📖 Chapter 1: Down the Rabbit Hole
Alice was sitting by her sister on the riverbank. The day was warm, and she felt sleepy. Her sister was reading a book, but it had no pictures or conversations. Alice thought, “What is the use of a book without pictures or talk?”
She was just about to close her eyes when suddenly a White Rabbit ran past her. There was nothing unusual about a rabbit, but this one was very strange. It wore a waistcoat (a little jacket) and took a pocket watch out of it! The Rabbit looked at the watch and said, “Oh dear! Oh dear! I shall be late!” Then it hurried away.
Alice jumped to her feet. She had never seen a rabbit with clothes and a watch before. Burning with curiosity, she ran across the field after it.
The Rabbit popped into a large rabbit hole under the hedge. Without thinking, Alice followed.
At once she found herself falling down what seemed to be a very deep well. Either the well was very deep, or she was falling very slowly, for she had plenty of time to look around. The sides of the well were filled with shelves, maps, and jars of jam. Alice picked up a jar labeled Orange Marmalade, but it was empty. Carefully, she placed it on another shelf as she fell.
Down, down, down she went. Alice began to wonder if she would fall all the way through the earth and come out on the other side, among people who walk with their heads downward. She even thought about how to ask them politely for directions back home.
Suddenly—thump! She landed on a heap of dry leaves. She was not hurt at all.
Alice looked up quickly but could no longer see the top of the well. She saw a little passage. There went the White Rabbit, hurrying faster than ever. Alice started running after it, her heart beating with excitement.
The passage went on for some way and then dipped suddenly. Before Alice knew it, she was in a long, low hall.
The hall was lit with rows of lamps hanging from the roof. All around the hall were doors—but they were locked. Alice walked sadly down the middle, wondering how she would ever get out again.
At last she came to a little three-legged table made of glass. On it was a tiny key made of gold. Alice tried the key in every door, but either the locks were too large or the key was too small. On her second round, she discovered a little door hidden behind a curtain. To her joy, the key fitted!
Alice opened the door and looked inside. It was a small passage, not much bigger than a rat hole. At the other end was the most beautiful garden she had ever seen. Beds of bright flowers, fountains, and cool green lawns shone in the sunlight. Alice longed to go through, but she could not even get her head through the doorway.
“Oh, how I wish I could shut up like a telescope!” Alice said aloud. “I could get through easily then.”
How she would make herself smaller—she had no idea. But Alice’s adventure in Wonderland had only just begun.
📘 Glossary
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Waistcoat – a short jacket worn with a pocket watch (old-fashioned clothing)
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Pocket watch – a small clock carried in a pocket
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Curiosity – a strong desire to know or learn something
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Hedge – a line of bushes forming a boundary
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Heap – a pile of something
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Passage – a hallway or narrow path
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Dip – a sudden downward slope
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Three-legged table – a small table with three legs (common in Victorian homes)
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Curtain – a piece of cloth that hangs down to cover something
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Telescope – an instrument for seeing faraway objects; it becomes longer or shorter when pulled or pushed
❓ Comprehension Questions
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Why was Alice bored at the beginning of the chapter?
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What made the White Rabbit unusual?
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What did the Rabbit say as it hurried past Alice?
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What did Alice see on the shelves inside the well?
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What did Alice do with the empty marmalade jar?
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Where did Alice land after falling?
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What was strange about the hall Alice entered?
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What did Alice find on the glass table?
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Where did the little golden key finally fit?
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Why couldn’t Alice enter the garden?
✅ Answers
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The book her sister was reading had no pictures or conversations.
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It wore a waistcoat and carried a pocket watch.
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“Oh dear! Oh dear! I shall be late!”
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Shelves with maps and jars of jam.
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She placed it carefully on another shelf.
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On a heap of dry leaves.
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It had many locked doors and was lit with lamps.
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A small golden key.
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A tiny door hidden behind a curtain.
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The doorway was too small for her to fit through.
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