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CHAPTER XII. ALICE'S EVIDENCE 


As soon as the jury had a little recovered from the 
shock of being upset and their slates and pencils had 
been found and handed back to them, they set to work 
very diligently to write out a history of the accident, all 
except the Lizard, who seemed too much overcome to 
do anything but sit with its mouth open, gazing up into 
the roof of the court. 

'What do you know about this business?' the King 
said to Alice. 

'Nothing,' said Alice. 

'Nothing whatever!' persisted the King. 

'Nothing whatever,' said Alice. 

'That's very important,' the King 
said, turning to the jury. They were 
just beginning to write this down 
on their slates when the White Rab- 
bit interrupted, ' Unimportant, your 
Majesty means, of course,' he said in 
a very respectful tone, but frowning and making faces at him as he spoke. 

'Unimportant, of course, I meant,' the King hastily said, and went on to him- 
self in an undertone, 'important - unimportant - unimportant - important - ' as 
if he were trying which word sounded best. 

Some of the jury wrote it down 'important,' and some 'unimportant.' Alice 
could see this, as she was near enough to look over their slates; 'but it doesn't 
matter a bit,' she thought to herself. 

At this moment the King, who had been for some time busily writing in his 
note-book, cackled out 'Silence!' and read out from his book, 'Rule Forty-two. 
All persons more than a mile high to leave the court.' 
Everybody looked at Alice. 
'I'm not a mile high,' said Alice. 
'You are,' said the King. 
'Nearly two miles high,' added the Queen. 

'Well, I shan't go, at any rate,' said Alice, 'besides, that's not a regular rule: 
you invented it just now.' 

'It's the oldest rule in the book,' said the King. 
'Then it ought to be Number One,' said Alice. 

The King turned pale, and shut his note-book hastily. 'Consider your verdict,' 
he said to the jury, in a low, trembling voice. 

'There's more evidence to come yet, please your Majesty,' said the White 
Rabbit, jumping up in a great hurry, 'this paper has just been picked up.'