. Through the Looking-Glass and What Alice Found There. Project Gutenberg. 2016-10-06. https://www.gutenberg.org/files/12/12-h/12-h.htm.
Alice looked on with great interest as the King took an enormous memorandum-book out of his pocket, and began writing. A sudden thought struck her, and she took hold of the end of the pencil, which came some way over his shoulder, and began writing for him.
The poor King looked puzzled and unhappy, and struggled with the pencil
for some time without saying anything; but Alice was too strong for
him, and at last he panted out, My dear! I really must get a thinner
pencil. I can’t manage this one a bit; it writes all manner of things
that I don’t intend—
What manner of things?
said the Queen, looking over the book
(in which Alice had put
The White Knight is sliding down the poker. He balances very badly
)
That's not a memorandum of your feelings!
There was a book lying near
Alice on the table, and while she sat watching the White King
(for she was still a little anxious
about him, and had the ink all ready to throw over him, in case
he fainted again)
, she turned over the leaves, to find some
part that she could read,
—for it's all in some language I don't know,
she said to herself.
It was like this.
Jabberwocky.
'Twas brillig, and the slithy toves
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe
All mimsy were the borogoves,
And the mome raths outgrabe.
She puzzled over this for some time, but at last a bright thought struck
her. Why, it’s a Looking-glass book,
of course! And if I hold it up to a glass, the words will all go the
right way again.
This was the poem that Alice read.
Jabberwocky.
'Twas brillig, and the slithy toves
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe
All mimsy were the borogoves,
And the mome raths outgrabe.
"Beware the Jabberwock, my son!
The jaws that bite, the claws that catch!
Beware the Jubjub bird, and shun
The frumious Bandersnatch!"
He took his vorpal sword in hand:
Long time the manxome foe he sought—
So rested he by the Tumtum tree,
And stood awhile in thought.
And as in uffish thought he stood,
The Jabberwock, with eyes of flame,
Came whiffling through the tulgey wood,
And burbled as it came!
One, two! One, two! And through and through
The vorpal blade went snicker-snack!
He left it dead, and with its head
He went galumphing back.
"And hast thou slain the Jabberwock?
Come to my arms, my beamish boy!
O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!"
He chortled in his joy.
'Twas brillig, and the slithy toves
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe
All mimsy were the borogoves,
And the mome raths outgrabe.
It seems very pretty,
she said when she had
finished it, but it’s rather hard to
understand!
(You see she didn’t like to confess, ever to herself,
that she couldn’t make it out at all.) Somehow
it seems to fill my head with ideas—only I don’t exactly know
what they are! However, somebody killed something:
that’s clear, at any rate—