'Herald, read the accusation!' said the King.
On this the White Rabbit blew three blasts on the trumpet,
and then unrolled the parchment scroll, and read as follows:--
'The Queen of Hearts, she made some tarts,
All on a summer day:
The Knave of Hearts, he stole those tarts,
And took them quite away!'
'Consider your verdict,' the King said to the jury.
'Not yet, not yet!' the Rabbit hastily interrupted.
'There's a great deal to come before that!'
'Call the first witness,' said the King; and the White Rabbit blew
three blasts on the trumpet, and called out, 'First witness!'
The first witness was the Hatter. He came in with a teacup in one hand and a
piece of bread-and-butter in the other. 'I beg pardon, your Majesty,' he began,
'for bringing these in: but I hadn't quite finished my tea when I was sent for.'
'You ought to have finished,' said the King. 'When did you begin?'
The Hatter looked at the March Hare, who had followed him into the court,
arm-in-arm with the Dormouse. 'Fourteenth of March, I think it was,' he said.
'Fifteenth,' said the March Hare.
'Sixteenth,' added the Dormouse.
'Write that down,' the King said to the jury, and the jury eagerly wrote
down all three dates on their slates, and then added them up, and reduced the answer
to shillings and pence.
'Take off your hat,' the King said to the Hatter.
'It isn't mine,' said the Hatter.
'Stolen!' the King exclaimed, turning to the jury, who instantly made a
memorandum of the fact.
'I keep them to sell,' the Hatter added as an explanation; 'I've none of my own.
I'm a hatter.'
Here the Queen put on her spectacles, and began staring at the Hatter, who turned
pale and fidgeted.
'Give your evidence,' said the King; 'and don't be nervous, or I'll have you
executed on the spot.'
This original is available for sale.
Price: $30.00 + $3.00 Shipping
Purchase Using PayPal:
|
|
