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

Alice began thinking how to get away. Suddenly she noticed something curious in the air. Soon she understood it was a grin of the Cheshire Cat.

“How are you getting on?[129 - How are you getting on? – Как идут дела?]” said the Cat as soon as his mouth appeared.

Alice waited till the whole head appeared, put down her flamingo, and began to tell the Cat about the game. The Cat probably thought a head was enough, so no more of him appeared.[130 - no more of him appeared – остальные его части так и не появились]

“How do you like the Queen?” said the Cat in a low voice.

“Not at all,” said Alice: “she’s so – ” Just then she noticed that the Queen was behind her, listening: so she went on, “ – likely to win,[131 - she’s so… likely to win… – она настолько… вероятно, выиграет…] that it’s not interesting to finish the game.”

The Queen smiled and moved on.

“Who ARE you talking to?” said the King, coming up to Alice, and looking at the Cat’s head with great curiosity.

“It’s a friend of mine[132 - It’s a friend of mine – Это один из моих друзей] – a Cheshire Cat,” said Alice: “allow me to introduce it.”

“I don’t like the look of it,” said the King: “however, it may kiss my hand if it likes.”

“I don’t,” the Cat remarked.

“Don’t be rude,” said the King, “and don’t look at me like that!” He stood behind Alice as he spoke.

“A cat may look at a king,[133 - A cat may look at a king – Кошкам разрешается смотреть на королей]” said Alice. “I’ve read that in some book, but I don’t remember where.”

“Well, it must be removed,[134 - it must be removed – его надо убрать]” said the King very decidedly and called the Queen.

The Queen knew only one way. “Off with his head!” she said, without even looking.

“I’ll bring the executioner myself,” said the King, and hurried away.

Alice decided to go back and watch the game. When she caught her flamingo there were no hedgehogs or arches around. So she went back to talk with her friend a little more.

When she got back to the Cheshire Cat, she was surprised to see a large crowd around him.

Alice could only say “He belongs to the Duchess: ask HER about him.”

“She’s in prison,” the Queen said to the executioner: “bring her here.” And the executioner went off.

At that moment the Cat’s head began fading away[135 - began fading away – начала бледнеть и таять] and when the executioner was back with the Duchess, it had disappeared completely.

So the King and the executioner began looking for it while all the others went back to the game.

Chapter 9. The Mock Turtle’s Story

“You can’t imagine how glad I am to see you again, my dear!” said the Duchess when she and Alice walked off together.

Alice was very glad to see her so pleasant, and she thought to herself that perhaps only the pepper had made her so angry when they met in the kitchen.

“When I’M a Duchess,[136 - When I’M a Duchess – Когда я буду герцогиней…]” she said to herself, (but not in a very hopeful tone), “I won’t have any pepper in my kitchen AT ALL. Soup is good without it.”

She quite forgot about the Duchess, and was a little frightened when she heard her voice close to her ear. “You’re thinking about something, my dear, and you forget to talk.”

Alice did not like very much to be so close to the Duchess: first, because the Duchess was VERY ugly; and secondly, because she put her chin on Alice’s shoulder, and it was an uncomfortably sharp chin. However, she did not like to be rude, so she didn’t say anything.

“Are you wondering why I don’t put my arm round your waist,” the Duchess said after a pause: “the reason is, I’m afraid of your flamingo.”

“HE can bite,” Alice replied.

“Very true,” said the Duchess: “flamingoes and mustard both bite. And the moral of that is – ‘Birds of a feather flock together.[137 - Birds of a feather flock together – досл.: Птицы собираются по окрасу. (русск. аналог: Рыбак рыбака видит издалека)]’”

“But mustard isn’t a bird,” Alice remarked.

“Right, as usual,” said the Duchess.

“It’s a mineral, I THINK,” said Alice.

“Of course it is,” said the Duchess, who agreed to everything that Alice said; “there’s a large mustard-mine near here. And the moral of that is – ”

“Oh, I know!” exclaimed Alice, who wasn’t listening, “it’s a vegetable. It doesn’t look like a vegetable, but it is.”

“I quite agree with you,” said the Duchess; “and the moral of that is – ”

But here, to Alice’s great surprise, the Duchess suddenly stopped talking and her arm began to tremble. Alice looked up and saw the Queen who was standing in front of them and frowning like a thunderstorm.

“A fine day, your Majesty!” the Duchess began in a low, weak voice.

“Now, you may choose,” shouted the Queen; “either you or your head must be off,[138 - either you or your head must be off – или тебя, или твоей головы здесь не будет] and immediately! Take your choice!”

The Duchess took her choice, and in a moment she was gone.[139 - she was gone – ее уже не было]

“Let’s go on with the game,” the Queen said to Alice; Alice was too frightened to say a word, so she slowly followed her back to the croquet-ground.

Without the Queen the other guests were having a rest: however, when they saw her, they hurried back to the game, because the delay could cost them their lives.

The game continued but as the Queen often shouted her favourite: “Off with his head!” or “Off with her head!” very soon all the players, except the King, the Queen, and Alice, were under arrest.

Then the Queen said to Alice, “Have you seen the Mock Turtle[140 - Mock Turtle – «ненастоящая» черепаха] yet?”

“No,” said Alice. “I don’t even know what a Mock Turtle is.”

“It’s the thing what Mock Turtle Soup[141 - Mock turtle soup – суп «под черепаху» (варится из телячьей головы и по вкусу напоминает черепаховый)] is made from,” said the Queen.

“I never saw one, or heard of one,” said Alice.

“Come on, then,” said the Queen, “and he will tell you his history,”

As they walked off together, Alice heard the King say in a low voice, to the company, “You are all pardoned.[142 - You are all pardoned – Вы все помилованы]” “THAT’S a good thing!” she said to herself.

Very soon they came to a Gryphon.[143 - Gryphon – мифическое крылатое существо с туловищем льва, головой орла или льва. Имеет острые когти и белоснежные или золотые крылья.] “Take this young lady to see the Mock Turtle, and to hear his history. I must go back,” the Queen said and Alice was left alone with the Gryphon. She did not quite like the look of the creature, so she waited.