| Alice could see, as well as if
she were looking over their shoulders, that all the jurors were writing
down `stupid things!' on their slates, and she could even make out that
one of them didn't know how to spell `stupid,' and that he had to ask his
neighbour to tell him. `A nice muddle their slates'll be in before the
trial's over!' thought Alice.
On this the White Rabbit blew three blasts on the trumpet, and then unrolled the parchment scroll, and read as follows:-- `Consider your verdict,' the King said to the jury. `Not yet, not yet!' the Rabbit hastily interrupted. `There's a great deal to come before that!' `Call the first witness,' said the King; and the White Rabbit blew three blasts on the trumpet, and called out, `First witness!' The first witness was the Hatter. He came in with a teacup in one hand and a piece of bread-and-butter in the other. `I beg pardon, your Majesty,' he began, `for bringing these in: but I hadn't quite finished my tea when I was sent for.'
The Hatter looked at the March Hare, who had followed him into the court, arm-in-arm with the Dormouse. `Fourteenth of March, I think it was,' he said. `Fifteenth,' said the March Hare. `Sixteenth,' added the Dormouse. `Write that down,' the King said to the jury, and the jury eagerly wrote down all three dates on their slates, and then added them up, and reduced the answer to shillings and pence. |
 
|
One of the
jurors had a pencil that squeaked. This of course, Alice could not stand,
and she went round the court and got behind him, and very soon found an
opportunity of taking it away. She did it so quickly that the poor little
juror (it was Bill, the Lizard) could not make out at all what had become
of it; so, after hunting all about for it, he was obliged to write with
one finger for the rest of the day; and this was of very little use, as
it left no mark on the slate. 
`Herald,
read the accusation!' said the King. 
`You
ought to have finished,' said the King. `When did you begin?'