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The Caterpillar
Who are you?
Alice
I hardly know, Sir. I knowwho I was, but I think Imust have changed.
The Caterpillar
Explain yourself, Miss,
Alice
I cannot explain myself,Sir, because I'm notmyself, you see.
Alice
I can't rememberthings as I used.
The Caterpillar
Try repeating"You are old,Father William."
Alice
"You are old, father William,"the young man said,"And your hair has becomevery white;And yet you incessantlystand on your head--Do you think, at your age,it is right?" Alice
"You are old," said the youth"as I mentioned before,And have grown mostuncommonly fat;Yet you turned a back-somersault in at the door–Pray, what is thereason of that?" Alice
"You are old," said the youth, "onewould hardly supposeThat your eye was as steady as ever;Yet you balanced an eel on theend of your nose–What made you so awfully clever?" The Caterpillar
You spoke that wrongfrom beginning to end!
The Caterpillar
You didn't speak the verseI like best. It goes like this:In my Youth, saidthe father,I took to the lawAnd argued eachcase with my wife, The Caterpillar
And the muscular strengthWhich it gave to my jawHas lasted the rest of my life." C.f. "Advice from a Caterpillar," ch. 5 of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (London: Macmillan and Co., 1866), pp. 60–67.  Lines altered from the original.


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