Алиса в стране чудес
Alice’s Evidence
‘That’sthemostimportantpieceofevidencewe’veheardyet,’saidtheKing,rubbinghishands; ‘sonowletthejury—’
‘Ifanyoneofthemcanexplainit,’saidAlice,(shehadgrownsolargeinthelastfewminutesthatshewasn’tabitafraidofinterruptinghim,)‘I’llgivehimsixpence. Idon’tbelievethere’sanatomofmeaninginit.’
Thejuryallwrotedownontheirslates, ‘Shedoesn’tbelievethere’sanatomofmeaninginit,’butnoneofthemattemptedtoexplainthepaper.
‘Ifthere’snomeaninginit,’saidtheKing,‘thatsavesaworldoftrouble,youknow,asweneedn’ttrytofindany. AndyetIdon’tknow,’hewenton,spreadingouttheversesonhisknee,andlookingatthemwithoneeye; ‘Iseemtoseesomemeaninginthem,afterall. "—saidIcouldnotswim—"youcan’tswim,canyou?’headded,turningtotheKnave.
TheKnaveshookhisheadsadly. ‘DoIlooklikeit? ’hesaid. (Whichhecertainlydidnot,beingmadeentirelyofcardboard.)
‘Allright,sofar,’saidtheKing,andhewentonmutteringovertheversestohimself: ‘"weknowittobetrue—"that’sthejury,ofcourse—"Igaveherone,theygavehimtwo—"why,thatmustbewhathedidwiththetarts,youknow—’
‘But,itgoeson"theyallreturnedfromhimtoyou,"’saidAlice.
‘Why,theretheyare! ’saidtheKingtriumphantly,pointingtothetartsonthetable. ‘Nothingcanbeclearerthanthat. Thenagain—"beforeshehadthisfit—"youneverhadfits,mydear,Ithink?’hesaidtotheQueen.
‘Never! ’saidtheQueenfuriously,throwinganinkstandattheLizardasshespoke.