Down in the depths of the Red Queen's dungeons¹, the Hatter was slumped³ on the floor of a cold cell, staring off into space. Mallymkun was trapped inside a large birdcage hanging from the ceiling. She clung to the wiry iron bars and gazed at him, but he was beyond her reach at the moment, both physically⁴ and emotionally.

She peered into the cell across the way, where a female bloodhound named Bielle was pacing around her shivering pups, trying desperately⁵ to warm them. Mallymkun was fairly certain she recognized her as Bayard's wife, but Bielle was too upset to stop and talk with the Dormouse long enough to confirm it.

Just then, the clomp of heavy footsteps on the dungeon² stairs announced the arrival of Stayne and his Red Knights⁷. Bielle whirled and stared at the approaching guards, although they ignored her and her pups.

"Hatter!" barked the Knave⁸, banging on the bars of the cage. There was no response. The Hatter continued to stare blindly into space.

One of the Knights reached through the bars and prodded⁹ the Hatter with his truncheon. When there was still no response, the Knight⁶ offered, "He's gone off the deep end." This was the usual opinion of the Hatter, so it surprised no one.

"Pity," said the Knave. He folded his arms and smirked¹⁰. "It is a bore to behead a madman. No weeping, no begging …" He cast a meaningful look at the dogs in the opposite cage. Bielle hurled¹¹ herself against the bars, her large brown eyes pleading.

"Why are you keeping us here?" she cried. "We've done nothing wrong!"

"Madam, blame your husband," Stayne said with a snort. "He left you here to rot."

"You lie!" howled the bloodhound, throwing herself at the bars with new fury and snarling¹² at the Knights. Stayne jumped back out of her reach, and in an instant, the Hatter was up and at the bars, seizing Stayne and pulling him back against the cage. His arm went around Stayne's neck, and he began to squeeze, choking the life out of him.

There was madness in the Hatter's eyes, and he clearly felt no pain as Stayne struggled. Finally Stayne staggered free, gasping¹³.

The Knave clawed at his neck, struggling for air, and when he could finally breathe, he pointed¹⁴ at the Hatter with hatred¹⁵ in his eyes. "Your head comes off at dawn! And that one, too!" He jabbed a finger toward the Dormouse.

The Hatter shrugged¹⁶ and spread his hands in a conciliatory gesture.

"Have a pleasant night," he sneered¹⁷, then spun¹⁸ on his heel and led his Knights out of the dungeon.

The unspoken words were clear to the prisoners: It will be your last.

The White Queen escorted Alice out of the castle to the topiary garden. Alice felt restless and worried. As horrible as it was, she wished she were back at the Red Queen's castle, just so she could know what was happening with the Hatter. Was he still alive? Were they beating him again? What did he think of her escaping and leaving him to suffer whatever punishment the Queen would throw at him?

Guilt¹⁹ tugged²⁰ at her heart as she rounded a curve in the hedge maze²¹. Just ahead, lit up by the moonlight, she spotted²² a topiary mushroom, neat curves and edges sliced out of the shrubbery. A telltale plume²³ of smoke was rising from the top.

"Absolem?" Alice asked, walking up to it.

The large blue Caterpillar²⁴ raised his head from his hookah and peered at her. "Who are you?" he asked through a cloud of smoke.

Alice nearly smiled. "I thought we'd settled this. I'm Alice … but not that one."

"How do you know?" Absolem asked serenely²⁵. He blew smoke in her face and she coughed, waving it away.

"You said so yourself," she pointed out.

"I said you were Not Hardly Alice," he corrected her. "But you're much more her now. In fact, you're Almost Alice."

"Even so," said Alice, shaking her head, "I couldn't slay²⁶ the Jabberwocky if my life depended on it."

"It will," the Caterpillar said matter-of-factly.

"So I suggest you keep the Vorpal Sword on hand when the Frabjous Day arrives."

Fed up and curious, Alice reached out and poked²⁷ the Caterpillar's jiggly blue belly²⁸. His eyes nearly popped out with surprise.

"No touching²⁹!" he yelped³⁰. "There's no touching!"

"You seem so real," Alice said thoughtfully. "Sometimes I forget that this is all a dream."

The Caterpillar blew smoke in her face again, as if he thought that was the only appropriate response to such a remark.

"Will you stop doing that!" Alice protested, waving the smoke away. Absolem began to chuckle³¹, sending ripples³² of mirth along his entire round body. She could still hear him chuckling³³ as the smoke enveloped³⁴ him, hiding him from view, and she turned to walk back into the night.

Back in the Red Queen's dungeon, the Hatter was dusting off his hat and trying to get his sad clothes to perk³⁵ up. He didn't want to go to his execution looking like a disheveled mess.

"I've always admired that hat," purred a smooth voice from outside the bars.

The Hatter looked up and saw the Cheshire Cat lounging against the stone wall. His eyes narrowed. "Hello, Chess."

The Cat's tail whisked back and forth³⁶. He stroked one of his long whiskers and studied the Hatter's efforts to rehabilitate³⁷ his outfit³⁸. "Since you won't be needing it anymore," he said after a moment, "would you consider bequeathing it to me?"

The Hatter touched his beloved hat and raised his chin with dignity. "How dare you! It is a formal execution. I want to look my best, you know."

The Cheshire Cat fell silent for another minute. Finally he sighed. "It's a pity about all this. I was looking forward to seeing you Futterwacken."

"I was rather good at it, was I not?" said the Hatter ruefully.

The Cheshire Cat's feline³⁹ eyes glowed intently. "I really do love that hat," he purred. "I would wear it to all the finest occasions."

His eyes met the Hatter's, and they stared at each other for a long, thoughtful moment.

Hours later, the Hatter and the Dormouse, their heads bowed in resignation, were marched out of the cell and down the long walk to the executioner's platform. A crowd was gathered in the outside courtyard to watch them pass, including the White Rabbit and the Tweedles, who stared at the prisoners with glum⁴⁰ faces. The Queen watched from a high balcony, ignoring the misery⁴¹ on the faces of the crowd.

"I love a morning execution. Don't you?" the Queen said.

"Yes, Your Majesty," the courtiers responded all together.

The Hatter stepped forward first, pushing the Dormouse behind him. The burly executioner loomed⁴² over them both, his face hidden by the usual thick executioner's mask. The Hatter rested his head on the beheading stone. The executioner reached for the Hatter's tophat, and the Hatter leaned away from him.

"I'd like to keep it on," he mumbled⁴³.

The executioner shrugged. "Suit yourself," he said. "As long as I can get at your neck." The executioner moved the hat's ribbons away from the Hatter's neck.

"I'm right behind you," the Dormouse squeaked⁴⁴ bravely.

"Off with his head!" the Red Queen bellowed⁴⁵.

The White Rabbit covered his eyes. "I can't watch," he moaned.

The executioner raised his sword high into the air. The morning sun gleamed off the sharp edge. A frightened hush⁴⁶ fell over the crowd, and in the silence they could all hear the zip of the sword as it flashed down, followed by a CLANG as it hit the stone where the Hatter's neck had been.

Everyone gasped⁴⁷, including the Queen and Stayne.

The Hatter's head …

… had disappeared.

 

在红皇后宫殿的地牢深处，疯帽子瘫坐在牢房冰冷的地板上，两眼发直。睡鼠被困在一个从天花板上吊下来的大鸟笼里。她死死地抓住那又细又硬的铁栏杆，目不转睛地看着疯帽子。但这一刻疯帽子对于她来说，无论是从身体上还是情感上，都是近在眼前却无法触及。

睡鼠朝对面的牢房望去，看见一只名叫比耶勒的母猎犬正围着她那些浑身颤抖的幼崽踱来踱去，拼命地给它们取暖。睡鼠确信自己看到的就是贝亚德的妻子，但是心烦意乱的比耶勒根本就顾不上停下来去跟她聊聊，好让睡鼠证实她的身份。

就在这时，地牢楼梯上传来“噔噔噔”沉重的脚步声，宣告着斯塔亚尼和红骑士的到来。比耶勒急得直打转，眼睛死死地盯着逐渐逼近的看守。尽管他们看都没看她和她的幼崽一眼。

“疯帽子！”黑骑士一边吼着，一边用手捶着牢房的铁栏杆。疯帽子没有理睬他，依旧目光呆滞。

一个红骑士把手伸进铁栏杆里，用警棍戳了戳疯帽子，见他还是没什么反应，于是说：“他已经神志不清了。”这是他们对疯帽子一贯的评判，所以没人感到惊讶。

“真遗憾！”黑骑士说。他两手一抱，傻笑起来。“砍掉一个疯子的脑袋真是件让人厌烦的事。不哭也不求情……”说完他又朝对面牢房里的猎犬意味深长地看了一眼。比耶勒紧紧地贴在铁栏杆上，棕色的大眼睛里写满了乞求。

“你为什么把我们关在这里？”她哭着说，“我们没做错任何事！”

“夫人，这就要怪你丈夫了，”斯塔亚尼轻蔑地哼了一声说，“是他把你扔在这里让你自生自灭的。”

“你撒谎！”母猎犬一边怒号，一边愤怒地扑到铁栏杆上，对着黑骑士咆哮。斯塔亚尼吓得跳了回去，站得离她远远的。刹那间，疯帽子起身来到铁栏杆旁，一把抓住斯塔亚尼并把他拖过来按在铁栏杆上。他的胳膊勾住斯塔亚尼的脖子，使劲地勒着，要把他掐死。

疯帽子露出了疯狂的眼神。斯塔亚尼奋力挣扎时，显然他一点也没感觉到疼。斯塔亚尼终于挣脱了他的胳膊，摇摇晃晃地站着，大口大口地喘着气。

他捏住自己的脖子，拼命地吸气。等他终于能正常呼吸了，斯塔亚尼恶狠狠地指着疯帽子，满眼仇恨，咆哮道：“你的脑袋黎明时落地！还有这个，也是一样！”说完又把手指向睡鼠。

疯帽子无奈地耸耸肩，摊开双手摆出一副和解的姿态。

“祝你度过一个愉快的夜晚！”斯塔亚尼冷笑着，然后转身带着红骑士离开了地牢。

他的潜台词大家都很清楚：明天就要你们人头落地。

白皇后护送爱丽丝离开城堡来到一座雕塑花园。此时的爱丽丝焦躁不安，忧心忡忡。尽管红皇后的城堡很恐怖，但她真希望自己回到那里，那样她就能知道疯帽子到底怎么样了。他还活着吗？他们会再次严刑拷打他吗？自己丢下他独自逃跑，让他遭受红皇后所有的惩罚，他会怎么想呢？

爱丽丝经过树篱迷宫的一个拐角处时，心中的内疚感折磨着她。就在前面，她在月光下看到了一株修剪过的蘑菇，整齐的弧线和薄薄的菌褶向外延伸开来。蘑菇顶端升起一团烟雾，仿佛泄露着什么秘密似的。

“阿布索伦？”爱丽丝朝它走过去问道。

这只蓝色的大毛虫从水烟袋上抬起头，盯着爱丽丝。“你是谁？”他透过一团烟雾问道。

爱丽丝听到后几乎笑了出来。“我想这个问题我已经回答过你了。我叫爱丽丝……但不是你们要找的那个爱丽丝。”

“你怎么知道？”阿布索伦平静地问道。他朝爱丽丝吐了一口烟，爱丽丝咳了起来，伸手把烟雾挥散。

“你自己这么说的。”她指出来。

“我说你不太可能是爱丽丝，”他纠正道，“但你现在挺像她了。事实上，你简直就是爱丽丝。”

“就算这样，”爱丽丝摇着头说，“就算这件事与我性命相关，我也杀不了炸脖龙。”

“能行的！”毛毛虫面不改色地说。

“所以我建议你在辉煌之日那天手握屠龙剑。”

爱丽丝听够了这种话，好奇地看着蓝毛虫。她伸出手戳了戳他那不停蠕动的蓝肚子。蓝毛虫惊讶得眼睛都快瞪出来了。

“别碰我！”他尖叫着，“不许碰我！”

“你看起来如此真实，”爱丽丝若有所思地说，“有时候我会忘了这一切都是场梦。”

蓝毛虫又朝爱丽丝脸上吐了一口烟，他似乎觉得这是对爱丽丝那番话唯一合适的回应。

“能别这样吗？”爱丽丝一边驱散烟雾一边抗议道。阿布索伦咯咯地笑了起来，这令他圆滚滚的身体周围激起了一圈圈神秘的波纹。烟雾慢慢地将他包围，挡住了爱丽丝的视线，但爱丽丝仍然能听到他的笑声。随后，她转身走进夜色中。

此时在红皇后的地牢里，疯帽子正拍着帽子上的灰尘，试图把自己那身寒碜的衣服整得更精神点。他可不想行刑的时候一副衣冠不整的样子。

“我一直很喜欢那顶帽子。”牢房外传来小猫轻柔的咕噜声。

疯帽子抬起头，看到柴郡猫正懒洋洋地靠在石墙上。他眯着眼睛说：“你好，妙妙猫。”

柴郡猫的尾巴扫来扫去。他一边用爪子轻轻抚着自己长长的胡须，一边仔细端详着疯帽子拾掇自己的衣服。过了一会儿，柴郡猫说：“既然你都用不着了，能考虑把它留给我吗？”

疯帽子抚摸着心爱的帽子，庄严地抬起头说：“你竟敢这么说！在公众面前执行死刑，我得看起来体面点，你懂的。”

柴郡猫又陷入了片刻的沉思。最后他叹了口气，说：“对这一切我深表遗憾。我一直盼着看你跳富特韦根舞呢。”

“我跳得可好了，对吧？”疯帽子悲伤地感慨道。

柴郡猫露出渴望的眼神，咕噜着：“我确实很喜欢这顶帽子，我会戴着它出席所有最盛大的场合。”

他的目光与疯帽子的不期而遇，两人注视着彼此，陷入了长久的沉思。

几小时后，疯帽子和睡鼠低着头，顺从地走出牢房，踏上通往断头台的漫漫长路。一群人聚集在外面的院子里，看着他们经过。这里头就有白兔子和双胞胎兄弟，他们一脸忧郁地盯着两个犯人。红皇后则从高高的阳台上俯视下方，对众人痛苦的表情视而不见。

“我喜欢早上行刑，你们呢？”红皇后问。

“喜欢，陛下。”身旁的侍臣齐声回答。

疯帽子抢先站了出来，把睡鼠推到自己身后。一个魁梧的刽子手朝他们逼近。他的脸上蒙着刽子手常用的那种厚面罩。疯帽子把头搁在断头台上，刽子手伸手去摘他的高顶礼帽，疯帽子侧着脑袋躲开了。

“我不想摘帽子。”他嘟哝着。

刽子手耸耸肩说：“随你便。只要我能砍断你的脖子就行。”刽子手把礼帽上的丝带从疯帽子的脖子上移开。

“我随后就来！”睡鼠勇敢地叫着。

“砍掉他的脑袋！”红皇后咆哮道。

白兔子蒙上眼睛，呜咽着说道：“我不敢看。”

刽子手把手中的刀举得高高的，清晨的阳光在锋利的刀刃上闪闪发光。惊恐的人群顿时鸦雀无声。在一片寂静中，大家都能听到刀划破空气的飕飕声。随即传来“铛”的一声，刀砍在了原本搁着疯帽子脑袋的石头上。

在场的每个人，包括红皇后和斯塔亚尼，都惊讶得屏住了呼吸。

疯帽子的脑袋……

……不见了。

点击收听单词发音