Chapter

1 The Other Side

of Real

Alice in a marble of reflection among chess pieces on the other side of the mirror.
“Begin at the beginning and go on till you come to the end; then stop.” —Lewis Carroll

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 Gallery
■ Expand your vocabulary through “family
tree” and portmanteau exercises.
■ Label the different parts of a complete
sentence.
■ Classify sentences by purpose.
■ Practice mirror writing and create non-
sense verse.
■ Tell a story.
■ Write a plot summary.
■ Learn about the legend behind Narcissus
and the science behind mirrors.

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 Literature

Rendezvous

Lewis Carroll (1832-1898)

was the pen name of Reverend
Charles Lutwidge Dodgson, an
English author, mathematician
and photographer. His best-
known writings are the classics
Alice’s Adventures in Wonder-
land and its sequel Through the
Looking Glass and What Alice
Found There.
Carroll used word play and
logic to create a fantastic world
that has delighted generations
of readers from all age groups.
“Looking-glass House” is the
first chapter of Through the
Looking Glass and What Alice
Found There.
Details and Curiosities
In 1951, Walt Disney Pic-
tures released an animated
version of Alice in Wonder-
land that combined both Al-
ice stories.
10
Looking-glass House
One thing was certain, that the white kitten had had nothing to
do with it: it was the black kitten’s fault entirely. For the white kitten
had been having its face washed by the old cat for the last quarter of
an hour (and bearing[1] it pretty well, considering); so you see that it
couldn’t have had any hand in the mischief[2].
The way Dinah washed her children’s faces was this: first she held
the poor thing down by its ear with one paw, and then with the other
paw she rubbed its face all over, the wrong way, beginning at the nose:
and just now, as I said, she was hard at work on the white kitten, which
was lying quite still and trying to purr—no doubt feeling that it was all
meant for its good.
But the black kitten had been finished with earlier in the afternoon,
and so, while Alice was sitting curled up in a corner of the great arm-
chair, half talking to herself and half asleep, the kitten had been having
a grand game of romps with the ball of worsted[3] Alice had been trying
to wind up, and had been rolling it up and down till it had all come un-
done again; and there it was, spread over the hearth rug, all knots and
tangles, with the kitten running after its own tail in the middle.
1 bearing [bair-ing] n. carrying the burden, tolerating
2 mischief [mis-chif] n. playful misbehavior, troublemaking
3 worsted [woos-tid, wur-stid] n. a fine smooth yarn

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 “Oh, you wicked wicked little thing!” cried Alice, catching up the Threading the Storyline
kitten, and giving it a little kiss to make it understand it was in disgrace.
“Really, Dinah ought to have taught you better manners! You ought, A. Acquire:
Dinah, you know you ought!” she added, looking reproachfully[4] at the • The Alice stories are
old cat, and speaking in as cross[5] a voice as she could manage—and examples of fantasy:
then she scrambled[6] back into the armchair, taking the kitten and the a type of literature that
worsted with her, and began winding up the ball again. But she didn’t uses magic as a main
get on very fast, as she was talking all the time, sometimes to the kit- element of plot, theme
ten, and sometimes to herself. Kitty sat very demurely[7] on her knee, and setting.
pretending to watch the progress of the winding, and now and then
putting out one paw and gently touching the ball, as if it would be glad B. Answer the following
to help if it might. question:
• Why is Alice angry at
“Do you know what tomorrow is, Kitty?” Alice began. “You’d have
Kitty?
guessed if you’d been up in the window with me—only Dinah was mak-
ing you tidy, so you couldn’t. I was watching the boys getting sticks for C. Name a mischief your pet
the bonfire[8]—and it wants plenty of sticks, Kitty! Only it got so cold, has committed.
and it snowed so, they had to leave off. Never mind, Kitty, we’ll go and D. Indicate the time of year
see the bonfire tomorrow.” Here Alice wound two or three turns of the in this story.
worsted round the kitten’s neck, just to see how it would look: this led
Spring
to a scramble, in which the ball rolled down upon the floor, and yards
and yards of it got unwound again. Summer
“Do you know, I was so angry, Kitty.” Alice went on as soon as they Autumn
were comfortably settled again, “when I saw all the mischief you had Winter
been doing, I was very nearly opening the window, and putting you
E. Explain why Alice is so
out into the snow! And you’d have deserved it, you little mischievous
excited about tomorrow
darling! What have you got to say for yourself? Now don’t interrupt
and why are the boys
me!” she went on, holding up one finger. “I’m going to tell you all
getting sticks.
your faults. Number one: you squeaked twice while Dinah was washing
your face this morning. Now you can’t deny it, Kitty: I
heard you! What’s that you say?” (pretending that
the kitten was speaking.) “Her paw went into your
eye? Well, that’s your fault, for keeping your eyes
open—if you’d shut them tight up, it wouldn’t have
happened. Now don’t make any more excuses,
but listen! Number two: you pulled Snowdrop
away by the tail just as I had put down the sau-
cer of milk before her! What, you were thirsty,
were you? How do you know she wasn’t thirsty
too? Now for number three: you unwound every
bit of the worsted while I wasn’t looking!”
“That’s three faults, Kitty, and you’ve not been
punished for any of them yet. You know I’m sav-
4 reproachfully [ri-prohch-fuh lee] adv. in a disapproving manner
5 cross [kraws, kros] adj. annoyed
6 scrambled [skram-buh ld] v. to move quickly or awkwardly
7 demurely [di-myoor lee] adv. in a shy, humble manner
8 bonfire [bon-fahyuhr] n. a large open-air fire used as part of celebration
11

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 Literature
Threading the Storyline
■ Answer the following
questions.
1. According to Alice,
why do the woods look
sleepy in autumn?
2. Why does Alice think
that Kitty knows how to
play chess?
3. What is Alice’s favorite
phrase?
12
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ing up all your punishments for Wednesday week—Suppose they
had saved up all my punishments!” she went on, talking more to
herself than the kitten. “What would they do at the end of the year?
I should be sent to prison, I suppose, when the day came. Or—let
me see—suppose each punishment was to be going without dinner:
then, when the miserable day came, I should have to go without fifty
dinners at once! Well, I shouldn’t mind that much! I’d far rather go
without them than eat them!
“Do you hear snow against the windowpanes, Kitty? How nice and
soft it sounds! Just as if some one was kissing the window all over out-
side. I wonder if the snow loves the trees and fields, that it kisses them
so gently? And then it covers them up snug, you know, with a white
quilt; and perhaps it says, ‘Go to sleep, darlings, till the summer comes
again.’ And when they wake up in the summer, Kitty, they dress them-
selves all in green, and dance about—whenever the wind blows—oh,
that’s very pretty!” cried Alice, dropping the ball of worsted to clap her
hands. “And I do so wish it was true! I’m sure the woods look sleepy in
the autumn, when the leaves are getting brown.
“Kitty, can you play chess? Now, don’t smile, my dear, I’m asking it
seriously. Because, when we were playing just now, you watched just
as if you understood it: and when I said ‘Check!’ you purred! Well, it
was a nice check, Kitty, and really I might have won, if it hadn’t been
for that nasty Knight, that came wriggling down among my pieces.
Kitty, dear, let’s pretend—” And here I wish I could tell you half the
things Alice used to say, beginning with her favorite phrase ‘Let’s pre-
tend.’ She had had quite a long argument with her sister, only the day
before—all because Alice had begun with “Let’s pretend we’re kings
and queens;” and her sister, who liked being very exact, had argued
that they couldn’t, because there were only two of them, and Alice had
been reduced at last to say, “Well, you can be one of them, and I’ll be
all the rest.” And once she had really frightened her old nurse by shout-
ing suddenly in her ear, “Nurse! Do let’s pretend that I’m a hungry hyæ-
na, and you’re a bone!”
But this is taking us away from Alice’s speech to the kitten. “Let’s
pretend that you’re the Red Queen, Kitty! Do you know, I think if you
sat up and folded your arms, you’d look exactly like her. Now do try,
there’s a dear!” And Alice got the Red Queen off the table, and set it
up before the kitten as a model for it to imitate: however, the thing
didn’t succeed, principally, Alice said, because the kitten wouldn’t
fold its arms properly. So, to punish it, she held it up to the Looking
glass, that it might see how sulky it was—”and if you’re not good
directly,” she added, “I’ll put you through the looking-glass house.
How would you like that?”
“Now, if you’ll only attend, Kitty, and not talk so much, I’ll tell you all
my ideas about looking-glass house. First, there’s the room you can see
8/24/11 12:55 PM
 through the glass—that’s just the same as our drawing-room, only the Threading the Storyline
things go the other way. I can see all of it when I get upon a chair—
all but the bit just behind the fireplace. Oh! I do so wish I could see A. Present your opinion:
that bit! I want so much to know whether they’ve a fire in the winter: • In addition to what Alice
You never can tell, you know, unless our fire smokes, and then smoke mentions, what else do
comes up in that room too—but that may be only pretence[9], just to you think will be differ-
make it look as if they had a fire. Well then, the books are something ent in the looking-glass
like our books, only the words go the wrong way; I know that, because house?
I’ve held up one of our books to the glass, and then they hold up one
in the other room. B. Draw the looking-glass
version of something
“How would you like to live in Looking-glass House, Kitty? I wonder you own.
if they’d give you milk in there? Perhaps looking-glass milk isn’t good to
drink—But oh, Kitty! now we come to the passage. You can just see a
little peep of the passage in looking-glass house, if you leave the door of
our drawing-room wide open: and it’s very like our passage as far as you
can see, only you know it may be quite different on beyond. Oh, Kitty!
how nice it would be if we could only get through into looking-glass
house! I’m sure it’s got, oh! such beautiful things in it! Let’s pretend
there’s a way of getting through into it, somehow, Kitty. Let’s pretend
the glass has got all soft like gauze[10], so that we can get through. Why,

9 pretence [pree-tens] n. a false display of feelings, attitudes, etc.

10 gauze [gawz] n. a thin, see-through fabric
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 Literature

Threading the Storyline

A. Answer the following
question:
• What is the very first
thing Alice does upon
entering the looking-
glass house?
B. Answer true or false.
• Kitty accompanies Al-
ice into the looking-glass
house.

it’s turning into a sort of mist[11] now, I declare! It’ll be easy enough to
get through—” She was up on the chimney mantel while she said this,
though she hardly knew how she had got there. And certainly the glass
was beginning to melt away, just like a bright silvery mist.
In another moment Alice was through the glass, and had jumped
lightly down into the looking-glass room. The very first thing she did
was to look whether there was a fire in the fireplace, and she was quite
pleased to find that there was a real one, blazing away as brightly as
the one she had left behind. “So I shall be as warm here as I was in the
old room,” thought Alice: “warmer, in fact, because there’ll be no one
here to scold me away from the fire. Oh, what fun it’ll be, when they
see me through the glass in here, and can’t get at me!”
Then she began looking about and noticed that what could be seen
from the old room was quite common and uninteresting, but that all
the rest was as different as possible. For instance, the pictures on the
wall next the fire seemed to be all alive, and the very clock on the chim-
ney mantel (you know you can only see the back of it in the looking
glass) had got the face of a little old man, and grinned at her.
“They don’t keep this room so tidy as the other.” Alice thought to
herself, as she noticed several of the chessmen down in the hearth[12]
among the cinders[13]: but in another moment, with a little “Oh!” of
surprise, she was down on her hands and knees watching them. The
chessmen were walking about, two and two!
11 mist [mist] n. a cloud of tiny water
12 hearth [hahrth] n. the floor of a fireplace
13 cinders [sin-ders] n. small pieces of partly burned coal or wood
14

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 “Here are the Red King and the Red Queen,” Alice said (in a whis- Threading the Storyline
per, for fear of frightening them), “and there are the White King and
the White Queen sitting on the edge of the shovel—and here are two A. Choose the correct answer.
Castles walking arm in arm—I don’t think they can hear me,” she went
• Why was the White
on, as she put her head closer down, “and I’m nearly sure they can’t
Queen desperately trying
see me. I feel somehow as if I were invisible—”
to get on the table?
Here something began squeaking on the table behind Alice and made a. to fetch her purse
her turn her head just in time to see one of the White Pawns roll over
and begin kicking: she watched it with great curiosity to see what would b. to help the Red King
happen next. that had fallen

“It is the voice of my child!” the White Queen cried out as she rushed c. to rescue her child
past the King, so violently that she knocked him over among the cin- (a pawn) who was
ders. “My precious Lily! My imperial kitten!” and she began scram- crying
bling wildly up the side of the fender. d. to escape from the
“Imperial fiddlestick[14]!” said the King, rubbing his nose, which had volcano
been hurt by the fall. He had a right to be a little annoyed with the B. Answer the following
Queen, for he was covered with ashes from head to foot. question:
Alice was very anxious to be of use, and, as the poor little Lily was • How come none of the
nearly screaming herself into a fit[15], she hastily[16] picked up the Queen chess pieces notice Alice?
and set her on the table by the side of her noisy little daughter. C. Discuss with classmates:
The Queen gasped, sat down: the rapid journey through the air had What are the advantages
quite taken away her breath and for a minute or two she could do and disadvantages of being
nothing but hug the little Lily in silence. As soon as she had recov- invisible?
ered her breath a little, she called out to the White King, who
was sitting sulkily[17] among the ashes, “Mind the volcano!”
“What volcano?” said the King, looking up anxiously[18] into
the fire, as if he thought that was the most likely place to
find one.
“Blew – me – up,” panted the Queen, who was still a lit-
tle out of breath. “Mind you come up—the regular way—don’t
get blown up!”
Alice watched the White King as he slowly struggled up from
bar to bar, till at last she said, “Why you’ll be hours and hours get-
ting to the table, at that rate. I’d far better help you, hadn’t I?”
But the King took no notice of the question: it was quite clear that
he could neither hear her nor see her.
So Alice picked him up very gently, and lifted him across more
slowly than she had lifted the Queen, that she mightn’t take his
breath away: but, before she put him on the table, she thought
she might as well as dust him a little, he was so covered in ashes.
14 fiddlestick [fid-l-stik] n. nonsense
15 fit [fit] n. an outburst of strong emotion
16 hastily [hey-stuh lee] adv. quickly, in a hurry
17 sulkily [suhl-kuh lee] adv. cranky, in a bad mood
18 anxiously [angk-shuh s-lee] adv. nervously, worriedly
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 Literature
Threading the Storyline
■ Think about:
For all the White King knows,
his pencil is writing on its
own. If you were the White
King, how would you react?
16
SOL A2 SBWB U1.indd 16
She said afterwards that she had never seen in all her life such a face
as the King made, when he found himself held in the air by an invisible
hand, and being dusted: he was far too much astonished to cry out,
but his eyes and mouth went on getting larger and larger, and round-
er and rounder, till her hand shook so with laughing that she nearly let
him drop upon the floor.
“Oh! please don’t make such faces, my dear!” she cried out, quite
forgetting that the King couldn’t hear her. “You make me laugh
so that I can hardly hold you! And don’t keep your mouth so wide
open! All the ashes will get into it—there, now I think you’re tidy
enough!” she added, as she smoothed his hair, and set him upon
the table near the Queen.
The King immediately fell flat on his back, and lay perfectly still: and
Alice was a little alarmed[19] at what she had done, and went round the
room to see if she could find any water to throw over him. However, she
could find nothing but a bottle of ink, and when she got back with it she
found he had recovered, and he and the Queen were talking together in a
frightened whisper—so low, that Alice could hardly hear what they said.
The King was saying, “I assure you, my dear, I turned cold to the very
ends of my whiskers!”
To which the Queen replied, “You haven’t got any whiskers.”
“The horror of that moment,” the king went on, “I shall nev-
er, never forget!”
“You will, though,” the Queen said, “if you
don’t make a memorandum of it.”
Alice looked on with great interest as the King
took an enormous memorandum-book out of his pocket, and
began writing. A sudden thought struck her, and she took hold of the
end of the pencil, which came some way over his shoulder, and began
writing for him.
The poor King looked puzzled and unhappy, and struggled with the
pencil for some time without saying anything; but Alice was too strong
for him, and at last he panted out, “My dear! I really must get a
thinner pencil. I can’t manage this one a bit; it writes all man-
ner of things that I don’t intend—”
“What manner of things?” said the Queen, look-
ing over the book (in which Alice had put ‘The White
Knight is sliding down the poker. He balances very bad-
ly’). “That’s not a memorandum of your feelings!”
There was a book lying near Alice on the table, and while
she sat watching the White King (for she was still a little anxious about
him, and had the ink all ready to throw over him, in case he fainted
19 alarmed [uh-lahrmd] adj. experiencing a sudden sense of danger
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 again), she turned over the leaves, to find some part that she could read, Threading the Storyline
“—for it’s all some language I don’t know,” she said to herself.
A. Discuss with classmates:
It was like this.
• Suggest meanings to the
nonsense words in “Jab-
YKCOWREBBAJ berwocky.” (It is alright
if you do not under-
sevot yhtils eht dna ,gillirb sawT
stand the poem.) Guess
;ebaw eht ni elbmig dna eryg diD at what the words could
,sevogorob eht erew ysmim llA mean based on sound,
.ebargtuo shtar emom eht dnA letters, and parts of
speech.

She puzzled[20] over this for some time, but at last a bright thought B. Complete the following
struck her. “Why, it’s a looking-glass book, of course! And if I hold it exercise:
up to a glass, the words will all go the right way again.” • The character Jabber-
This was the poem that Alice read. wocky is a beast. De-
scribe how you imagine
JABBERWOCKY this monster. Follow the
pattern:
Twas brillig, and the slithy toves
Jabberwocky
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe;
Animal
All mimsy were the borogoves,
Bad
And the mome raths outgrabe. B
E
‘Beware the Jabberwock, my son! R
The jaws that bite, the claws that catch! W
Beware the Jubjub bird, and shun O
C
The frumious Bandersnatch!’
K
Y
He took his vorpal sword in hand:
Long time the manxome foe he sought –
So rested he by the Tumtum tree,
And stood awhile in thought.

And as in uffish thought he stood,

The Jabberwock, with eyes of flame,
Came whiffling through the tulgey wood,
And burbled as it came!
One, two! One, two! And through and through
The vorpal blade went snicker-snack!
He left it dead, and with his head
He went galumphing back.

20 puzzled [puhz-uhld] v. to study over, or think about something complicated

17

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 Literature

‘And has thou slain the Jabberwock?

Come to my arms, my beamish boy!
A frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!’
He chortled in his joy.

‘Twas brillig, and the slithy toves

Did gyre and gimble in the wabe;
All mimsy were the borogoves,
And the mome raths outgrabe.

“It seems very pretty,” she said when

she had finished it, “but it’s rather hard to
understand!” (You see she didn’t like to
confess, even to herself, that she couldn’t
make it out at all.) “Somehow it seems to
fill my head with ideas—only I don’t exactly
know what they are! However, somebody killed
something: that’s clear, at any rate—”
“But oh!” thought Alice, suddenly jumping
up, “if I don’t make haste I shall have to go
back through the looking glass, before I’ve seen
what the rest of the house is like! Let’s have a
look at the garden first!” She was out of the
room in a moment, and ran down stairs—or,
at least, it wasn’t exactly running, but a new
invention for getting down stairs quickly and
easily, as Alice said to herself. She just kept
the tips of her fingers on the hand-
rail, and floated gently down with-
out even touching the stairs with her
feet; then she floated on through
the hall, and would have gone
straight at the door in the same way, if
she hadn’t caught hold of the door-
post. She was getting a little gid-
dy[21] with so much floating in
the air, and was rather glad to
find herself walking again in the
natural way.

from Through the Looking Glass

and What Alice Found There

21 giddy [gid-ee] adj. a whirling sensation, lightheaded, dizzy

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 Literary Tea
A. Answer the following questions in complete sentences.
1. What was Alice’s argument with her sister?
_______________________________________________
_______________________________________________
_______________________________________________
2. What happens to the looking glass, which allows
Alice to get to the other side?
_______________________________________________
_______________________________________________
_______________________________________________
3. What does the White King intend to write in his mem-
orandum book? Why is it difficult for him to do so?
_______________________________________________
_______________________________________________
_______________________________________________
B. Read and complete the following exercises.
1. Cite three events from “Looking-glass House” that are examples of fantasy literature.
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
2. Explain the differences and similarities between the world inside the looking-glass house and the
world outside the looking-glass house.
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
3. Describe Alice’s new way of quickly getting down the stairs.
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
C. Defend your opinion.
• If you were Alice, would you have entered the looking-glass house alone or would you have taken Kit-
ty with you? Explain why or why not.
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
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 Seeds of Expression

Enrich
■ Pair the following definitions with the correct word.
______ 1. cranky, in a bad mood a. anxiously (adv.)
______ 2. a cloud of tiny water droplets b. hastily (adv.)
______ 3. quickly, in a hurry c. mischief (n.)
______ 4. playful misbehavior, troublemaking d. mist (n.)
______ 5. nervously, worriedly e. pretence (n.)
______ 6. a false display of feelings or attitudes f. reproachfully (adv.)
dv.)
______ 7. expressing disappointment g. sulkily (adv.)

Seed of Wisdom: Familiriazing yourself with a word’s “family tree” helps you remember a new
definition while introducing you to the word’s many uses and different parts of speech. Let’s use
“king” as an example. You are probably most familiar with the following definition:
king (n.): the male ruler of an independent state, country, or nation.
However, in the “king family tree” there are several relatives such as:
king (v.): to make someone king, to crown (v.) describes an action
kingship (n.): the position, rank, of a king (n.) identifies person, place, or thing
kingly (adj.): royal, noble, regal (adj.) describes a noun

Expand
■ Use the “family tree” method to write the definition of the following words. Refer to the
Enrich exercise. Use a dictionary to confirm your answers. Then choose five of the seven
words and write a sentence for each on a separate piece of paper.
1. mischievous (adj.):
2. haste (n.):
3. sulk (v.):
4. anxiety (n.):
5. misty (adj.):
6. pretentious (adj.):
7. reproach (v.):

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 Cultivate
There are words that change spelling depending if it’s written in British English or American English.
Although the spelling differs, these words share the same meaning. Current British English spellings fol-
low, for the most part, Samuel Johnson’s Dictionary of the English Language (1755). Many of the American
English spellings were introduced by Noah Webster’s an American Dictionary of the English Language. Brit-
ish English retains the Norman (Anglo-French) spellings of certain words, whereas American English does
not. Here is a list of some of these spelling variations.

American English British English

pretense pretence
favorite favourite
mustache moustache
center centre
catalog catalogue
hyena hyæna
draft draught
jewelry jewellery
pajamas pyjamas

Brooklyn Bridge, New York City, United States Tower Bridge, London, England

Harvest
■ Find six other words that change spelling when written in British English. Consult your teacher,
classmates or a dictionary.
1. _____________________________________ 4. _____________________________________
2. _____________________________________ 5. _____________________________________
3. _____________________________________ 6. _____________________________________

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 Language Flowers

Nonsense Verse and Mirror Writing

Lewis Carroll’s poem “Jabberwocky” is considered to be one of the greatest nonsense poems written
in the English language. Nonsense verse is a silly, witty, and strange form of poetry, usually composed
for comic effect. It is written using correct grammar, but the words are put together in a weird way.
Most nursery rhymes are examples of nonsense verse:

Hey diddle, diddle!

The cat and the fiddle,
The cow jumped over the moon;
The little dog laughed
to see such sport,
And the dish ran away with the spoon.
“The Cat and the Fiddle,” Mother Goose

Alice had a tough time understanding “Jabberwocky” because it was written in a strange, looking-
glass language called mirror writing. “She turned over the leaves, to find some part that she could
read, ‘– for it’s all in some language I don’t know,’ she said.”

YKCOWREBBAJ
sevot yhtils eht dna ,gillirb sawT
;ebaw eht ni elbmig dna eryg diD
,sevogorob eht erew ysmim llA
.ebargtuo shtar emom eht dnA

Mirror writing is writing in the reverse direction of what is natural. However, when it is reflected
in a mirror, the writting appears normal. Mirror writing was used as an ancient form of code. The
most common modern usage of mirror writing can be found in some countries on the front of am-
bulances, where the word “AMBULANCE” is written in very large mirrored text, so that drivers see
the word the correct way in their rearview mirror.

Poetic License
A. Write a two-stanza (four lines for each stanza) nonsense verse poem about confronting a mon-
ster like Jabberwocky. Feel free to change the setting, the struggle, and the outcome. However,
adhere to the following structure: In the first stanza, develop the setting and encounter with the
monster; in the second stanza, describe the battle; and in the third stanza, conclude the event.
B. Write a message in looking-glass style. See if your classmates can figure it out without using a
mirror. Here are two ways to practice mirror writing.
1. Write a text with a thick pen on a thin sheet of paper, flip the sheet over, and trace the
mirrored text.
2. Hold a piece of paper to your forehead, stand in front of a mirror, and write on the paper
while looking in the mirror.
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 The Plogic (Play and Logic) of Portmanteaux

Lewis Carroll loved to incorporate word play and logic games in his stories. It was
a way to thrill and test the reader. A portmanteau (plural: portmanteaus
or portmanteaux) is a word that blends two or more words or parts
of words to give a combined meaning. Through the use of portman-
teaux, Carroll invented several of the words. A few of the words that
Carroll made up like “chortled,” “galumphing,” and “frabjous,”
have entered the English language. Even the word “jabberwocky”
is sometimes used to refer to nonsense language.

from “Jabberwocky”
…
One, two! One, two! And through and through
The vorpal blade went snicker-snack!
He left it dead, and with his head
He went galumphing back.
…
‘And has thou slain the Jabberwock?
Come to my arms, my beamish boy!
A frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!’
He chortled in his joy.

Study the definitions and linguistic makeup for the following portmanteaux.

chortle (v.): to make or say with a happy chuckling or snorting sound; a blend of “chuckle”
and “snort.”
frabjous (adj.): great, terrific; a blend of “fair,” “fabulous,” and “joyous.“
galumphing (v.): to march in a victorious and pleased manner; a blend of “gallop” and
“triumphant.”
mimsy (adj.): combination of “miserable” and “flimsy” (weak).
slithy (adj.): combination of “slimy” and “lithe” (flexible); the i is long, as in “rice.”

Poetic License
■ Play and experiment with the English language. Create five different portmanteaux.
bad + ugly = bugly blue + purple = blurple smile + happy + cheery = smappry
1. ___________________________________________________________________________________
2. ___________________________________________________________________________________
3. ___________________________________________________________________________________
4. ___________________________________________________________________________________
5. ___________________________________________________________________________________

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 English Garden

Simple Complete Sentence

Plant
◆ A simple complete sentence consists of a subject and a predicate.
➤ A subject is the noun or noun phrase that identifies the person, place, or thing performing
an action.
➤ The predicate is the part of the sentence containing a verb and stating something about
the subject.
The White Knight is sliding down the poker.

The subject the White Knight performs the action of sliding down the poker.
The verb phrase is sliding marks the beginning of the predicate portion of the sentence.

He balances very badly.

The subject He performs the action of balancing.

The verb balances marks the beginning of the predicate portion of the sentence.

Flourish

A. Underline the subject once and underline the predicate twice in each sentence.

1. The chessmen were walking about, two and two.

2. Alice watched the White King.

3. He slowly struggled from bar to bar.

4. The King immediately fell on his back.

5. I turned cold to the very ends of my whiskers!

6. The clock on the chimney mantel grinned at her.

7. Kitty plays chess with Alice.

8. The boys collect sticks from the woods.

9. The snow lays like a frosted blanket over the winter ground.

10. The woods sleep during autumn.

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 B. Fill in the blanks with the subject responsible for the action.
1. ________________ slowly stepped into the looking-glass house.
2. ________________ sits on the chimney mantel.
3. ________________ writes in his enormous memorandum book.
4. ________________ washes her children’s faces.
5. ________________ unrolled the ball of worsted while Alice slept.
6. ________________ pulled Snowdrop away by the tail when Alice put down the saucer of milk.
7. ________________ taps and kisses the windowpane.
8. ________________ blows about the woods stirring nature into frost.
C. Fill in the blanks with an appropriate verb to complete the predicate.
1. Alice ________________ Kitty for being mischievous.
2. Kitty ________________ while Dinah washed her face this morning.
3. Alice ________________ Kitty looks like the Red Queen.
4. The looking glass ________________ like a bright silvery mist.
5. The White Pawns ________________ each other on the table.
6. The White King ________________ by Alice as he struggled from bar to bar.
7. The Queen ________________, “You haven’t got any whiskers.”
8. The beamish boy ________________ the Jabberwock.

In Full Bloom
■ Describe in a five-sentence paragraph your adventure, if like Alice, you passed through the
looking glass. Whom did you encounter? What interesting things did you do and see? How
does this world differ from the real world and which do you prefer?

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 English Garden

Classifying Sentences
Plant
Sentences are classified by their purpose.
◆ A declarative sentence or declaration, the most common type, makes a statement.
I’m sure the woods look sleepy in the autumn, when the leaves are getting brown.
◆ An interrogative sentence or question is commonly used to request information.
Do you hear the snow against the window-panes, Kitty?
➤ A rhetorical question is a question asked only for effect in order to make a point.
No answer is expected. A rhetorical question provokes thought and reflection.
I wonder if the snow loves the trees and fields, that it kisses them so gently?
◆ An exclamatory sentence or exclamation expresses strong emotions: surprise, desire, anger, etc.
And I do so wish it was true!
◆ An imperative sentence or command is used to demand or request, and usually begins
with a verb.
Go to sleep, darlings, till the summer comes again.

Flourish
■ Identify each sentence by writing DE for declarative, IN for interrogative, RH for rhetorical,
EX for exclamatory and IM for imperative.
______ 1. Have you ever visited Paris, the City of Light?
______ 2. Unfortunately, I haven’t yet, but I do plan on going next autumn.
______ 3. Well, Paris is the most visited city in the world.
______ 4. Outside of Paris is the town of Versailles.
______ 5. Visit “Galerie des glaces” (Hall of Mirrors) when in Versailles.
______ 6. Hall of Mirrors; that sounds magical!
______ 7. But exactly where is the “Galerie des glaces?”
______ 8. I wonder if I pronounced it correctly?
______ 9. The gallery is located on the first floor of the Palace of Versailles.
______ 10. It receives its grand name from the 357 mirrors it contains.
______ 11. With 357 mirrors, I feel like I would go wild!
______ 12. Would I get lost with my reflections?

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 ______ 13. Ponder the historical importance of this gallery, as you make your way through
the gorgeous details.
______ 14. What do you mean by “historical importance?”
______ 15. The Hall of Mirrors has been host to many world affairs.

Galerie des Glaces, Versailles, France

In Full Bloom
■ Consider the cultural significance of the “Galerie des glaces” and what it means to the French.
Choose one of your country’s cultural sites and write eight sentences about its meaning and
importance. Every type of sentence studied in this chapter must be represented at least once.
Label each sentence accordingly.
______ 1. _______________________________________________________________________
______ 2. _______________________________________________________________________
______ 3. _______________________________________________________________________
______ 4. _______________________________________________________________________
______ 5. _______________________________________________________________________
______ 6. _______________________________________________________________________
______ 7. _______________________________________________________________________
______ 8. _______________________________________________________________________

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 Spoken Petals

“Let’s pretend we’re kings and queens.”

Appreciate
Storytelling is the ancient art of passing on real or fictitious events through words and sounds. Sto-
ries are shared in every culture and in every land to entertain, educate, preserve tradition, and instill
knowledge, values, and morals. A good storyteller enhances the plot of his or her story by engaging
in detailed descriptions. The more images, colors, sounds, textures, etc. a storyteller includes, the eas-
ier it is for his or her audience to visualize and appreciate the tale.

Recall and Reflect

In “Looking-glass House,” Alice ends up among the chess-
pieces. Through Lewis Carroll’s details and descriptions,
the reader can follow and visualize Alice’s strange and cu-
rious adventure.

“And certainly the glass was beginning to melt away, just

like a bright silvery mist. In another moment, Alice was
through the glass, and had jumped lightly down into the
looking-glass room.”

Phrases such as “bright silvery mist” and “jumped lightly”

offer the reader a detailed image of how the looking glass
changed shape and of the way Alice managed to enter the
looking-glass house.

Create
■ Tell your classmates a story describing your adventures in a game of your choice. Imagine that
somehow you ended up in the middle of a game: a board game, a card game, or a video game.
How would you react? What would you do?
A. Organize your ideas through note taking. Develop a sequence of events or plot guideline
B. Be descriptive! Use colorful language and describe your story’s mood through gestures,
expressions and actions.This will help you connect with your audience.
C. Create a sketch of your surroundings, or draw one of the characters you encountered in this
game world. You will use this drawing as a visual aid when you tell your story.
D. Include all the sounds you heard, creatures you saw, things you felt, and at least one
interesting fact.
E. Take your time when telling your story.
F. Improvise! Explore new possibilities as you share your story.
G. Use the following page as an example:

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 Example

Super Goyito Saves Princess Conchita

wake up as Super Goyito in tropical video game world

race through the Finca Kingdom café con leche = strength / maracas = self-defense
combat the yautía rogues collect dominos for one-ups
different terrains (mountains and valleys) humble, hard-working, optimistic “jíbaro”
evade the fango traps around El Fortín rescues Princess Conchita

:
In te re st ing Fact
rld that
le ch e ” in S u per Goyito Wo
The “café con st rength was in
spired
g iv e s h im
to and
enlarges Goyi otions in
” ca k e s a n d “Drink me” p
e
by the “Eat m and.
e ’s A d ve n tu res in Wonderl
Carroll’s A lic

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 Inkwell Blossoms

“...the King took an enormous memorandum-book out of his pocket, and began writing.”

Appreciate
A plot summary presents the arrangement of the events in a play, novel, short story, etc., in
brief form. It gives a short description of what happened by highlighting the main points and
events from beginning to end.

Recall and Reflect

By properly preparing for your Spoken Petals exercise, you completed various prewriting steps.
You have already chosen a topic, taken notes, and constructed a visual aid. All you have to do
now is write what occurred in complete sentences.

Create
■ Condense your story’s main events into a five-sentence paragraph. Use the following plot
summary of “Super Goyito Saves Princess Conchita” as an example:

When I stepped through the television screen, I became Super Goyito,

the humble, hard-working and optimistic “jíbaro.” My mission:
to rescue Princess Conchita from the arrogant King Manatí. This
was not to be an easy task. Many obstacles awaited me as I raced
through Finca Kingdom. I marched through mountains and valleys
combating the yautía rogues. I evaded fango traps around El Fortín,
collected dominos for one-ups, drank “café con leche” for strength,
and used my maracas for self-defense. My effort was well worth it
for I rescued Princess Conchita and restored peace on my island.

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 THE VINE

Listen
■ Pay close attention to Alice’s eye-opening encounter with Humpty Dumpty. He helps her
understand some of the words in the nonsense poem “Jabberwocky.” Jot down key
words as you listen.

Record
A. Label and match the characters in the illustration according to Humpty Dumpty’s explanation.

1
3

• mome raths • mimsy borogroves • slithy toves

B. Invent five creatures. Describe and name them. Then explain your creative process.

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 Chapter
Potpourri
PotpoBouquet
urri

Title

Discover

4x2
2.
2.6
..6
6

Mad Tea Party, Patricia López Latour

Review
A. Fill in the blanks. C. Complete the following exercises.
1. Lewis Carroll is the pen name of 1. Explain mirror writing.
_________________. 2. Describe how mirror writing has been
2. _________________ is an example used in the past and how it is used today.
of nonsense verse. 3. Define “portmanteau” and give two
3. Fantasy literature uses _______________ examples.
as a main element of plot, theme, 4. Use the word “jabberwocky” in a
and setting. sentence.
B. Write a sentence with each word.
D. Answer the following questions in
Indicate the part of speech.
complete sentence form.
1. giddy
1. What two components make a simple
2. gauze complete sentence?
3. bonfire 2. What’s the difference between the sub-
ject and the predicate part of a sentence.
4. demurely
3. How does a rhetorical question differ
5. puzzled
from an interrogative sentence?
6. alarmed 4. What does an exclamatory sentence
7. fiddlestick express?
8. hearth E. Compare and contrast storytelling
and plot summary.
9. scrambled
F. React in a six-sentence paragraph to
10. cross the illustration above.

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 Narcissus and

Branching Out
the Science of
Original 1871
Reflection illustration of
Alice after eating
the “Eat me” cake

The fascination with mir- The main rule for mir-

rors dates back to Greek
Mythology. At the mercy Concave
of his own reflection, Nar-
cissus, a gorgeous and cru-
el youth, experienced the
same disdain and rejection
he showed his admirers. It
was at a lake’s edge that
Narcissus hopelessly fell in ang
love with his mirror image normal line
as he knelt to quench his
thirst. Unable to cast his
eyes elsewhere, Narcissus
fell more and more deeply
in love with himself and cried out in desperation.
The tears dropped into the lake disturbing his im-
age, and upon realizing that he would never at-
tain his love, Narcissus withered away. A flower
blossomed at the water’s edge bearing his name
and preserving his memory and despair.
Although Narcissus’s tale presents a moral, it
also praises the awe and scientific properties of a
mirror. A mirror is a surface typically of glass coat-
ed with a metal mixture that reflects a clear im-
age. Rooms, cars, and make-up kits are equipped
with flat mirrors meaning that the image it reflects
is in no way, shape, or form distorted. However,
when mirrors are tilted or curved, they can show
us things we might not expect.
For example, in the image above you see how
Alice’s image is distorted by a curved-mirror:
Her torso seems stretched and disproportioned.
A curved-mirror is considered concave or convex
depending on the manner in which it is curved.
rors is that the angle of
Convex
incidence equals the an-
gle of reflection. The ray
of light approaching the
mirror is known as the in-
cident ray. The ray of light
which leaves the mirror
is known as the reflect-
le of
incid
ed ray. At the point of in-
ence
mirror cidence, where the ray
fle c t ion strikes the mirror, a line
f re
le o
a n g
can be drawn perpendic-
ular to the surface of the
mirror; this line is known
as a “normal line.” The normal line divides the
angle between the incident ray and the reflect-
ed ray into two equal angles. The angle be-
tween the incident ray and the normal line is
known as the “angle of incidence.” The angle
between the reflected ray and the normal line
is known as the “angle of reflection.” The law
of reflection states that when a ray of light re-
flects off a surface, the “angle of incidence” is
equal to the “angle of reflection.” When the
mirror is curved the rule still holds true, how-
ever, the only beams that you see in the mir-
ror are the ones that hit your eyes. This is why
you see a tall reflection when looking at con-
cave mirrors since you have to look up to get
at the perpendicular line. In contrast, a convex
mirror dispenses a short reflection because you
have to look down.
For further information on science or Greek
Mythology, log onto: www.sciencemag.org
or www.greekmythology.com
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