_ALICE'S home. LEWIS CARROLL is discovered, playing chess. Golden-haired ALICE, in a little blue dress, a black kitten in her arms, stands watching him._ ALICE That's a funny game, uncle. What did you do then? CARROLL A red pawn took a white pawn; this way. You see, Alice, the chessboard is divided into sixty-four squares, red and white, and the white army tries to win and the red army tries to win. It's like a battle! ALICE With soldiers? CARROLL Yes, here are the Kings and Queens they are fighting for. That's the Red Queen and here's the White Queen. ALICE How funny they look! CARROLL See the crowns on their heads, and look at their big feet. ALICE It's a foot apiece, that's what it is! Do they hump along like this? CARROLL Here! You're spoiling the game. I must keep them all in their right squares. ALICE I want to be a queen! CARROLL Here _you_ are [_he points to a small white pawn_] here _you_ are in your little stiff skirt! ALICE How do you do, Alice! CARROLL And now you are going to move here. ALICE Let me move myself. CARROLL When you have traveled all along the board this way and haven't been taken by the enemy you may be a queen. ALICE Why do people always play with kings and queens? Mother has them in her playing cards too. Look! [_ALICE goes to the mantel and takes a pack of playing cards from the ledge._] Here's the King of Hearts and here's his wife; she's the Queen of Hearts--isn't she cross-looking? wants to bite one's head off. [_CARROLL moves a pawn._] You're playing against yourself, aren't you? CARROLL That's one way of keeping in practice, Alice; I have friends in the university who want to beat me. ALICE But if you play against yourself I should think you'd want to cheat! CARROLL Does a nice little girl like you cheat when she plays against herself? ALICE Oh! I _never_ do! I'd scold myself hard. I always pretend I'm _two_ people too. It's lots of fun, isn't it? Sometimes when I'm all alone I walk up to the looking glass and talk to the other Alice. She's so silly, that Alice; she can't do anything by herself. She just mocks me all the time. When I laugh, she laughs, when I point my finger at her, she points her finger at me, and when I stick my tongue out at her she sticks her tongue out at me! Kitty has a twin too, haven't you darling? [_ALICE goes to the mirror to show Kitty her twin._] CARROLL I'll have to write a book some day about Alice--Alice in wonderland, "Child of the pure unclouded brow and dreaming eyes of wonder!" or, Alice through the looking glass! ALICE Don't you wish sometimes you could go into looking-glass house? See! [_ALICE stands on an armchair and looks into the mirror._]