Lewis Carroll: Alice's Adventures in Wonderland

CHAPTER 10: The Lobster Quadrille (continued)

`I never thought about it,' said Alice. `Why?'

`IT DOES THE BOOTS AND SHOES.' the Gryphon replied very solemnly.

Alice was thoroughly puzzled. `Does the boots and shoes!' she repeated in a wondering tone.

`Why, what are YOUR shoes done with?' said the Gryphon. `I mean, what makes them so shiny?'

Alice looked down at them, and considered a little before she gave her answer. `They're done with blacking, I believe.'

`Boots and shoes under the sea,' the Gryphon went on in a deep voice, `are done with a whiting. Now you know.'

`And what are they made of?' Alice asked in a tone of great curiosity.

`Soles and eels, of course,' the Gryphon replied rather impatiently: `any shrimp could have told you that.'

`If I'd been the whiting,' said Alice, whose thoughts were still running on the song, `I'd have said to the porpoise, "Keep back, please: we don't want YOU with us!"'

`They were obliged to have him with them,' the Mock Turtle said: `no wise fish would go anywhere without a porpoise.'

`Wouldn't it really?' said Alice in a tone of great surprise.

`Of course not,' said the Mock Turtle: `why, if a fish came to ME, and told me he was going a journey, I should say "With what porpoise?"'

`Don't you mean "purpose"?' said Alice.

`I mean what I say,' the Mock Turtle replied in an offended tone. And the Gryphon added `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 going back to yesterday, because I was a different person then.'