--- title: Alice in Wonderland, chapter XII, part 1: Alice's Evidence (Rule Forty-two and the unsigned letter) — a lesson of Mova's school · trees and pragmatics description: «Alice in Wonderland, chapter XII, part 1: Alice's Evidence (Rule Forty-two and the unsigned letter)», a lesson of the books course of Mova's primary school, sentence by sentence with dependency trees and pragmatics. It begins: It reminds her of the goldfish bowl she upset last week, and she quickly --- [Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/23-alice-alices-evidence-1/) [home](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) / [corpora](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/) / [school](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/) / [Books](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/) / Alice in Wonderland, chapter XII, part… # Alice in Wonderland, chapter XII, part 1: Alice's Evidence (Rule Forty-two and the unsigned letter) Lesson 23 of the books course of Mova's primary school: 22 sentences, each with its syntax tree and pragmatics. The lessons are written for Mova, and their agreed trees are part of Mova corpus 0.4 (CC BY-SA 4.0). How Mova does on its tests: [the lesson at school](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/school-run/books/23-alice-alices-evidence-1/). - [1](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/23-alice-alices-evidence-1/1/) — It reminds her of the goldfish bowl she upset last week, and she quickly scoops them back in, so quickly that she puts Bill the Lizard in upside down, waving his tail. - [2](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/23-alice-alices-evidence-1/2/) — The King asks what she knows about the tarts. - [4](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/23-alice-alices-evidence-1/4/) — The jury writes down some of each. - [6](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/23-alice-alices-evidence-1/6/) — Then the King reads a rule from his note-book: «Rule Forty-two. - [7](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/23-alice-alices-evidence-1/7/) — All persons more than a mile high to leave the court.» Everyone looks at Alice. - [8](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/23-alice-alices-evidence-1/8/) — She is not a mile high, she says, and anyway he just made that rule up. - [9](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/23-alice-alices-evidence-1/9/) — «It's the oldest rule in the book,» says the King. - [10](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/23-alice-alices-evidence-1/10/) — «Then it ought to be Number One,» says Alice — and the King turns pale and shuts his book. - [11](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/23-alice-alices-evidence-1/11/) — The White Rabbit produces new evidence: a paper with no address, not a letter but a set of verses, not in the Knave's handwriting and not signed. - [12](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/23-alice-alices-evidence-1/12/) — The King decides that the Knave must have imitated someone's handwriting, and that not signing it proves he is up to mischief. - [13](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/23-alice-alices-evidence-1/13/) — The court claps; the Queen says it proves he is guilty. - [15](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/23-alice-alices-evidence-1/15/) — «It proves nothing of the sort!» she says: «you don't even know what they're about!» So the King orders the verses read, with famous advice: «Begin at the beginning, and go on till you come to the end: then stop.» - [16](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/23-alice-alices-evidence-1/16/) — Alice jumps up «in such a hurry that she tipped over the jury-box with the edge of her skirt», upsetting all the jurymen onto the heads of the crowd. - [18](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/23-alice-alices-evidence-1/18/) — The King: «The trial cannot proceed until all the jurymen are back in their proper places—all», looking hard at Alice. - [19](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/23-alice-alices-evidence-1/19/) — Alice puts the Lizard in head downwards; she sets him right, though she thinks he'd be «quite as much use in the trial one way up as the other». - [23](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/23-alice-alices-evidence-1/23/) — Some jurors write «important» and some «unimportant»; Alice thinks «it doesn't matter a bit». - [25](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/23-alice-alices-evidence-1/25/) — Alice: «that's not a regular rule: you invented it just now.» King: «It's the oldest rule in the book.» Alice: «Then it ought to be Number One.» The King turns pale, shuts his note-book and says to the jury, in a low, trembling voice, «Consider your verdict» — the second time he has said it at this trial. - [30](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/23-alice-alices-evidence-1/30/) — You must have meant some mischief, or else you'd have signed your name like an honest man.» - [31](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/23-alice-alices-evidence-1/31/) — Alice has been growing all through the trial and gets bolder as she gets bigger; the Queen says «That proves his guilt»; Alice says «It proves nothing of the sort! - [32](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/23-alice-alices-evidence-1/32/) — Why, you don't even know what they're about!» - [33](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/23-alice-alices-evidence-1/33/) — The King: «Begin at the beginning, and go on till you come to the end: then stop.» - [34](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/23-alice-alices-evidence-1/34/) — Talk in this lesson: «canny» (North East England) = quite, or nice; «howay» (North East) = come on; «sound» (Liverpool) = fine, decent; «no cap» = honestly; «ate» = did it brilliantly. - ← previous: [Alice in Wonderland, chapter XI, part 2: Who Stole the Tarts? (the Hatter, the cook and a surprise witness)](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/22-alice-who-stole-the-tarts-2/) - next →: [Alice in Wonderland, chapter XII, part 2: Alice's Evidence (sentence first, a pack of cards, and waking up)](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/24-alice-alices-evidence-2/) - ↑ back to [Books](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/)