day of the month, and doesn’t tell the time!”

“Why should it?[112 - Why should it? – А с чего это оно должно?]“inquired the Hatter. “Does YOUR watch tell you what year it is?”