The Red Queen's temper was reaching a boiling point. What use was there in courting Time if he wouldn't bend the rules for her? Time was immensely powerful. That was why she'd started dating him in the first place.

Now desperate, Time flung open the doors to a cabinet in his sitting room. It held his favorite treasures—things he had accumulated over the millennia¹.

"My dear," Time said as he turned back to Iracebeth. "I would happily part with any one of my diversions."

"But I cannot give you the Chronosphere!" Time exclaimed.

"You would if you loved me," Iracebeth said sulkily.

"But I do love y—" Time's voice cut off abruptly² as a shiver ran through his body. Looking down at his chest, his eyes filled with horror.

"The Grand Clock," he said. Without sparing a glance for Iracebeth, he raced from the room.

The Red Queen's eyebrows³ shot upward in surprise. Nobody ran out on her, not even Time. She clicked her tongue testily⁴ and hurried after him. As Alice wavered at the edge of the giant hammers, one of the Minutes caught up to her and leapt ahead to guard the Chronosphere. But the round end of a hammer crashed down, splintering the Minute into Seconds, who sprinkled down between the clock's gears.

Alice shuddered⁵. Taking a deep breath, she danced forward, relying on her quick reflexes and memory of the hammers' pattern.

One step, wait, two, three, four, leap, leap, pause, seven, eight, jump!

Crack! She could hear the hammers smashing more Minutes into tiny fragments behind her. Alice pivoted⁶ through the final hammers and grabbed a piece of metal framework to steady herself.

Squeezed into a small gap between the hammers and the circular frame cradling the Chronosphere, Alice swiftly patted herself over to make sure she was still in one piece. She let out a little sigh of relief, then faced the glowing orb⁷.

Just then, Time rushed into the chamber⁸, Iracebeth trailing him. Taking in the scene, he cried out in alarm and ran toward the Grand Clock.

Alice stretched up toward the shining Chronosphere. As her fingers drew near, it sparked and crackled fiercely. Biting her lip, she plunged⁹ her hand forward and clutched the Chronosphere. The small metal orb stopped spinning but continued to glow, its heat nearly burning her hand.

With a quick yank, Alice dislodged the Chronosphere and brought it to her chest. Separated from the Grand Clock, the orb began to cool down.

"No!" Time gasped¹⁰, collapsing¹¹ to his knees and clutching his chest.

Iracebeth peered at Time in irritation¹². "What's the matter with you?" she asked.

Time lifted a trembling hand, pointing at the Grand Clock, where Alice was making her way back through the clockwork.

"The Chronosphere!" Time said frantically¹³.

"Alice?" Iracebeth exclaimed. Her sister's pesky champion was the last person Iracebeth expected to see.

Oblivious¹⁴ to the new observers, Alice tucked the Chronosphere into her pocket and scrambled¹⁵ onto a beam. Behind her, the Minutes began to join hands, linking together to form a hulking mechanical beast.

"Cometh the Hour," Alice predicted as she picked up her speed.

The Hour ground toward her, its footsteps shaking the floor. As she glanced over her shoulder, her foot hit a spare part lying on the path. Alice arced through the air, then landed with a thump¹⁶. At the impact, the Chronosphere rolled out of her pocket and bounced away.

Alice gasped and struggled to her feet while the metal ball began to flash and expand. As the Chronosphere spun¹⁷ on its axis¹⁸, its golden bands grew until the ball was the size of a carriage, with an open space visible between the rotating rings.

Whoosh¹⁹! The Hour's massive arm swung through the air. Alice rolled to the side just in time. As she stood, she saw the Hour's hands reaching for the Chronosphere. Without thinking, she dove through the Chronosphere's whirling bands.

Inside, there were dials, levers, and several pulleys. Alice glanced around frantically. One of the chains was labeled PULL ME.

What else could she do?

Alice pulled it.

The Chronosphere lurched forward, its momentum²⁰ pushing Alice against a metal arm.

"Ugh," Time moaned. "Why did I label that?"

Iracebeth glared at him in disgust as Alice and the Chronosphere careened out the door and into the hallways of the castle. The Hour lumbered²¹ after her, and Time and Iracebeth scrambled to catch up.

Once in the vast corridor, the Chronosphere crashed into columns left and right. Alice pulled on different levers and chains, trying to steer²² it as best she could.

The rings of the Chronosphere twirled faster, slicing through the air with a deafening²³ whir. It was all Alice could do to cling to a handle, her body doubled over as the whole machine began to vibrate, screws threatening to pop off.

Time and Iracebeth rounded the corner to see the Minutes regrouping. But as soon as he saw the Chronosphere pulsing, Time knew it was too late. "No!" he cried out.

Poof! Alice and the Chronosphere disappeared.

 

红皇后简直要气炸了。假如“时间”不肯为自己通融，又何必去讨好他呢？正是因为“时间”无比强大，红皇后起初才开始和他约会。

这时，“时间”不顾一切地冲向客厅的橱柜，打开了柜门。柜子里装着他挚爱的宝贝——都是他上千年来的珍藏。

“宝贝儿，”“时间”转过身对伊拉贝斯说道，“我很乐意为你割爱。”

“但我不能给你时空传送仪！”“时间”大声说道。

“要是你爱我，就把它给我。”伊拉贝斯不悦地回答。

“但我真的爱——”话音未落，“时间”突然感到全身打了个寒战，他低头看着自己的胸脯，眼里充满了恐惧。

“是大钟，”说着，“时间”冲出了客厅，压根没看伊拉贝斯一眼。

红皇后挑高了双眉，惊讶万分。没有人敢当着她的面跑出房间，就算是“时间”也不行。她不耐烦地咂咂舌头，急忙跟了出去。此时爱丽丝正在巨型锤子的边缘摇摇晃晃地行走，一只分针赶了上来，只见它纵身一跃，想要护住时空传送仪。但圆形的锤头猛地砸下来，将它粉碎成众多秒针，散落在大钟的齿轮间。

爱丽丝不禁打了个寒战。她深吸一口气，凭借着敏捷的反应和对锤子下落规律的记忆，向前一跃。

一步，停，两步，三步，四步，跳，跳，停，七步，八步，起跳！

咔嚓！爱丽丝听见身后有更多的分针被锤子砸成了小碎片。只剩最后几把锤子了，爱丽丝旋转着身体，穿过了最后的几把锤子，然后抓住一处金属支架以保持平衡。

爱丽丝挤进锤子和圆形支架之间狭小的沟槽里，时空传送仪就悬在支架上。她敏捷地跳过沟槽以保护自己不受伤害。她轻轻地松了口气，面对着这颗发光的球体。

就在这时，“时间”冲了进来，伊拉贝斯紧随其后。看见眼前的这一幕，“时间”惊恐地叫了一声，跑向了大钟。

爱丽丝向闪闪发亮的时空传送仪探过身去。她的手指刚一靠近，时空传送仪就猛烈地迸发出火花和爆裂声。爱丽丝咬了一下嘴唇，向前一伸手抓住了时空传送仪。这颗小小的金属球停止了转动，但仍在发着光，散发出的热量快要把爱丽丝的手灼伤了。

爱丽丝快速一拉，就把时空传送仪从支架上拉出来，抱到自己胸前。由于离开了大钟，传送仪开始冷却下来。

“不！”“时间”喘着气，弯腿瘫倒下来，紧紧揪着自己的胸口。

伊拉贝斯恼火地盯着“时间”，问道：“你发什么疯？”

“时间”颤颤巍巍地举起一只手，指向大钟的位置,爱丽丝正在那儿顺着发条往回走。

“时空传送仪！”“时间”发疯似的叫嚷着。

“爱丽丝？”伊拉贝斯也尖叫起来。她最不想见到的就是她妹妹这位讨厌的拥护者。

爱丽丝完全没有注意到“时间”和伊拉贝斯的出现。她将时空传送仪收进口袋，爬上了一根横梁。她身后的分针们开始拉起手来，彼此连接，形成一个庞大而笨重的机械怪兽。

“时针要来了，”爱丽丝估摸着，加快了速度。

时针不断朝爱丽丝逼近，脚步震动着地面。爱丽丝回头看时，被一个横在路面上的零件绊了一跤。她向前飞了出去，重重地落在地上。由于巨大的冲击力，时空传送仪从她口袋里滚了出来，弹开了。

爱丽丝倒吸一口气，艰难地站起来，这时金属球又开始发光、膨胀。时空传送仪自转起来，金色的球箍不断扩张，直到球体膨胀到一辆马车的大小，这时旋转的圆环中间出现了一片空间。

呼！时针在空中挥舞着巨大的手臂。爱丽丝及时滚向一边，刚一站定，就看见时针的手臂去够时空传送仪了。爱丽丝来不及多想，立刻跳进时空传送仪旋转的球箍中。

球内有刻度盘、控制杆和一些滑轮。爱丽丝疯狂地扫视着四周，发现其中一根链条上贴着“拉我”的标签。

她还能怎么办呢？

爱丽丝拉动了链条。

时空传送仪向前一倾，随之产生的冲力将爱丽丝推向一条金属臂。

“哎，”“时间”悲戚地说道，“我干吗要贴那个啊？”

伊拉贝斯怒视着“时间”，而爱丽丝和时空传送仪已经滑出门外，来到了城堡的走廊。时针笨重地跟在后面，“时间”和伊拉贝斯争相追赶过去。

一进入宽敞的过道，时空传送仪便在左右两侧的柱子间来回碰撞。爱丽丝拉扯着不同的控制杆和链条，尽力控制球体。

时空传送仪外面的圆环转得更快了，它切割着空气，发出震耳欲聋的声响。整个机器开始震动起来，螺丝好像要飞出来似的，爱丽丝只能蜷曲着身体，死死抓紧把手。

“时间”和伊拉贝斯在拐角处遇见了分针们，它们正在重新集结。但一看到一闪一闪的时空传送仪，“时间”就明白一切都晚了。“不！”他大叫一声。

咻！爱丽丝和时空传送仪一起消失了。

点击收听单词发音