to be no chance of this, so she began looking at everything about

her, to pass away the time.

  Alice had never been in a court of justice before, but she had

read about them in books, and she was quite pleased to find that

she knew the name of nearly everything there.  `That's the

judge,' she said to herself, `because of his great wig.'

  The judge, by the way, was the King; and as he wore his crown

over the wig, (look at the frontispiece if you want to see how he

did it,) he did not look at all comfortable, and it was certainly

not becoming.

  `And that's the jury-box,' thought Alice, `and those twelve

creatures,' (she was obliged to say `creatures,' you see, because

some of them were animals, and some were birds,) `I suppose they

are the jurors.'  She said this last word two or three times over

to herself, being rather proud of it:  for she thought, and

rightly too, that very few little girls of her age knew the

meaning of it at all.  However, `jury-men' would have done just

as well.

  The twelve jurors were all writing very busily on slates.

`What are they doing?'  Alice whispered to the Gryphon.  `They

can't have anything to put down yet, before the trial's begun.'

  `They're putting down their names,' the Gryphon whispered in

reply, `for fear they should forget them before the end of the

trial.'

  `Stupid things!' Alice began in a loud, indignant voice, but

she stopped hastily, for the White Rabbit cried out, `Silence in

the court!' and the King put on his spectacles and looked

anxiously round, to make out who was talking.

  Alice could see, as well as if she were looking over their

shoulders, that all the jurors were writing down `stupid things!'

on their slates, and she could even make out that one of them

didn't know how to spell `stupid,' and that he had to ask his

neighbour to tell him.  `A nice muddle their slates'll be in

before the trial's over!' thought Alice.

  One of the jurors had a pencil that squeaked.  This of course,

Alice could not stand, and she went round the court and got

behind him, and very soon found an opportunity of taking it

away.  She did it so quickly that the poor little juror (it was

Bill, the Lizard) could not make out at all what had become of

it; so, after hunting all about for it, he was obliged to write

with one finger for the rest of the day; and this was of very

little use, as it left no mark on the slate.

  `Herald, read the accusation!' said the King.

  On this the White Rabbit blew three blasts on the trumpet, and ()