📖 Chapter 5: Advice from a Caterpillar
Alice wandered through the wood until she came to a large mushroom. On top of it sat a blue Caterpillar, calmly smoking a long hookah (a water pipe).
The Caterpillar looked at Alice for some time without speaking. At last, in a slow, deep voice, it said:
“Who are you?”
Alice felt confused. “I—I hardly know, sir. I knew who I was this morning, but I think I must have changed several times since then.”
“What do you mean by that?” asked the Caterpillar.
Alice explained about growing and shrinking after eating and drinking different things. The Caterpillar puffed smoke and said coolly, “It is very confusing to you, isn’t it?”
Alice sighed. “Yes. I can’t remember things as I used to. For example, I try to say How doth the little busy bee, but it comes out all wrong.”
“Repeat You are old, Father William,” said the Caterpillar.
Alice tried, but the words came out strangely again. The Caterpillar listened, then said, “That is not correct. But it doesn’t matter. Keep your temper.”
Alice bit her lip. “It is very provoking,” she said.
The Caterpillar puffed his hookah a few more times, then asked, “So, you think you’ve changed? Do you like being different sizes?”
“Well, I’d like to be a little larger,” said Alice politely. “Three inches is such a very small size.”
“It is a very good height indeed!” said the Caterpillar angrily. “I am exactly three inches high.”
Alice quickly apologized. She didn’t want to upset him.
For a while, they sat in silence. At last the Caterpillar took the hookah from his mouth and said, “One side of the mushroom will make you grow taller. The other side will make you grow shorter.”
Then, without another word, he slid down off the mushroom and crawled away into the grass.
Alice looked at the mushroom carefully. But which side was which? She broke off a piece from the right-hand side and tasted it. Instantly, she felt her chin strike her foot—she had shrunk so small she could hardly breathe! Terrified, she quickly nibbled a piece from the other side. At once her neck shot up like a long telescope, rising high above the treetops. Birds screamed at her, thinking she was a serpent.
Alice panicked and ate a little more from the first piece. Slowly, slowly, she returned to her usual size. She was still a little shaky, but she felt proud. “At least now I can control it,” she said to herself. “One piece makes me bigger, the other makes me smaller.”
With the mushroom pieces in her hands, Alice felt ready for new adventures in Wonderland.
📘 Glossary
Caterpillar – a small insect that later becomes a butterfly
Hookah – a long water pipe for smoking, often used in the Middle East and Asia
Confused – not able to think clearly or understand
Puffed – blew smoke from the mouth
Provoking – making someone annoyed or angry
Apologized – said sorry
Mushroom – a type of fungus with a stem and a round top
Nibbled – ate in small bites
Telescope – an instrument that can stretch long, like Alice’s neck here
Serpent – a large snake
❓ Comprehension Questions
What was the Caterpillar doing when Alice first saw him?
How did Alice feel when asked “Who are you?”
What problem did Alice describe about her memory?
Which poem did the Caterpillar ask her to repeat?
Why was the Caterpillar angry when Alice wished to be taller?
What advice did the Caterpillar give Alice about the mushroom?
What happened when Alice ate from the right-hand side of the mushroom?
What happened when she ate from the other side?
Why did the birds scream at Alice?
How did Alice feel after she learned to control her size?
✅ Answers
Sitting on a mushroom and smoking a hookah.
She felt confused and unsure of herself.
She said she couldn’t remember poems properly.
You are old, Father William.
Because he himself was only three inches high.
That one side of the mushroom made her taller, the other made her shorter.
She shrank until she was extremely tiny.
Her neck grew very long, like a telescope.
They thought she was a serpent.
Proud, though a little shaky.
No comments:
Post a Comment