A Favourite Lesson In Etiquette
There were three chairs at the head of the table: the Red and White Queens had already taken two of them, but the middle one was empty. Alice sat down in it, rather uncomfortable at the silence, and longing for some one to speak. At last the Red Queen began. `You've missed the soup and fish,' she said. `Put on the joint!' And the waiters set a leg of mutton before Alice, who looked at it rather anxiously, as she had never had to carve a joint before.
`You look a little shy: let me introduce you to that leg of mutton,' said the Red Queen. `Alice--Mutton: Mutton--Alice.' The leg of mutton got up in the dish and made a little bow to Alice; and Alice returned the bow, not knowing whether to be frightened or amused.
`May I give you a slice?' she said, taking up the knife and fork, and looking from one Queen to the other.
`Certainly not,' the Red Queen said, very decidedly: `it isn't etiquette to cut anyone you've been introduced to. '
'Through The Looking Glass'
(For full text of both Alice books click here)
posted by Zoo at 3:10 pm
2 Comments:
hehehe... I'm guessing the Red Queen wasn't much of a blood-slut pervert :o)
I actually used this for a show quite a while ago at Bees In My Bonnet. The lovely Miss Blonde read out this quote while I had myself a tea party, dressed in my purple top hat and with flowers and bumblebees pierced into my forehead. I handed out little cakes to the audience, then The Unwanted Faerie came across with a tray with scalpels and such onto it... and then I pulled the needles out of my face, and cut my name into my thigh. Kind of working with the idea that it was rude to cut someone you had been introduced to, but in the case the cutting WAS the introduction. It was just perfect! have pix from the performance, but still might see if I can rework it as a photoshoot sometime...
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