"Once," said the Mock Turtle at last, with a deep sigh, "I was a real Turtle." These words were followed by a very long silence, broken only by an occasional exclamation of "hjckrrh!" from the Gryphon, and the constant heavy sobbing of the Mock Turtle. Alice was very nearly getting up and saying, "thank you, sir, for your interesting story," but she could not help thinking there must be more to come, so she sat still and said nothing. "When we were little," the Mock Turtle went on, more calmly, though still sobbing a little now and then, "we went to school in the sea. The master was an old Turtle--we used to call him Tortoise--" "Why did you call him Tortoise, if he wasn't one?" asked Alice. "We called him Tortoise because he taught us," said the Mock Turtle angrily, "really you are very dull!" "You ought to be ashamed of yourself for asking such a simple question," added the Gryphon, and then they both sat silent and looked at poor Alice, who felt ready to sink into the earth: at last the Gryphon said to the Mock Turtle, "get on, old fellow! Don't be all day!" and the Mock Turtle went on in these words: "You may not have lived much under the sea--" ("I haven't," said Alice,) "and perhaps you were never even introduced to a lobster--" (Alice began to say "I once tasted--" but hastily checked herself, and said "no, never," instead,) "so you can have no idea what a delightful thing a Lobster Quadrille is!" "No, indeed," said Alice, "what sort of a thing is it?" "Why," said the Gryphon, "you form into a line along the sea shore--" "Two lines!" cried the Mock Turtle, "seals, turtles, salmon, and so on--advance twice--" "Each with a lobster as partner!" cried the Gryphon. [Illustration] "Of course," the Mock Turtle said, "advance twice, set to partners--" "Change lobsters, and retire in same order--" interrupted the Gryphon. "Then, you know," continued the Mock Turtle, "you throw the--" "The lobsters!" shouted the Gryphon, with a bound into the air. "As far out to sea as you can--" "Swim after them!" screamed the Gryphon. "Turn a somersault in the sea!" cried the Mock Turtle, capering wildly about. "Change lobsters again!" yelled the Gryphon at the top of its voice, "and then--" "That's all," said the Mock Turtle, suddenly dropping its voice, and the two creatures, who had been jumping about like mad things all this time, sat down again very sadly and quietly, and looked at Alice. "It must be a very pretty dance," said Alice timidly. "Would you like to see a little of it?" said the Mock Turtle. "Very much indeed," said Alice. "Come, let's try the first figure!" said the Mock Turtle to the Gryphon, "we can do it without lobsters, you know. Which shall sing?" "Oh! you sing!" said the Gryphon, "I've forgotten the words." [Illustration]