Alice in Wonderland part 4: The White Rabbit's house

Narrator: Hello. Alice fell down

a Rabbit Hole one day and found

herself in a Wonderland, where animals

talk, curious things happen and

everything she eats and drinks makes her

grow bigger or smaller. Now she is sitting

alone. Suddenly, she heard footsteps. The

White Rabbit was running towards her.

He seemed to be very worried.

White Rabbit: Oh dear! Where can I have

dropped them? I must find them,

or I'm sure The Duchess

will chop off my head!

Narrator: Alice guessed he was

looking for the gloves and fan

that he had dropped - but

she didn't know where they were either.

After all her growing and shrinking,

Alice was exactly the same size

as the rabbit.

When the White Rabbit

saw Alice, he spoke to her quite angrily.

White Rabbit: Mary Ann! What are you

doing out here? Run home

this minute and get me

a pair of gloves and a fan! Quickly!

Alice: How surprised he'll be when

he finds out I'm not Mary Ann!

Narrator: Alice began to run,

as the White Rabbit had told her,

although she didn't quite know where

she should run to. But soon, a little house

appeared with the words 'W. Rabbit'

written on the door.

Alice: I won't knock on the door.

The real Mary Ann might hear me.

Narrator: Alice crept into the house and

went quietly upstairs to a little bedroom...

and there she found two fans,

three pairs of gloves and...

Alice: Another bottle! I hope it makes me

grow bigger again. I'm tired of being such

a tiny little thing!

Narrator: ...and sure enough, Alice began

to grow. Taller and taller she grew, until...

Alice: Ouch! My head! That's quite tall

enough. That's tall enough! O-o-o-oh...

Narrator: Alice tried her hardest

to stop growing - but it seemed to her

like the harder she tried, the taller

she grew. Soon Alice was so big that

she filled the whole room.

Her head pressed up against the ceiling,

her arm went out of the window,

and one of her feet went up the chimney.

Alice: What will become of me now?

Narrator: Outside the house, a crowd

started to gather. Alice heard voices.

Voices: Oh my, whatever could it be?

What's that?

Narrator: Soon, the White Rabbit arrived.

White Rabbit: What's that in the window?

Voice: It's an arm, sir!

White Rabbit: An arm? Well, it's got

no business being there! Bill!

Bill! Fetch the ladder and take it away!

Narrator: Bill was the gardener.

He brought a ladder and

climbed up on to the roof.

White Rabbit: I won't have an arm

in my bedroom!

Down you go Bill, down the chimney!

Narrator: Poor Bill went up the ladder and

tried to go down the chimney. But Alice's

foot was waiting for him... with a big kick.

Bill: Ohhhhhhhh!!!!

Voices: Quick, quick, help him,

help him up. Give him some air...

Alice: There! That's got rid of him!

Now what will they try?

Voices: Cakes! Cakes! Try the cakes!

White Rabbit: Yes! The cakes: bring

the cakes! We'll need a lot of them.

That's right. Now, everybody, throw them

through the other window!

Alice: What's this...? Oh! Lots and lots of

little cakes. I wonder... If I ate them, would

I shrink again? They must do something...

and I must get out of this house. I'll try

just one of them to start with.

Narrator: Alice ate one of the little cakes,

and soon found herself

to be a little smaller.

She ate another and another, until at last

she was just the right size to run out of

the bedroom... and out of the house.

Voices: Look! There she is! Get her!

Catch her, quickly! Catch her!

Narrator: But Alice was too fast for them.

She ran far away from

the White Rabbit's house, deeper and

deeper into the forest until she became

quite lost. She was wondering what

she could eat or drink to make her grow

to the right size again, when suddenly,

she saw in front of her

a large mushroom - about the same size

as herself, with a large blue caterpillar

sitting on top of it, smoking a pipe

and taking no notice of Alice at all.

Will the caterpillar

help Alice to grow again?

I'll tell you next time.