愛麗絲相當不安地瞧了女廚師一眼,看她是不是準備執行這個命令,女廚師正忙著攪湯,好像根本沒聽到,于是愛麗絲又繼續說:“我想是二十四個小時,或許是十二個小時,我……”
`Talking of axes,' said the Duchess, `chop off her head!'
Alice glanced rather anxiously at the cook, to see if she meant to take the hint; but the cook was busily stirring the soup, and seemed not to be listening, so she went on again: `Twenty-four hours, I THINK; or is it twelve? I--'
`Oh, don't bother ME,' said the Duchess; `I never could abide figures!' And with that she began nursing her child again, singing a sort of lullaby to it as she did so, and giving it a violent shake at the end of every line:
`Speak roughly to your little boy, And beat him when he sneezes: He only does it to annoy, Because he knows it teases.'
CHORUS.
(In which the cook and the baby joined):--
`Wow! wow! wow!'
While the Duchess sang the second verse of the song, she kept tossing the baby violently up and down, and the poor little thing howled so, that Alice could hardly hear the words:--
`I speak severely to my boy, I beat him when he sneezes; For he can thoroughly enjoy The pepper when he pleases!'
CHORUS.
`Wow! wow! wow!'