Lewis Carroll: Through the Looking Glass

CHAPTER 7: The Lion and the Unicorn (continued)

For a minute or two Alice stood silent, watching him. Suddenly she brightened up. `Look, look!' she cried, pointing eagerly. `There's the White Queen running across the country! She came flying out of the wood over yonder--How fast those Queens CAN run!'

`There's some enemy after her, no doubt,' the King said, without even looking round. `That wood's full of them.'

`But aren't you going to run and help her?' Alice asked, very much surprised at his taking it so quietly.

`No use, no use!' said the King. `She runs so fearfully quick. You might as well try to catch a Bandersnatch! But I'll make a memorandum about her, if you like--She's a dear good creature,' he repeated softly to himself, as he opened his memorandum-book. `Do you spell "creature" with a double "e"?'

At this moment the Unicorn sauntered by them, with his hands in his pockets. `I had the best of it this time?' he said to the King, just glancing at him as he passed.

`A little--a little,' the King replied, rather nervously. `You shouldn't have run him through with your horn, you know.'

`It didn't hurt him,' the Unicorn said carelessly, and he was going on, when his eye happened to fall upon Alice: he turned round rather instantly, and stood for some time looking at her with an air of the deepest disgust.

`What--is--this?' he said at last.

`This is a child!' Haigha replied eagerly, coming in front of Alice to introduce her, and spreading out both his hands towards her in an Anglo-Saxon attitude. `We only found it to-day. It's as large as life, and twice as natural!'

`I always thought they were fabulous monsters!' said the Unicorn. `Is it alive?'

`It can talk,' said Haigha, solemnly.