📖 Chapter 4: The White Rabbit’s House
Alice was still standing by the bank when she saw the White Rabbit again. He was rushing along nervously, looking around. “Oh, my ears and whiskers! She will be so angry if I’m late!” he muttered. When he saw Alice, he shouted, “Mary Ann! What are you doing here? Run home this moment and fetch me my gloves and fan!”
Alice was so surprised that she forgot to explain she was not Mary Ann. Instead, she hurried after the Rabbit, thinking, “He takes me for his servant. I might as well see where this leads.”
Soon they came to a neat little house with a thatched roof and green shutters. Over the door was a bright brass plate with the name W. Rabbit. Alice went inside.
She found herself in a tidy hall with a table and some chairs. On the table lay a fan and two pairs of white kid gloves. Alice took the fan and one pair of gloves and was just about to leave when she noticed a small bottle on the shelf.
It had no label this time, but Alice was curious. “Well, I’ll try just a little,” she said. She drank and at once began to grow—faster and faster—until her head pressed against the ceiling! She dropped the fan and gloves in alarm.
“Oh dear! What will happen to me now?” she cried. She knelt down, but there was no space to move. Her arm stuck out of the window, and one foot pressed against the chimney. She was trapped!
Outside, Alice heard the White Rabbit’s voice. “Mary Ann! Mary Ann! Fetch me my gloves this moment!” Then came silence, followed by a group of voices. They were trying to pull Alice out of the house!
“Let’s burn the house down!” shouted one voice.
“Oh no, please don’t!” cried Alice, though no one seemed to hear her.
After much whispering, the Rabbit called, “Bill! Go down the chimney!”
Alice twisted and stretched, and suddenly she gave a great kick. A small creature—perhaps a lizard—shot out of the chimney and fell into the garden. The voices outside cried, “There goes Bill!” and began throwing pebbles through the window.
Alice was frightened at first, but then she noticed that the pebbles were turning into little cakes as they hit the floor. She quickly ate one, and to her relief, she began to shrink again. Soon she was small enough to run out of the house and escape into the woods.
The animals chased after her, but Alice ran as fast as she could until she was safe among the trees. She sat down to catch her breath.
“Well,” she said to herself, “that was a curious adventure indeed. I wonder what will happen next.”
📘 Glossary
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Whiskers – long hairs on a rabbit’s or cat’s face
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Fetch – to go and bring something back
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Thatched roof – a roof made from straw or reeds
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Brass plate – a shiny metal sign
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Kid gloves – soft gloves made of young goat skin
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Trapped – unable to escape
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Chimney – a pipe or opening for smoke from a fire
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Creature – a living being, often an animal
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Pebbles – small stones
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Relief – a feeling of comfort after danger or worry
❓ Comprehension Questions
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Who did the White Rabbit mistake Alice for?
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What did the Rabbit ask her to fetch?
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What was written on the brass plate above the door?
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What happened when Alice drank from the bottle in the Rabbit’s house?
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Why was Alice trapped inside the house?
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Who was sent down the chimney to deal with Alice?
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What did Alice do that sent Bill flying?
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What happened to the pebbles thrown through the window?
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How did Alice manage to escape?
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What did Alice think after running into the woods?
✅ Answers
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Mary Ann, his servant.
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His gloves and fan.
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W. Rabbit.
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She grew very large until she filled the house.
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Her head pressed against the ceiling, her arm stuck out the window, and her foot filled the chimney.
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A small creature named Bill.
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She kicked him up the chimney.
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They turned into little cakes.
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She ate a cake that made her shrink small enough to escape.
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She thought it was a very curious adventure and wondered what would happen next.
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