Alice Bibliomancy Reading

This oracle points to a randomly selected line from one of the Lewis Carroll classics: Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass. The surrounding passages are also provided for context.

 

Your passage is from Through the Looking Glass - CHAPTER IX. Queen Alice.

 

Surrounding Context: Through the Looking Glass - CHAPTER IX. Queen Alice

“To the Looking-Glass world it was Alice that said, ‘I’ve a sceptre in hand, I’ve a crown on my head; Let the Looking-Glass creatures, whatever they be, Come and dine with the Red Queen, the White Queen, and me.’”

And hundreds of voices joined in the chorus:

“Then fill up the glasses as quick as you can, And sprinkle the table with buttons and bran: Put cats in the coffee, and mice in the tea— And welcome Queen Alice with thirty-times-three!”

Then followed a confused noise of cheering, and Alice thought to herself, “Thirty times three makes ninety. I wonder if any one’s counting?” In a minute there was silence again, and the same shrill voice sang another verse;

“‘O Looking-Glass creatures,’ quoth Alice, ‘draw near! ’Tis an honour to see me, a favour to hear: ’Tis a privilege high to have dinner and tea Along with the Red Queen, the White Queen, and me!’”

Then came the chorus again:—

“Then fill up the glasses with treacle and ink, Or anything else that is pleasant to drink: Mix sand with the cider, and wool with the wine— And welcome Queen Alice with ninety-times-nine!”

“Ninety times nine!” Alice repeated in despair, “Oh, that’ll never be done! I’d better go in at once—” and there was a dead silence the moment she appeared.

Alice glanced nervously along the table, as she walked up the large hall, and noticed that there were about fifty guests, of all kinds: some were animals, some birds, and there were even a few flowers among them. “I’m glad they’ve come without waiting to be asked,” she thought: “I should never have known who were the right people to invite!”

There were three chairs at the head of the table; the Red and White Queens had already taken two of them, but the middle one was empty. Alice sat down in it, rather uncomfortable in the silence, and longing for some one to speak.

At last the Red Queen began. “You’ve missed the soup and fish,” she said. “Put on the joint!” And the waiters set a leg of mutton before Alice, who looked at it rather anxiously, as she had never had to carve a joint before.