Alice in Wonderland: Part 2: The pool of tears

Episode 150306 / 06 Mar 2015

Alice keeps getting bigger… and smaller. No wonder she cries a pool of tears!

Transcript

Narrator
Hello! Alice is having some very curious adventures at the bottom of a rabbit hole. She
drank a drink that made her very small indeed. But she wants to grow bigger so that she can
reach the key that will unlock the tiny door to a beautiful garden. After eating some cake
she found in a little glass box, Alice started to feel something …

Alice
Curiouser and curiouser! I'm growing! My feet are so far away. Goodbye feet! How will I
put my shoes and socks on, I wonder? Ouch!

Narrator
Alice grew so big that her head hit the ceiling! It was easy to reach the table now. She
picked up the tiny key and rushed to the door. But in her excitement, she forgot something
again…

Alice
Ohhhh… this is hopeless! I'm much too big for this door now! I'll never get into the garden!
I can only look through the door with one eye! Oh…

Narrator
Alice was over nine feet tall, and when a girl that big cries, the tears are big too. Alice
cried and cried until half the hall was filledwith a salty pool of tears. After a time, Alice
heard a little pattering of feet in the distance. She dried her eyes to see what was coming.

White Rabbit
Oh! I'm late! I'm so very late! I was told to be early and I'm going to be late. The Duchess
will be waiting. Oh my! Oh my! She will be so very angry with me! Oh my!

Narrator
The sight of The White Rabbit, splendidly dressed in his best clothes, and carrying a
large fan and a pair of white leather gloves was enough to stop Alice's tears.

Alice
If you please, sir…

White Rabbit
Oh!! Oh my!
Alice
Don't go! I won't hurt – Oh dear! You've dropped your gloves… But look: what a pretty
fan. And crying is such hot work. Oh, that's better. Oh dear… how strange everything is
today. Yesterday things were normal. But today I'm not sure if I am the same girl who
woke up this morning. But, if I'm not the girl who woke up this morning, the question is,
"Who am I?"

Narrator
Alice fanned herself while she talked. She felt much cooler. But after a minute or two,
something started happening.

Alice
Oh: Here's that feeling again.

Narrator
Then something kept happening. Alice kept fanning herself.

Alice
I don't believe it. I must be… I am! I'm growing smaller again. Smaller than the table. Hello
feet! It's good to see you again.

Narrator
Soon Alice was smaller than ever. She was still shrinking and shrinking and she didn't
know why.

Alice
Oh dear - I'm getting very small. Oh… I'm getting much too small! Oh dear - I shall fade
away altogether! Ohh…! The fan? The fan!

Narrator
Just in time. Alice threw the fan on the floor, so she wouldn't get any smaller.

Alice
That was a lucky escape! But now I'm small enough to get into the garden!

Narrator
Poor Alice! There she stood at the little door - but it was locked again. And there was the
little key, back in its place, out of reach, on the table.

Alice
Oh not again! This is hopeless. I'll never get that key now. I so badly wanted to see the
garden. And things are worse than ever - I've never been so small as this in my life. Never!

Narrator
Things were as bad as ever. And they were about to get worse...
Alice
Ohhh!

Narrator
And poor little Alice fell into a pool of her own tears. Luckily, she knew how to swim. But
she wasn't the only one who had fallen into the pool. Next time, Alice meets a dodo, tries to
make friends with a mouse, and joins in a very, very curious race. Goodbye.

Vocabulary

curious
if you describe things as curious you mean they are strange; if you describe a person as
curious, it means they're interested in everything

ceiling
the top part of a room

tears
the water that comes from your eyes when you cry

fan
an object made of material or paper that you move up and down, or from side to side to
make cold air

shrinking (verb: shrink)

getting smaller

escape
get away from a difficult or dangerous situation or place

Alice in Wonderland: Part 3: The Caucus-race

Episode 150313 / 13 Mar 2015

Alice swims in a pool of her own tears, and joins in a Caucus-race. But who is the winner,
and who will give the prizes?

Transcript

Narrator
Hello. So far, Alice had been very small, then very tall, then very small again in this strange
Wonderland she found when she chased a talking rabbit and fell down the rabbit hole. Now
she was swimming in a pool of her own tears, wondering what was going to happen next.
Alice
Ooh, whatever's this? It's a mouse! Hello mouse! You're a very big mouse… but then, I'm a
very, very little girl today. Whatever next? If this mouse talks, I won't be at all
surprised… Oh Mouse, do you know the way out of this pool? I'm very tired of swimming
about here, Mouse! Mouse? Hmmm. Perhaps it doesn't understand English. Maybe it's a
French mouse! Now, what was that French I learned in school? Où est ma chatte?

Mouse
Chatte? Cat! Did you say cat?!

Alice
Oh, I'm so sorry Mouse! I forgot mice don't like cats.

Mouse
Would you like cats if you were me?

Alice
Well… perhaps not. But my cat Dinah is different. She's such a sweet, quiet thing. If you
meet her, I'm sure you'll like her.

Mouse
We won't talk about cats any more, thank you!

Alice
We won't! Er… do you - do you er… like dogs? They can be so sweet and they kill all the
rats… and… Oh dear!

Alice
Oh please come back, dear Mouse. We won't talk about cats or dogs, if you don't like
them. Swim with me to the shore.

Narrator
So Alice and the mouse swam to the edge of the pool of tears. And as they swam, they were
joined by lots of other creatures that had fallen into the pool, just like Alice and the mouse.
There was a duck and a dodo and many other strange animals that Alice had never seen
before. All the creatures had the same question.

Animals
How can we get dry? What can we do? I'm so far away from my nest, that pool was very
wet and salty, oh it's no good for my fur, etc…

Dodo
We must have a Caucus-race!

Animals
Hooray! Hoorah!
Alice
What's a Caucus-race, Mr Dodo?

Dodo
The best way to explain a Caucus-race is to have a Caucus-race!

Narrator
It was the strangest race Alice had ever seen. The Dodo marked a circle for the racecourse
and everyone stood anywhere they wanted to. Nobody said "One, two, three, go!" but
everyone started running. Alice ran too, although she didn't quite know where she should
run to. Everyone ran left and right in any direction they pleased. But after half an hour of
running, everybody was quite dry again.

Dodo
The race is over!

Multiple voices
But who has won? Did I win? Who is the winner?

Dodo
Ah... yes... Who has won? Who has won? Everybody has won and everyone must
have prizes! And she must give the prizes!

Alice
Me?

Narrator
Alice didn't have any prizes for a Caucus-race with her, but she searched in her pockets and
found some sweets. She had enough sweets to give exactly one sweet to every runner.

Alice
Here you are, one for you, and one for you…

Animals
Thank you very much… oh dear, this has no taste whatsoever… oh, I shall choke…it's
rather good, yes very tasty…

Alice
And one for you – now, does everybody have one? Oh, I must say, my cat Dinah would
love a Caucus-race…

Animals
Let's go! Come away! Time for bed! Oh, is it that time already? Cats - ugh!
Alice
Oh dear. I said it again. Come back! Please! I'm sorry! Poor Dinah. Nobody seems to like
her down here and I'm sure she's the best cat in the world!

Narrator
Poor Alice felt very lonely and sad. She cried quietly to herself for a while. But in a little
while, she heard footsteps in the distance. She looked up to see who it was. Next time, I'll
tell you who the footsteps belonged to, and how Alice got so big she filled a whole house,
and what happened when she kicked poor Bill the lizard up and out of the chimney.
Goodbye.

Vocabulary

shore
the place where the water of a lake, sea or river meets the land

creatures (singular: creature)

animals

dodo
a large bird that lived in the past and could not fly.

prizes (singular: prize)

something you get as a reward for winning a race or competition

destroy
to break something completely so it can't be used at all

Alice in Wonderland: Part 4: The White Rabbit's house

Episode 150320 / 20 Mar 2015

Alice is too big to fit inside the White Rabbit's house. The problem is, she's already inside
it! How does she get out - and why is everyone throwing cakes?

Transcript

Narrator
Hello. Alice fell down a Rabbit Hole one day and found herself in a Wonderland, where
Animals talk, curious things happen and everything she eats and drinks makes her grow
bigger or smaller. Now she is sitting alone. Suddenly, she heard footsteps. The White
Rabbit was running towards her. He seemed to be very worried.

White Rabbit
Oh dear! Where can I have dropped them? I must find them, or I'm sure The Duchess
will chop off my head!
Narrator
Alice guessed he was looking for the gloves and fan that he had dropped - but she didn't
know where they were either. After all her growing and shrinking, Alice was exactly the
same size as the rabbit. When the White Rabbit saw Alice, he spoke to her quite angrily.

White Rabbit
Mary Ann! What are you doing out here? Run home this minute and get me a pair of gloves
and a fan! Quickly!

Alice
How surprised he'll be when he finds out I'm not Mary Ann!

Narrator
Alice began to run, as the White Rabbit had told her, although she didn't quite know where
she should run to. But soon, a little house appeared with the words 'W. Rabbit' written on
the door.

Alice
I won't knock on the door. The real Mary Ann might hear me.

Narrator
Alice crept into the house and went quietly upstairs to a little bedroom… and there she
found two fans, three pairs of gloves and…

Alice
Another bottle! I hope it makes me grow bigger again. I'm tired of being such a tiny little
thing!

Narrator
…and sure enough, Alice began to grow. Taller and taller she grew, until…

Alice
Ouch! My head! That's quite tall enough. That's tall enough! O-o-o-oh…

Narrator
Alice tried her hardest to stop growing - but it seemed to her like the harder she tried, the
taller she grew. Soon Alice was so big that she filled the whole room. Her head pressed
against the ceiling, her arm went out of the window and one of her feet went up
the chimney.

Alice
What will become of me now?

Narrator
Outside the house, a crowd started to gather. Alice heard voices.
Voices
Oh my goodness, oh my - whatever could it be? What is it?

Narrator
Soon, the White Rabbit arrived.

White Rabbit
What's that in the window?

Voice
It's an arm, sir!

White Rabbit
An arm? Well, it's got no business being there! Bill! Bill! Fetch the ladder and take it
away!

Narrator
Bill was the gardener. He brought a ladder and climbed up on to the roof.

White Rabbit
I won't have an arm in my bedroom! Down you go Bill, down the chimney!

Narrator
Poor Bill went up the ladder and tried to go down the chimney. But Alice's foot was
waiting for him… with a big kick.

Bill
Ohhhhhhhh!!!!

Voices
Oohs and ahhs, gasps etc Is he hurt? Help him up, give him some air…

Alice
There! That's got rid of him! Now what will they try?

Voices
Try the cakes!

White Rabbit
Yes! The cakes: bring the cakes! We'll need a lot of them. That's right. Now, everybody,
throw them through the other window!

Alice
What's this…? Oh! Lots and lots of little cakes. I wonder… If I ate them, would I shrink
again? They must do something… and I must get out of this house. I'll try just one of them
to start with.
Narrator
Alice ate one of the little cakes, and soon found herself to be a little smaller. She ate
another and another, until at last she was just the right size to run out of the bedroom… and
out of the house.

Voices
There she is! What is it? Get her! Catch her, quickly!

Narrator
But Alice was too fast for them. She ran far away from the White Rabbit's house, deeper
and deeper into the forest until she became quite lost. She was wondering what she could
eat or drink to make her grow to the right size again, when suddenly she saw in front of her
a large mushroom - about the same size as herself, with a large blue caterpillar sitting on
top of it, smoking a pipe and taking no notice of Alice at all. Will the caterpillar help Alice
to grow again? I'll tell you next time.

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Why not try these?

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Vocabulary

chop off
remove by cutting

housemaid
a female whose job is to cook and clean in a house
chimney
the vertical tunnel above a fireplace in a room which smoke goes up so that it doesn't go
into the room

ladder
a wood or metal set of steps that you climb to reach things that are high up

roof
the part of a building which covers the top

gardener
a person whose job is to look after a garden

giant
a very big person, often a character in fairy tales

caterpillar
a small creature that will one day become a butterfly