Alice is sitting with her sister outdoors when she spies a White Rabbit with a pocket watch.

She follows the rabbit down the hole. She falls for a long time, and finds herself in a long
hallway full of doors. There also a key on the table, which unlocks a tiny door; through this
door, she spies a beautiful garden. She wants to get there, but the door is too small. Soon,
she finds a drink with a note that asks her to drink it. There is later a cake with a note that
tells her to eat; Alice uses both, but she cannot seem to get a handle on things, and is
always either too large to get through the door or too small to reach the key.
While she is tiny, she slips into a pool of water. This little pool is made of tears she cried
while a giant. She goes on through the wood and runs into the White Rabbit home, she
drinks another potion and becomes too huge to get out through the door. She finds a little
cake which, when eaten, makes her small again.
In the wood, she comes across a Caterpillar sitting on a mushroom. He gives her some
advice, as well as a valuable tool: the two sides of the mushroom, which can make Alice
grow larger and smaller as she wishes. The first time she uses them, she stretches her body
out tremendously, she pokes her head into the branches of a tree and meets a Pigeon. The
Pigeon is convinced that Alice is a serpent.
Alice gets herself down to normal proportions and continues her trek through the woods.
She comes across a little house and shrinks herself down to get inside. The Duchess and
the Cook are battling fiercely, and they seem unconcerned about the safety of the baby.
Alice takes the baby with her, but the child turns into a pig. Alice next meets the Cheshire
cat. The Cheshire cat helps her to find her way through the woods, but he warns her that
everyone she meets will be mad.
Alice goes to the March Hare's house for a Mad Tea Party. Time stopped working for the
Hatter, it has always been six o'clock; it is therefore always teatime. Alice leaves them and
finds a door: when she looks through the door, she spies the door-lined hallway from the
beginning of her adventures. This time, she is prepared, and she manages to get to the
lovely garden. She walks on through, and finds herself in the garden of the Queen of Hearts.
Three gardeners are painting the roses red. If the they planted white roses, the Queen have
them beheaded. The Queen herself soon arrives, Alice helps to hide them in a large
flowerpot.
The Queen invites Alice to play croquet. The game is interrupted by the appearance of the
Cheshire cat, whom the King of Hearts immediately dislikes.
The Queen takes Alice to the Gryphon, who in turn takes Alice to the Mock Turtle. The Mock
Turtles sings a melancholy song about turtle soup, and soon the Gryphon drags Alice off to
see the trial of the Knave of Hearts.
The Knave of Hearts has been accused of stealing the tarts of the Queen of Hearts, but the
evidence against him is very bad. This time she has grown to giant size. Suddenly, the
cards all rise up and attack her, at which point she wakes up. Her adventures in Wonderland
have all been a fantastic dream.





Alice
The heroine of the story. Her adventures begin with her fateful jump down the rabbit hole,
and the tale is an extended metaphor for the challenges she will face as she grows into an
adult. She possesses unusual composure for a child, and she seems bright but makes many
charming mistakes. She grows more confident as the book progresses.
White Rabbit
Alice's adventures begin when she follows the White Rabbit down the rabbit-hole. He is a
messenger and a herald at the Court of the King and Queen of Hearts. He wears a waist-
coat and carries a pocket watch.
Caterpillar
Wise, enigmatic, and unshakably mellow, the Caterpillar gives Alice some valuable advice
about how to get by in Wonderland. He smokes a hookah and sits on a mushroom. He gives
Alice the valuable gift of the mushroom (one side making her bigger, and the other making
her small), which gives her control of her size in Wonderland.
Cheshire Cat
Possessing remarkably sharp claws and alarming sharp teeth, the Cheshire cat is courteous
and helpful, despite his frightening appearance. His face is fixed in an eerie grin. He can
make any and all parts of his body disappear and reappear.
Hatter
A madman who sits always at tea, every since Time stopped working for him. He takes his
tea with the March Hare and the Dormouse. Alice is temporarily their guest, although she
finds the event to be the stupidest tea party she has ever attended. Later, the nervous
hatter is forced to be a witness at the trial.
Queen of Hearts
Nasty, brutal, and loud, the Queen delights in ordering executions, although everyone
seems to get pardoned in the end. The people of Wonderland are terrified of her. Although
Alice initially thinks she is silly, she grows frightened of her. In the end, however, a giant-
size Alice is able to stand up to the Queen's temper and her threats.
King of Hearts
Somewhat overshadowed by his loudmouthed wife, the King of Hearts is a remarkably
dense figure. He makes terrible jokes, and cannot seem to say anything clever. Alice
outreasons him quite nicely at the trial.
Gryphon
The Gryphon, mythical animal that is half eagle and half lion, takes Alice to sea the Mock
Turtle. He attended undersea school with the Mock Turtle.
The Mock Turtle
The Mock Turtle is always crying, and he and the Gryphon tells stories loaded with puns. His
name is another play on words (mock turtle soup is a soup that actually uses lamb as its
meat ingredient).
The Knave of Hearts
The unfortunate Knave is the man on trial, accused of stealing the tarts of the Queen of
Hearts. The evidence produced against him is unjust.