A cross the desert and hills, far on the other side of Underland, Bayard the bloodhound galloped¹ across the bluffs² toward the White Queen's castle.

In her courtyard, Mirana, the White Queen, was speaking with a Loyalist.

"The trees seem sad. Have you been speaking with them?"

"Yes, Your Majesty," the loyalist answered.

"Perhaps a bit more kindly³. Would you all excuse me for a moment? Thank you."

Bayard staggered into the Queen's courtyard and she crouched⁴ beside him, stroking his long brown ears and holding out a dish of water for him as he panted.

"What news, Bayard?" she asked in her soft, kind voice.

"Alice has returned to Underland." He gasped⁵. A smile lit up the Queen's lovely face. "Where is she now?"

"In Salazen Grum," he admitted, flinching⁶ with guilt⁷. "Forgive me, I allowed her to divert from her destined⁸ path."

The Queen shook her head, her smile widening. "No, no, no, no. That is exactly where she will find the Vorpal Sword," she explained. "We have our champion! Rest now. You've done well."

Exhausted⁹, the bloodhound collapsed¹⁰ to the ground.

In the garden of the Red Queen's castle, Alice searched through the bushes. She passed the hedgehog, curled under a wide leaf and cleaning the caked dirt off his fur.

"Have you seen a hat around here?" she asked him.

The hedgehog pointed¹¹ and watched as Alice spotted¹² the Hatter's hat, made a delighted noise, and picked it up. With loving care, she wiped off the mud and straightened it out. Whatever it took to save the Hatter, she'd have his hat waiting for him at the end.

Evening had fallen, and inside the Red Queen's bedchamber, the Queen stood at the window with her Knave¹³ behind her.

"You must find Alice, Stayne," said the Queen, her nails digging into the wood of the window frame.

"Without the Jabberwocky, my sister's followers¹⁴ will surely rise against me." A note of bitterness crept into her voice. "Ugly little sister … why do they adore her and not me?"

"I cannot fathom¹⁵ it," answered the Knave of Hearts, careful not to touch her. "You are far superior in all ways."

"I know," said the Queen without a hint of sarcasm¹⁶. "But Mirana can make anyone fall in love with her: men, women, even the furniture." She glanced dismissively at the captive animals that held up tables and chairs and lamps around the room. She didn't even see them as animals anymore; to her they were simply furniture, and to discover they had any feelings might astonish or amuse her.

"Even the King," said the Knave of Hearts quietly.

The Red Queen turned her dark gaze to the window again, letting it travel slowly down to the grim moat of bobbing heads below. "I had to do it. He would have left me."

"Majesty," the Knave said, "isn't it better to be feared than loved?"

"Not certain anymore," she answered. Some internal struggle seemed to take place, and finally she burst out: "Oh, let her have the rabble¹⁸! I don't need them. I have you." She leaned her enormous head back, looking at him with big, dewy eyes. "I do have you, don't I, Stayne?"

He managed a smile, which, fortunately for him, seemed to be enough of a reply for the Queen.

Alice ducked as she entered the Queen's dressing¹⁹ room. Strange stars twinkled outside the window in a velvety²⁰ night sky. The room had only one occupant: the Hatter, surrounded by ribbons, bows, veils, and feathers. He hummed happily as he worked. Already several huge, colorful hats were perched on dummies²¹ and scattered²² across the floor.

"They're wonderful!" Alice cried with sincere awe²³. "You must let me try one on."

Instantly the Hatter swept a splendid hat off a shelf and perched it on her head. Tall blue feathers bobbed down in her face and tiny diamonds sparkled around the wide rim¹⁷. Fake little bluebirds nested among the feathers and an enormous silver veil cascaded²⁴ down her back. Alice giggled²⁵ as she whirled around. If only the hats her mother attempted to make her wear were this much fun!

She struck a "grand lady" pose, imagining Lady Ascot. Then she grabbed another hat and perched it on the Hatter's head. He immediately struck the same pose, and they both laughed.

"It's good to be working at my trade again," said the Hatter, removing his hat and stroking it lovingly.

Alice took off her hat as well. She gently placed it back on the shelf. "It's just a pity you had to make them for her."

The Hatter looked around the room as if he'd just realized what he'd done. His face filled with remorse²⁶ and self-recrimination, and he slumped²⁷ mournfully.

"What is the hatter with me? Hatter … Mmmmm, ma." he asked.

Suddenly, fury seized him. He swiped his hand across the table, sending all the tools of his trade flying.

Alice jumped in front of him, knocked the scissors away, and took his face in her hands, forcing him to look at her. "Hatter!"

He froze, and she could see the fear in his eyes. "Have you any idea why a raven²⁸ is like a writing desk? I don't like it here, it's terribly crowded. Have I gone mad?" he whispered.

She felt his forehead with her hand as her father had done to her so many years ago. "I'm afraid so," she said. "You're entirely²⁹ bonkers. But I'll tell you a secret … all the best people are."

The Hatter straightened his shoulders with pride. Even his clothes seemed to puff³⁰ up.

Alice reached behind a box and produced the Hatter's own bedraggled top hat. His eyes filled with emotion as Alice put it on his head and tapped the rim proudly. "That's better," she said. "You look yourself again."

The Hatter was too overwhelmed to speak. He took off the hat and pressed it to his heart with an expression full of gratitude³¹.

They were suddenly interrupted by the piercing sound of the Red Queen's voice. "Hat man!" she shrieked³² from the next room. "Where are my hats? I am not a patient monarch³³!"

The Hatter seemed to come to. He seized Alice's hand intensely, keeping his voice low. "I'm told she keeps the Vorpal Sword hidden in the castle. Find it, Alice. Take it to the White Queen."

Alice glanced down at the long, thick chain binding³⁴ his ankle to the wall. She still wasn't sure about slaying³⁵ any Jabberwocky, but she could think of something else she'd like to do with that sword.

"We'll go to the White Queen together," she said, taking his other hand. They looked into each other's eyes for a long moment, and Alice found herself wishing she weren't quite so absurdly huge.

The Hatter grinned ruefully, evidently having the same thought. "Why is it you're always too small or too tall?" he asked.

Alice slipped away to find her courtroom while the Red Queen was busy trying on hats. The Tweedles were stationed outside the door, one on each side.

"Tweedles!" Alice said happily when she spotted them. Considering how silly and maddening they could be, she was surprised at how delighted she was to see them. She only wished it were in better, less prisoneresque circumstances.

They each took one of her hands and shook them vigorously. "Alice!" they cried in unison³⁶.

"Howdoyedo again," said Tweedledum.

"Where's the Rabbit—" Alice started, but Tweedledee interrupted.

"How is it you're being so great big?" he asked.

"She ain't great big," said his brother. "This is how she normal is."

"I'm certain she is smaller when we met," insisted Tweedledee.

"She had drank the pishsalver, to get through the door. Recall it?" said Tweedledum.

"Where's the Rabbit?" Alice asked again.

"Over theres!" they chorused together, but each pointed in the opposite direction. Alice sighed. These two weren't exactly the most reliable guides, but when they set off, she had little choice but to follow them.

Much to her surprise, after some walking and climbing stairs and roundabout wandering, they actually came to the White Rabbit. He was whispering with a chambermaid, but as they got closer, Alice realized the maid was actually the Dormouse in disguise.

"What are you doing here?" the Dormouse asked.

"I'm rescuing the Hatter," Alice replied.

"I'm rescuing the Hatter," the Dormouse corrected her.

"He told me that the Vorpal Sword is hidden in the castle. Help me find it," Alice said.

The Tweedles immediately hurried off, but the Dormouse and White Rabbit remained. "I don't take orders from big, clumsy, galumphing—" The Dormouse stood her ground.

Alice loomed³⁷ over her and pointed imperiously. "Shoo!"

With a humiliated³⁸ squeak³⁹, the Dormouse stalked off. Alice turned and saw that the White Rabbit was still there.

"What is it, McTwisp?" she asked.

He paused, then looked up at her with serious eyes.

"I know where the sword is."

 

穿过沙漠和山丘，在地下世界遥远的另一边，猎犬贝亚德正越过峭壁朝白皇后的城堡飞奔而去。

白皇后莫安娜正在庭院里跟一个效忠者谈话。

“那些树似乎不太高兴，你陪它们说话了吗？”

“是的，陛下。” 效忠者回答。

“也许要更亲切点。现在，可否原谅我失陪一会儿？谢谢诸位。”

贝亚德跌跌撞撞地走进白皇后的庭院里，白皇后立马在他身旁蹲下，抚摸着他棕色的长耳朵。他大口喘着粗气时，白皇后立即给他端出一盘水。

“有什么消息吗，贝亚德？”她轻柔和善地问道。

“爱丽丝回到地下世界了。”他气喘吁吁地说。白皇后迷人的脸上露出一抹微笑，问道：“她现在在哪儿？”

“在阴霾城堡，”他老实地回答，内疚地往后退缩，“原谅我，我看着她偏离了既定的路线。”

白皇后摇着头，露出了灿烂的笑容。“不不不不。她正好可以在那里找到屠龙剑，”她解释道，“我们的勇士归来了！去休息吧！你做得很好！”

此刻猎犬已经筋疲力尽，一下子瘫倒在地上。

在红皇后城堡中的花园里，爱丽丝在灌木丛里找来找去。这时她遇到了小刺猬，它正蜷缩在一片大叶子下，清理着毛皮上的泥块。

“你在这附近见过一顶帽子吗？”她问。

小刺猬伸手指了指，爱丽丝看到那顶帽子，高兴地叫了起来并走过去捡起了帽子。她小心翼翼地拂去上面的尘土，又把帽子理平整。不论要付出什么样的代价去救疯帽子，她都会守着这顶帽子一直等着他。

夜幕降临，红皇后站在卧室的窗前，黑骑士站在她身后。

“你一定要找到爱丽丝，斯塔亚尼！”红皇后把指甲抠进窗框的木头里，咬牙切齿地说。

“没有炸脖龙，我妹妹的拥护者肯定会站起来反抗我。”红皇后的语气中带着几分怨恨，“可恶的小妹……为什么他们喜欢的是她不是我？”

“我也弄不明白，”黑骑士回答，生怕触犯她，“你什么都比她好。”

“我知道！”红皇后毫不害臊地说，“但莫安娜能让任何一个人爱上她：男人、女人，甚至连家具都会爱上她。”她轻蔑地瞥了一眼房间里被囚禁的动物，它们有的撑着桌椅，有的挂着吊灯。红皇后甚至从没把它们当动物看过。对她而言，它们就如同家具；如果发现它们也有感情，那她才会觉得惊讶或者好 笑呢。

“就连国王也是。”黑骑士小声地说。

红皇后转过身，忧郁地注视着窗外，目光渐渐落到漂浮在护城河中的脑袋上。“我是被逼无奈！要不然他会抛弃我的！”

“陛下，”黑骑士说，“让人畏惧不是比让人喜欢更好吗？”

“我也不再那么确定了。”红皇后回答。她内心似乎在挣扎，终于大叫起来：“哼！让那些乌合之众随她去吧！不要也罢！我有你！”她把那颗巨大的脑袋向后靠了靠，用水灵灵的大眼睛望着黑骑士。“我真的拥有你，对吗，斯塔亚尼？”

他挤出一丝微笑。幸运的是，这种表示就足以答复红皇后。

爱丽丝溜进了红皇后的更衣室。窗外天鹅绒般柔软的夜空中闪烁着奇特的星星。更衣室里只有一个人——疯帽子。他被丝带、蝴蝶结、面纱和羽毛环绕着，正一边工作，一边哼着曲儿。几顶色彩绚丽的大帽子已经做好了，它们或是戴在模特头上，或是散落在地板上。

“它们真漂亮！”爱丽丝惊叹道，“你一定要让我试试。”

疯帽子一挥手从模特架子上取下一顶华丽的帽子戴在她头上。蓝色的长羽毛从她面前垂了下来，镶嵌在帽檐上的小钻石闪闪发光。一只小巧的蓝色假知更鸟嵌在羽毛里，背后宽阔的银色面纱一倾而下。爱丽丝一边转着圈，一边咯咯地笑。如果母亲要她戴的那些帽子也这么有趣就好了！

她脑海里想象着阿斯科特夫人的样子，摆出一副“贵妇人”的姿态。随即又抓起另一顶帽子戴在疯帽子头上。疯帽子立马摆出同样的姿势，然后两人哈哈大笑起来。

“能重操旧业真好。”疯帽子说着，取下头上的帽子，深情地抚摸着。

爱丽丝也取下帽子，轻轻地把它放回架子上，然后说：“可惜的是你要给红皇后做帽子。”

疯帽子环视四周，似乎这才意识到自己在做什么。他满脸的悔恨和自责，悲伤地跌坐在地上。

“我这个疯帽子是怎么了？疯帽子……嗯……”他自言自 语道。

突然，他变得暴躁起来，扑到桌子上用力一拂，所有的工具都被打翻在地。

爱丽丝迅速跑到疯帽子面前，推开那些剪刀，双手捧起他的脸，迫使他与自己对视，喊道：“疯帽子！”

他愣住了，爱丽丝可以看到他眼中的恐惧。“你知道为什么乌鸦像写字台吗？我讨厌这里，这儿太拥挤了。我是不是疯了？”他小声说。

就像多年前父亲对她那样，爱丽丝用手摸摸他的额头说：“恐怕是这样。你已经完全疯了。不过我告诉你个秘密……成功人士都这样。”

疯帽子顿时骄傲地挺起胸膛，就连身上的衣服似乎都变得笔挺起来。

爱丽丝挪到一个盒子后面，拿出疯帽子那顶破旧的高顶礼帽。爱丽丝给他戴上帽子并骄傲地拍了拍帽檐，他露出了感慨万千的眼神。“好多了，这才像你。”爱丽丝说。

疯帽子激动地无法言语。他满怀感激地脱下帽子按在 胸口。

突然间，他们被红皇后刺耳的叫声打断了。“帽匠！”她在隔壁房间尖声喊道，“我的帽子呢？我可不是个耐心的主儿！”

疯帽子似乎这才回过神来。他紧张地抓起爱丽丝的手，压低声音说：“我听说他们把屠龙剑藏在城堡里。找到它，爱丽丝！带着它去找白皇后！”

爱丽丝低头看着那条把他困在墙边又长又粗的脚链。到现在她也不确定自己要去杀什么炸脖龙，但她觉得自己可以用这把剑干点别的什么事儿。

“我们一起去找白皇后！”她牵起疯帽子的另一只手说道。他们彼此注视了许久，爱丽丝这会儿真希望自己不是这副荒谬的大块头。

疯帽子咧着嘴，伤感地笑了笑，显然他们俩想到一块儿去了。“为什么你总是要么太大，要么太小呢？”他问。

红皇后忙着试帽子时，爱丽丝悄悄溜走去找审讯室。双胞胎兄弟一人一边，把守在门外。

“双胞胎！”看到他们时爱丽丝高兴地叫道。尽管他们很傻很疯狂，但她也没有想到自己见到他们时会这么开心。她只是希望，大家能在更舒适、更自由的地方见面。

他们各自拉起爱丽丝的一只手激动地晃着，齐声喊道：“爱 丽丝！”

“你还好吗？”咚咚说。

“白兔子在哪？——”爱丽丝开口问道，但这时叮叮打断了她的问话。

“你怎么变得这么大？”

“她一点儿也不大，”弟弟说，“她平常就这样。”

“我敢肯定当初见面时她比现在小。”叮叮坚持自己的观点。

“她为了穿过那扇门喝了缩小药水。还记得吗？”咚咚说。

“白兔子在哪儿？” 爱丽丝又问。

“在那里！”他们齐声回答，但是各自指向相反的方向。爱丽丝无奈地叹了口气。他们两个绝对不是最可靠的领路人。但是出发时，爱丽丝别无选择，只好跟着他们。

令她大吃一惊的是——走了会儿路，爬了会儿楼梯，兜了会儿圈子后，他们竟然找到了白兔子。他正在和一个女仆窃窃私语。走近时，爱丽丝才发现这个女仆实际上是乔装打扮的睡鼠。

“你来这儿干什么？”睡鼠问。

“我来救疯帽子。”爱丽丝回答。

“我才是来救疯帽子的！”睡鼠纠正她。

“他告诉我屠龙剑就藏在城堡里。帮我找到它。”爱丽丝说。

双胞胎听完后匆匆跑开了，但睡鼠和白兔子仍然待在原地。“我才不听你这又大又笨，走起路来得意扬扬的人发号施令……”睡鼠毫不让步地说。

爱丽丝慢慢向她逼近，傲慢地指着她说：“嘘！”

蒙受羞辱的睡鼠气愤地尖叫了一声后扬长而去。爱丽丝转过身，发现白兔子还在那儿。

“怎么了，白兔子先生？”她问。

白兔子顿了顿，然后抬起头严肃地看着爱丽丝。

“我知道屠龙剑在哪儿。”

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