Page:Complete Works of Lewis Carroll.djvu/108

88 Alice's adventures in wonderland could not tell whether they were gardeners, or soldiers, or courtiers, or three of her own children. "How should / know?" said Alice, surprised at her own courage. "It's no business of miner The Queen turned crimson with fury, and, after glaring at her for a moment like a wild beast, began screaming "Off with her head! Off with " "Nonsense!" said Alice, very loudly and decidedly, and the Queen was silent. The King laid his hand upon her arm, and timidly said "Consider, my dear: she is only a child!" The Queen turned angrily away from him, and said to the Knave "Turn them over!" The Knave did so, very carefully, with one foot. "Get up!" said the Queen in a shrill, loud voice, and the three gardeners instantly jumped up, and began bowing to the King, the Queen, the royal children, and everybody else. "Leave off that!" screamed the Queen. "You make me giddy." And then, turning to the rose-tree, she went on "What have you been doing here?" "May it please your Majesty," said Two, in a very hum- ble tone, going down on one knee as he spoke, "we were trying — " "/ see!" said the Queen, who had meanwhile been exam- ining the roses. "Off with their heads!" and the proces- sion moved on, three of the soldiers remaining behind to execute the unfortunate gardeners, who ran to Alice for protection. "You sha'n't be beheaded!" said Alice, and she put them into a large flower-pot that stood near. The three soldiers wandered about for a minute or two, looking for them, and then quietly marched off after the others. "Are their heads off?" shouted the Queen.