Alice said afterwards she had never seen such a fuss made about anything in all her life—the way those two bustled about—and the quantity of things they put on—and the trouble they gave her in tying strings and fastening buttons—“Really they’ll be more like bundles of old clothes than anything else, by the time they’re ready!” she said to herself, as she arranged a bolster round the neck of Tweedledee, “to keep his head from being cut off,” as he said. “You know,” he added very gravely, “it’s one of the most serious things that can possibly happen to one in a battle—to get one’s head cut off.” Alice laughed aloud: but she managed to turn it into a cough, for fear of hurting his feelings. “Do I look very pale?” said Tweedledum, coming up to have his helmet tied on. (He _called_ it a helmet, though it certainly looked much more like a saucepan.) “Well—yes—a _little_,” Alice replied gently. “I’m very brave generally,” he went on in a low voice: “only to-day I happen to have a headache.” “And _I’ve_ got a toothache!” said Tweedledee, who had overheard the remark. “I’m far worse off than you!” “Then you’d better not fight to-day,” said Alice, thinking it a good opportunity to make peace. “We _must_ have a bit of a fight, but I don’t care about going on long,” said Tweedledum. “What’s the time now?” Tweedledee looked at his watch, and said “Half-past four.” “Let’s fight till six, and then have dinner,” said Tweedledum. “Very well,” the other said, rather sadly: “and _she_ can watch us—only you’d better not come _very_ close,” he added: “I generally hit everything I can see—when I get really excited.” “And _I_ hit everything within reach,” cried Tweedledum, “whether I can see it or not!” Alice laughed. “You must hit the _trees_ pretty often, I should think,” she said. Tweedledum looked round him with a satisfied smile. “I don’t suppose,” he said, “there’ll be a tree left standing, for ever so far round, by the time we’ve finished!” “And all about a rattle!” said Alice, still hoping to make them a _little_ ashamed of fighting for such a trifle. “I shouldn’t have minded it so much,” said Tweedledum, “if it hadn’t been a new one.” “I wish the monstrous crow would come!” thought Alice. “There’s only one sword, you know,” Tweedledum said to his brother: “but you can have the umbrella—it’s quite as sharp. Only we must begin quick. It’s getting as dark as it can.” “And darker,” said Tweedledee. It was getting dark so suddenly that Alice thought there must be a thunderstorm coming on. “What a thick black cloud that is!” she said. “And how fast it comes! Why, I do believe it’s got wings!” “It’s the crow!” Tweedledum cried out in a shrill voice of alarm: and the two brothers took to their heels and were out of sight in a moment.