6 Humpty Dumpty

　　But the egg got larger and larger， and more and morelike a person. Then Alice saw that it had eyes and anose and a mouth，and she realized that it was HUMPTYDUMPTY himself.

　　‘It must be him，’she said to herself．‘There he is， sittingon a high wall，and he looks just like an egg．’

　　He was sitting very still and seemed to be asleep，so Alicestood and repeated to herself the words of the song：

　　Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall；

　　Humpty Dumpty had a great fall．

　　All the King's horses and all the King's men

　　Couldn't put Humpty together again．

　　‘Don't stand there talking to yourself，’said HumptyDumpty suddenly，opening his eyes．‘Tell me your name.’

　　‘My name is Alice-’

　　‘That's a stupid name！’said Humpty Dumpty.‘What doesit mean？’

　　‘Must a name mean something？’Alice asked，puzzled.

　　‘Of course it must，’Humpty Dumpty said with a shortlaugh．‘My name means the shape I am-and a very goodshape it is， too. With a name like yours， you could be almostany shape．’

　　‘Why do you sit out here all alone？’said Alice，not wishingto argue.

　　‘Because there's nobody with me！’ cried Humpty Dumpty．‘Did you think I didn't know the answer to that？Come，let'shave some intelligent conversation now．’

　　Alice tried to think of something intelligent to say， butcouldn't．‘What a beautiful belt you're wearing！’she said，suddenly noticing it．

　　‘That's better，’said Humpty Dumpty，looking pleased．‘Yes，it was a present from the White King and Queen．Theygave it to me for an unbirthday present．’

　　Alice looked puzzled．‘What is an unbirthday present？’

　　‘A present when it isn't your birthday，of course．’

　　Alice thought about this．‘I like birthday presents best，’ shesaid at last．

　　‘You don't know what you're talking about！’cried HumptyDumpty．‘How many days are there in a year？’

　　‘Three hundred and sixty-five，’said Alice．

　　‘And how many birthdays have you？’

　　‘One．’

　　‘And if you take one from three hundred and sixty-five，what is left？’

　　‘Three hundred and sixty-four， of course．’

　　‘So there's only one day when you can get birthdaypresents，’said Humpty Dumpty，‘but three hundred and six-ty-four days when you can get unbirthday presents！There'ssuccess for you！’

　　‘I don't know what you mean by “success”，’Alice said．

　　Humpty Dumpty smiled．‘Of course you don't-until I tellyou．I meant “there's a clever idea for you！”’

　　‘But“success” doesn't mean “a clever idea”，’Alice argued．

　　‘When I use a word，’Humpty Dumpty said，looking downhis nose at Alice，‘it means just what I choose it to mean-neither more nor less．’

　　‘But can you make words have different meanings？’askedAlice．

　　‘Words are difficult things，I agree，’said HumptyDumpty．‘But you have to be strong with them．Give them or-ders．Tell them to obey you．They must work hard，and dowhat they're told！’ He banged his hand excitedly on the wallas he spoke．

　　‘You seem very clever with words，Sir，’said Alicepolitely，hoping to calm him．She was worried about himfalling off the wall．

　　Humpty Dumpty looked pleased．‘I can explain mostwords，and get them to do what I want，’he said．‘Some ofthem are like suitcases， you know．They've got several mean-ings packed up in them．Take poems，for example．One shortpoem can carry as many meanings as five people's luggage.’

　　‘Somebody repeated a poem to me earlier today，’saidAlice．‘It was Tweedledee，I think．’

　　‘Oh，I can repeat any number of poems，if you like，’saidHumpty Dumpty．

　　‘Well， not just at the moment，’Alice said quickly，hopingto stop him from beginning．

　　‘This piece was written specially for you，’Humpty Dump-ty went on，not listening to her．‘It will amuse you．’

　　‘Thank you，’said Alice sadly． She could not refuse to lis-ten，she thought，if the poem was specially written for her．

　　In winter，when the fields are white，

　　I sing this song for your delight-

　　‘But I don't sing it，’he explained．

　　‘Yes，I can see that，’Alice said．

　　‘If you can see me singing or not singing， you've better eyesthan most people，’ said Humpty Dumpty．Alice was silent，and he went on．

　　In spring， when woods are getting green，

　　I'll try and tell you what I mean.

　　‘Thank you very much，’ said Alice．

　　In summer， when the days are long，

　　Perhaps you'll understand the song.

　　In autumn， when the leaves are brown，

　　Take pen and ink and write it down．

　　‘I will，if I can remember it so long，’said Alice．

　　‘Don't go on saying things，’Humpty Dumpty said．‘They're not sensible， and I forget where I am.’

　　I sent a message to the fish；

　　I told them‘This is what I wish.’

　　The little fishes of the sea，

　　They sent an answer back to me．

　　The little fishes’answer was

　　‘We cannot do it，Sir，because-’

　　‘I'm afraid I don't understand，’said Alice.

　　‘It gets easier as it goes on，’ Humpty Dumpty replied.

　　But the poem went on for a long time， and Alice thought itgot harder，not easier，to understand. Then Humpty Dumptysuddenly stopped， and there was a long silence.

　　‘Is that all？’Alice asked politely．

　　‘That's all，’said Humpty Dumpty．‘Goodbye.’

　　Alice waited a minute，but Humpty Dumpty closed his eyesand did not speak again. So she got up， said‘goodbye’， andquietly walked away．

　　‘What an extraordinary person！’she said to herself as shewalked．‘I don't think I ever met-’She never finished whatshe was saying，because at that moment a heavy crash shookthe forest from end to end.

　　6．胖墩儿

　　但鸡蛋越变越大，越变越像个人。爱丽丝看见他有眼，有鼻，有嘴巴。她才知道那原来就是胖墩儿。

　　她自言自语道：“肯定是他。他就坐在一堵高墙上，外表像个鸡蛋。”

　　他纹丝不动地坐在那儿，好像是睡着了。爱丽丝就站在那儿，口里背诵着一首歌词：

　　胖墩儿坐在墙上，

　　胖墩儿摔下重伤。

　　国王的骏马、骑士，

　　再不能将他拼上。

　　胖墩儿突然睁开眼睛说：“别站在那儿自言自语。告诉我你的名字。”

　　“我叫爱丽丝--”

　　胖墩儿说：“那是个蠢名字！是什么意思？”

　　“名字都得有意思？”爱丽丝不解地问道。

　　“那当然。”胖墩儿笑了一下说：“我的名字说明了我的体形--我的体形多好。像你那个名字，你几乎什么体形都能用。”

　　爱丽丝不想争辩，就问：“你怎么一个人坐在这儿？”

　　“那是因为没有人与我在一起！”胖墩儿大声叫道，“你认为我不能回答你那个问题？好了，让我们谈些更明智的话题吧。”

　　爱丽丝试图想些明智的话题讲讲，但就是想不起来。“你腰上的皮带多漂亮！”她突然发现了这点，就说了。

　　胖墩儿面有悦色，说：“这话题好多了，这是白方国王与王后送我的礼物，是件非生日礼物。”

　　爱丽丝迷惑不解，“非生日礼物到底是什么？”

　　“那当然是你非生日那天送你的礼物。”

　　爱丽丝想了想，最后说：“我还是最喜欢生日礼物。”

　　“你在讲些什么呀！一年有多少天？”胖墩儿叫嚷道。

　　爱丽丝说：“365天。”

　　“其中有多少天是你的生日？”

　　“一天。”

　　“那么365天减去1天剩多少？”

　　“当然是364天。”

　　胖墩儿便说：“这么讲你只有一天能收到生日礼物。但其他364天都能收到非生日礼物，你就‘成功’了！”

　　“我不明白你说‘成功’指的是什么？”爱丽丝问。

　　胖墩儿笑了笑，“我不告诉你，你当然不晓得，我指的是‘给你个聪明的主意！’”

　　“但‘成功’没有‘聪明主意’的意思呀。”爱丽丝争辩说。

　　胖墩儿不理会爱丽丝，说：“我用一个词儿，我要它什么意思，那词儿就是什么意思。”

　　“但你可以叫词儿具有另外的意思吗？”爱丽丝问。

　　胖墩儿说：“我同意，用词儿是件不容易的事。但你得对它们显示你的威力。给它们发号施令。要它们遵从你。它们必须好好干，对你百依百顺！”他说着，激动地将手重重地在墙上拍了一下。

　　“你好像对词儿很有些办法，先生。”爱丽丝很有礼貌地说，希望使他平静下来。她担心胖墩儿从墙上摔下来。

　　胖墩儿面带悦色，说：“我能解释大多数的词儿，并叫它们为我服务。有些词儿像皮箱，里面有好几种意思。譬如诗歌，一首短诗的意思可以像五个人的行李一样丰富。”

　　爱丽丝说：“今天早些时候，有人给我背诵了首诗。我想那是特威帝吧。”

　　“哦，只要你不厌烦，我背诵多少首诗都可以。”胖墩儿说。

　　爱丽丝马上抢着说：“哦，现在不必了。”希望他别开始背。

　　胖墩儿并不听她，继续说：“这首是专门为你写的。它将给你带来快乐。”

　　“谢谢！”爱丽丝沮丧地说。她想：如果这首诗是专门为她写的，她就不能不洗耳恭听。

　　冬日里田野白雪皑皑，

　　我唱起这首歌，只为你开怀--

　　他解释说：“但我不唱歌。”

　　“是的，这我明白。”爱丽丝应道。

　　胖墩儿说：“如果你能看出我是否在唱歌，那么你的眼力比大部分人都要好。”爱丽丝沉默着，于是他又背：

　　春天里树木郁郁葱葱，

　　我要设法告诉你我的意思。

　　爱丽丝说：“非常感谢。”

　　夏日里炎炎日长，

　　也许你会懂得我的歌唱。

　　秋天枝叶枯黄，

　　拿起笔墨永记不忘。

　　“我会的，如果我能把它长久记住的话。”爱丽丝说。

　　胖墩儿说：“别说了，你说的话不明智。我忘了讲到哪儿了。”

　　我给鱼儿捎个信；

　　告诉它们“这是我的心愿。”

　　大海里的小鱼儿，

　　给了我一个回音。

　　小鱼儿的回音是

　　“先生，这事我们做不了，因为--”

　　爱丽丝说：“恐怕我理解不了。”

　　“越往后听，就变得越简单了。”胖墩儿说。

　　诗歌又背了好长时间，可是爱丽丝觉得理解起来越来越难，而不是越来越容易了。胖墩儿突然停住，随后是长久的沉默。

　　爱丽丝客气地问：“背完了？”

　　“背完了，再见！”胖墩儿答。

　　爱丽丝等了一会儿，但胖墩儿闭上眼，不再说话。她站了起来，道了“再见”，轻轻地走开了。