Cross Purposes and The Shadows | Page 5

polishing, though."
"You could do that for yourself, you know. Shall we change?"
"I don't mind. You'll find her rather silly."
"That's nothing. The boy's too sensible for me."
He dived, and rose at Alice's feet. She shrieked with terror. The fairy
floated away like a water-lily towards Richard. "What a lovely
creature!" thought he; but hearing Alice shriek again, he said,
"Don't leave Alice; she's frightened at that queer creature.--I don't think
there's any harm in him, though, Alice."
"Oh, no! He won't hurt her," said Peaseblossom. "I'm tired of her. He's
going to take her to the court, and I will take you."

"I don't want to go."
"But you must. You can't go home again. You don't know the way."
"Richard! Richard!" cried Alice, in an agony.
Richard sprang from his boat, and was by her side in a moment.
"He pinched me," cried Alice.
Richard hit the goblin a terrible blow on the head; but it took no more
effect upon him than if his head had been a round ball of india-rubber.
He gave Richard a furious look, however, and bawling out, "You'll
repent that, Dick!" vanished under the water.
"Come along, Richard; make haste; he will murder you," cried the
fairy.
"It is all your fault," said Richard. "I won't leave Alice."
Then the fairy saw it was all over with her and Toadstool; for they can
do nothing with mortals against their will. So she floated away across
the water in Richard's boat, holding her robe for a sail, and vanished,
leaving the two alone in the lake.
"You have driven away my fairy!" cried Alice. "I shall never get home
now. It is all your fault, you naughty young man."
"I drove away the goblin," remonstrated Richard.
"Will you please to sit on the other side of the tree? I wonder what my
papa would say if he saw me talking to you!"
"Will you come to the next tree, Alice?" said Richard, after a pause.
Alice, who had been crying all the time that Richard was thinking, said
"I won't." Richard, therefore, plunged into the water without her, and
swam for the tree. Before he had got half-way, however, he heard Alice
crying "Richard! Richard!" This was just what he wanted. So he turned

back, and Alice threw herself into the water. With Richard's help she
swam pretty well, and they reached the tree. "Now for the next!" said
Richard; and they swam to the next, and then to the third. Every tree
they reached was larger than the last, and every tree before them was
larger still. So they swam from tree to tree, till they came to one that
was so large that they could not see round it. What was to be done?
Clearly to climb this tree. It was a dreadful prospect for Alice, but
Richard proceeded to climb; and by putting her feet where he put his,
and now and then getting hold of his ankle, she managed to make her
way up. There were a great many stumps where branches had withered
off, and the bark was nearly as rough as a hill-side, so there was plenty
of foothold for them. When they had climbed a long time, and were
getting very tired indeed, Alice cried out, "Richard, I shall drop--I shall.
Why did you come this way?" And she began once more to cry. But at
that moment Richard caught hold of a branch above his head, and
reaching down his other hand got hold of Alice, and held her till she
had recovered a little. In a few moments more they reached the fork of
the tree, and there they sat and rested. "This is capital!" said Richard,
cheerily.
"What is?" asked Alice, sulkily.
"Why, we have room to rest, and there's no hurry for a minute or two.
I'm tired."
"You selfish creature!" said Alice. "If you are tired, what must I be!"
"Tired too," answered Richard. "But we've got on bravely. And look!
what's that?"
By this time the day was gone, and the night so near, that in the
shadows of the tree all was dusky and dim. But there was still light
enough to discover that in a niche of the tree sat a huge horned owl,
with green spectacles on his beak, and a book in one foot. He took no
heed of the intruders, but kept muttering to himself. And what do you
think the owl was saying? I will tell you. He was talking about the book
that he held upside down in his foot.

"Stupid book this-s-s-s! Nothing in it at all! Everything upside down!
Stupid ass-s-s-s! Says owls can't read! I can read backwards!"
"I think that is the goblin again," said Richard, in a whisper. "However,