What a bother it must be to a Caterpillar, counting over such a lot of legs, every night, to make sure it hasn’t lost any of them! And _another_ great bother must be, having to settle _which_ leg it had better move first. I think, if _you_ had forty or fifty legs, and if you wanted to go a walk, you’d be such a time in settling which leg to begin with, that you’d never go a walk at all! And what did Alice and the Caterpillar _talk_ about, I wonder? Well, Alice told it how _very_ confusing it was, being first one size and then another. And the Caterpillar asked her if she liked the size she was, just then. And Alice said she would like to be just a _little_ bit larger----three inches was such a _wretched_ height to be! (Just mark off three inches on the wall, about the length of your middle finger, and you’ll see what size she was.) And the Caterpillar told her one side of the mushroom would make her grow _taller_, and the other side would make her grow _shorter_. So Alice took two little bits of it with her to nibble, and managed to make herself quite a nice comfortable height, before she went on to visit the Duchess. [Illustration] VIII. THE PIG-BABY. Would you like to hear about Alice’s visit to the Duchess? It was a very interesting visit indeed, I can assure you. Of course she knocked at the door to begin with: but nobody came: so she had to open it for herself. Now, if you look at the picture, you’ll see exactly what Alice saw when she got inside. The door led right into the kitchen, you see. The Duchess sat in the middle of the room, nursing the Baby. The Baby was howling. The soup was boiling. The Cook was stirring the soup. The Cat----it was a _Cheshire_ Cat----was grinning, as Cheshire Cats always do. All these things were happening just as Alice went in. The Duchess has a beautiful cap and gown, hasn’t she? But I’m afraid she _hasn’t_ got a very beautiful _face_. The Baby----well, I daresay you’ve seen _several_ nicer babies than _that_: and more good-tempered ones, too. However, take a good look at it, and we’ll see if you know it again, next time you meet it! The Cook----well, you _may_ have seen nicer cooks, once or twice. But I’m nearly sure you’ve _never_ seen a nicer _Cat_! Now _have_ you? And _wouldn’t_ you like to have a Cat of your own, just like that one, with lovely green eyes, and smiling so sweetly? The Duchess was very rude to Alice. And no wonder. Why, she even called her own _Baby_ “Pig!” And it _wasn’t_ a Pig, _was_ it? And she ordered the Cook to chop off Alice’s head: though of course the Cook didn’t do it: and at last she threw the Baby at her! So Alice caught the Baby, and took it away with her: and I think that was about the best thing she could do.