Chapter 4: The Walrus and the Oysters

Alice looks around but cannot find the White Rabbit.

She says, “I clearly saw him come here. Where did he hide?”

She sees two talking puppets.

The puppets walk up to her with a smile.

Alice wants to find the Rabbit, so she quickly says, “Nice to meet you, goodbye!”

The puppets stop her and say, “The first thing to say is ‘Hello,’ and then you must shake hands.”

Alice shakes hands with them unwillingly.

She says, “But I must run after that Rabbit.”

The puppets say, “Don’t hurry, we will tell you a story.”

Alice stops and is drawn in.

The puppets say, “The story goes like this—one day, the Walrus and the Carpenter were walking on the beach.”

They saw a great many little oysters lying on the sand.

The Walrus and the Carpenter warmly invited the oysters to take a walk with them.

Some older oysters were cautious and stayed behind.

The younger oysters thought it was fun and followed them.

After walking a while, the Walrus and the Carpenter suddenly stopped.

They said, “We are hungry.”

Then they actually ate up all the little oysters.

Alice jumps and says, “What a terrible story!”

The puppets nod and say, “Yes, the little oysters were too trusting.”

The puppets say, “We will tell you another, even better story.”

Alice quietly steps back.

She whispers, “Sorry, I really have no time.”

While the puppets are still talking, she quietly slips away.

She says softly, “I must find that Rabbit.”