Alice in Wonderland. Книга для чтения на английском языке

“Come, there’s no use in crying like that!” said Alice to herself, rather sharply; “I advise you to leave off |прекратить| this minute!” She generally gave herself very good advice, (though she very seldom followed it), and sometimes she scolded |ругала| herself so severely |сурово| as to bring tears into her eyes; and once she remembered trying to box her own ears |оттаскать себя за уши| for having cheated herself in a game of croquet |за жульничество в игре в крикет| she was playing against herself, for this curious child was very fond of pretending |ей нравилось притворяться| to be two people. “But it’s no use now,” thought poor Alice, “to pretend to be two people! Why, there’s hardly enough of me left to make one respectable |приличного| person!”

Soon her eye fell on a little glass box that was lying under the table: she opened it, and found in it a very small cake, on which the words “EAT ME” were beautifully marked in currants |здесь – изюминами|. “Well, I’ll eat it,” said Alice, “and if it makes me grow larger, I can reach the key; and if it makes me grow smaller, I can creep under the door; so either way |в любом случае| I’ll get into the garden, and I don’t care which happens!”

She ate a little bit, and said anxiously |беспокойно| to herself, “Which way? Which way?”, holding her hand on the top of her head to feel which way it was growing, and she was quite surprised to find that she remained the same size: to be sure, this generally happens when one eats cake, but Alice had got so much into the way of expecting nothing but out-of-the-way things to happen |уже так привыкла что ничего, кроме как необычного тут не случается|, that it seemed quite dull |скучно| and stupid for life to go on in the common way.

So she set to work |вернулась к работе|, and very soon finished off the cake.

Chapter II. The Pool of Tears

“Curiouser and curiouser!” |Страньше и страньше| cried Alice (she was so much surprised, that for the moment she quite forgot how to speak good English); “now I’m opening out |раскрываюсь| like the largest telescope that ever was! Good-bye, feet!” (for when she looked down at her feet, they seemed to be almost out of sight |почти не видно|, they were getting so far off). “Oh, my poor little feet, I wonder who will put on your shoes and stockings for you now, dears? I’m sure I shan’t be able |я не смогу|! I shall be a great deal too far off to trouble myself |Я же теперь буду так далеко, чтобы беспокоиться| about you: you must manage the best way you can |вы должны справляться как можно лучше|; – but I must be kind to them,” thought Alice, “or perhaps they won’t walk the way I want to go! Let me see: I’ll give them a new pair of boots every Christmas.”

And she went on planning to herself how she would manage it. “They must go by the carrier |Подарки должны будут доставляться курьером|,” she thought; “and how funny it’ll seem, sending presents to one’s own feet! And how odd the directions will look!

Alice’s Right Foot, Esq.,

Hearthrug, near the Fender |коврик возле камина|,

(with Alice’s love).

Oh dear, what nonsense I’m talking!”

Just then her head struck against |ударилось о крышу| the roof of the hall: in fact she was now more than nine feet high, and she at once took up the little golden key and hurried off to the garden door.

Poor Alice! It was as much as she could do, lying down on one side |лежа на боку|, to look through into the garden with one eye; but to get through was more hopeless than ever: she sat down and began to cry again.