Chasing a White Rabbit leads Alice into a fantastical world where logic dissolves. She fluctuates wildly in size, encounters rude and eccentric inhabitants, and survives a terrifying royal trial, ultimately realizing the absurdity of the fantasy is nothing more than a pack of cards.
The King and Queen of Hearts preside over a chaotic court populated by birds, beasts, and a pack of cards to try the Knave for stealing the tarts. Alice observes the ridiculous proceedings, noting the King’s uncomfortable crown-over-wig ensemble and the jury’s frantic attempts to write down their names simply to avoid forgetting them. One juror, Bill the Lizard, even loses his pencil to Alice, forcing him to write with a finger for the rest of the day. When the White Rabbit reads the accusation in verse, the King immediately demands a verdict, but is interrupted by the call for the first witness. The Hatter arrives carrying tea and bread-and-butter, offering confused testimony about the date. As the jury busily sums the contradictory dates provided by the Hatter, March Hare, and Dormouse, Alice begins to grow rapidly, squeezing the Dormouse, who complains about her lack of reasonable pace. The King’s cross-examination descends into nonsense over twinkling tea, and a cheering guinea-pig is literally suppressed by officers stuffing it into a canvas bag. Alice finally understands this newspaper phrase as she watches the bag being tied up. The Hatter is dismissed just as the Duchess’s cook appears, sneezing pepper. She refuses to speak, forcing the King to ask what tarts are made of. When she answers “pepper,” the Dormouse sleepily adds “treacle,” prompting the Queen to order the rodent’s removal. Amidst the confusion, the cook vanishes, much to the King’s relief. Desperate to avoid a headache, the King delegates the next cross-examination to the Queen. Alice watches the White Rabbit fumble with the list, wondering what evidence remains, only to hear him shrill out her own name as the next witness.
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