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

The Gryphon watched the Queen and when she was out of sight it chuckled. “What fun!” said the Gryphon.

“What IS the fun?” said Alice.

“Well, SHE,” said the Gryphon. “they never execute anybody, you know. Come on!”

When they saw the Mock Turtle in the distance, he was sitting sad and lonely and, as they came nearer, Alice heard that he was sighing as if his heart would break.[144 - as if his heart would break – как будто у него разрывалось сердце] She pitied him deeply. “What is his sorrow?” she asked the Gryphon, and the Gryphon answered, “Well, he hasn’t got any sorrow, you know. Come on!”

So they went up to the Mock Turtle, who looked at them with large eyes full of tears, but said nothing.

“This young lady,” said the Gryphon, “wants to know your history.”

“I’ll tell it to her,” said the Mock Turtle: “sit down, both of you, and don’t speak a word till I’ve finished.” So they sat down, and nobody spoke for some minutes. Alice thought to herself, “I don’t see how he can EVEN finish, if he doesn’t begin.” But she waited patiently.

“Once,” said the Mock Turtle at last, with a deep sigh, “I was a real Turtle.”

“When we were little,” the Mock Turtle went on after a very long pause, “we went to school in the sea. We had the best teachers – in fact, we went to school every day – ”

“I’VE been to a day-school, too,” said Alice. “We learned French and music as extras.[145 - extras – дополнительные предметы]”

“And washing?” asked the Mock Turtle.

“Certainly not!” said Alice indignantly.

“Ah! Then your school wasn’t a really good school,” said the Mock Turtle in a tone of great relief.

“I couldn’t afford[146 - I couldn’t afford – Я не мог себе позволить] to learn washing.” said the Mock Turtle with a sigh.

“Then what did you learn?” asked Alice.

“Well, there was Mystery,[147 - Mystery – тайна (вместо History – История)]” the Mock Turtle replied, “ – Mystery, ancient and modern, with Seaography.[148 - Seaography – Мореграфия (вместо География)] An old master taught us Drawling, Stretching, and Fainting in Coils.[149 - Drawling, Stretching, and Fainting in Coils – (вместо Drawing, Sketching and Painting in Oil) – Растягивание слов, Вытягивание, Падание в обморок, свиваясь кольцами]”

“What was THAT like?” said Alice.

“Well, I can’t show it you myself,” the Mock Turtle said: “I’m too stiff. And the Gryphon never learnt it.”

“Had no time,” said the Gryphon.

“And how many hours a day did you have lessons?” said Alice.

“Ten hours the first day,” said the Mock Turtle: “nine the next, and so on.”

“What a curious plan!” exclaimed Alice.

“That’s the reason why they’re called lessons,” the Gryphon remarked: “because they lessen[150 - Игра слов: a lesson – урок; to lessen – уменьшаться] from day to day.”

This was quite a new idea to Alice, and she thought it over[151 - she thought it over – она обдумала это] a little before asking “Then was the eleventh day a holiday?”

“Of course it was,” said the Mock Turtle.

“And what was on the twelfth?” Alice went on eagerly.

“That’s enough about lessons,” the Gryphon interrupted, “tell her something about the games now.”

Chapter 10. The Lobster Quadrille

The Mock Turtle sighed deeply again. He looked at Alice, and tried to speak, but for a minute or two he couldn’t. At last the Mock Turtle went on with tears running down his cheeks.

“You have not lived much under the sea, so you have no idea what a delightful thing a Lobster Quadrille is!” said the Mock Turtle.

“It must be a very pretty dance,” said Alice timidly.

“Would you like to see a little of it?” asked the sad creature.

“Very much,” said Alice.

“Come, let’s try the first figure![152 - the first figure – первая фигура (в танце)]” said the Mock Turtle to the Gryphon. “We can do without[153 - We can do without… – Мы можем обойтись без…] lobsters, you know. Who shall sing?”

“Oh, YOU sing,” said the Gryphon. “I’ve forgotten the words.”

So they began solemnly dancing round and round Alice, while the Mock Turtle sang very slowly and sadly. The dance was long and dull. So Alice felt very glad when it was over at last and she said, “Thank you, it’s a very interesting dance to watch.”

Suddenly the Gryphon said, “Come, let’s hear some of YOUR adventures.”

“I could tell you my adventures – beginning from this morning,” said Alice a little timidly: “but it’s no use[154 - it’s no use – бесполезно] going back to yesterday, because I was a different person then.”

“Explain all that,” demanded the Mock Turtle.

“No, no! The adventures first,” said the Gryphon in an impatient tone: “explanations take such a long time.”

So Alice began telling them her adventures from the time when she first saw the White Rabbit. She was a little nervous about it at first because the two creatures came so close to her, one on each side, and opened their eyes and mouths so wide, but she gained courage and went on. Her listeners were perfectly quiet all the time.

Then the Mock Turtle said thoughtfully. “I would like to hear her try and repeat something now. Tell her to begin.” And he looked at the Gryphon.

“Stand up and repeat ‘TIS THE VOICE OF THE SLUGGARD,’[155 - “Tis the Voice of the Sluggard” – имеется в виду моралистическое стихотворение “The Sluggard” («Лентяй»), написанное известным во времена Л. Кэрролла поэтом И. Уоттсом.]” said the Gryphon.

“I could as well be at school now,[156 - I could as well be at school now – Я сейчас также могла бы быть в школе]” thought Alice. However, she got up, and began to repeat it, but her head was so full of the Lobster Quadrille, that she didn’t think what she was saying, so the words were very strange: —

“It is the voice of the Lobster;
I heard him declare,
‘You have baked me too brown,
I must sugar my hair.’
As a duck with its eyelids,
so he with his nose
Trims his belt and his buttons,
and turns out his toes.”[157 - «Завтра, завтра, не сегодня!» —Говорил Вареный Рак —Что бы там ни говорили,Поступайте только так!Утверждаю это смело:Если хочешь долго жить,Должен ты любое делоПервым делом отложить!(пер. Б. Заходера)]

“That’s different from what I said when I was a child,” said the Gryphon.

“Well, I never heard it before,” said the Mock Turtle; “but it sounds uncommon nonsense.”