The Rabbit Hole

          Alice had the old tree cut down and heavy rocks place ontop of
    the deep rabit hole. A solid granite monument stood over it with
    the inscription, "Now I have time." No one thought it was more than
    a witty memorial. Alice kept her secret to her death bed. "There are
    somethings which are not ordinary." she said a few weeks before
    her passing. Her daughter Effie had heard scratching about the great
    stone mound and thought she saw a rabbit with yellow vest and large
    pocket watch. Alice forebade her to approach the monument again.
          Effie had the stones excavated to burry her mother under the
    massive monument. "My mother thought so much of this place.
    It will be a fitting tribute." Effie told a reporter for the local paper.
    No one could have expected the sink hole. It swallowed the backhoe
    and several labours. Cammeras flashed as giant butterflies flew out:
    each the size of a horse. Effie was snatched by one giant blue monarch
    and taken down the gaping hole. She could see the backhoe on a ledge
    lieing on its side. She looked at the bright blue sky far behind her and
    then down at the approaching blue sky below her. "But, I'm flying
    down the hole?" Effie said.
          The monarch carried up and above the hole she had fallen through.
    There were dozens of giant red ants dragging her mother away. Effie
    screamed. The monarch dropped her ontop of an ant. "What? Attack!
    We are under attack!" the red ant that she had fallen on screamed.
    Effie hung on its back, "I'm not attacking! I fell off the butterfly!"
    "Attack! Attack!" the other red ants shouted and swarmed at Effie.
    "That's my mother!" she cried. The ants stopped. "Alice? Is your
    mother?" the ant asked that Effie was clinging to. "Yes! You must'nt
    eat her." she sobbed. The ant she was clinging to turned its head
    around to face her, "She is the queen of Wonderland. Were taking her
    to the Red Queen. That's the proper thing to do." the red ant answered
    and turned its head about to follow the others.
          "Well, I'm her daughter. I will come with you." Effie commanded.
    "Obviously. We are not savages. We follow the rules." the red ant
    snipped its pincers irratably, "Just hang on and behave yourself!"
    Effie thought it queer that an ant should give her orders and be so
    condescending. But, they were bigger than her and there were so many.
    It would be prudent to follow their rules. If only she could help her mother.
    If only she had buried her in the family plot. If only she had respected
    her mother's warning about the rabbit hole. It was too late now.
    She held tight to the ant's neck, "What is your name?" She felt ridiculous
    asking. "We are the red ants." the ant seemed more irratated by that
    question. "Oh? Then, I will call you Red." Effie answered. The ant said
    nothing, but clicked its pincers faster.

    (?)

                                Should I turn Left or right?


          Effie pointed her finger at the sky. She was too frighten to speek.
    Red looked up. "Attack!" he shouted once before his head was crushed.
    The red ants turned to fight. Effie struggled to free herself from the
    tallons around her chest. A great white owl had caught her. They flew
    high over the forest. "Where are you taking me?" Effie gasped as the
    owls grip grew tighter. "Didn't mean to squeeze you too hard. I've never
    rescued anyone before." the owl replied. "Does every creature speek
    here?" Effie was losing her composure. Alice had taught her to always
    be polite and to mind her temper. "This is Wonderland. All living things
    speak and read. Your a silly girl. I do wish the White Queen would
    explain her orders." the owl looked down at Effie. "Oh? So the White
    Queen sent you?" Effie remembered the chest board and how her
    mother would talk about the pieces as if they were alive.
        The owl spiraled down to a castle in the middle of a lake.
    "Yes! Yes! You look like Alice." A slender woman in white long glissening
    dress held out her arm for the owl. The owl landed on one leg and released
    Effie to the Queen's left hand. Effie stood up and curtsied. "The Red Queen
    has your mother, but you are her heir." the White Queen bowed her head
    to Effie.Her golden hair fell on Effie, nearly knocking her out of the
    the Queen's hand. Effie screamed, dangling from a pinky finger. The Queen
    cupped her hands and cradled Effie. "Forgive me. It takes a greatness to
    understand smallness." the Queen said, smiling at Effie. She placed Effie
    on a tea table and poured some tea. "I'm so hungry." Effie tried to break
    a biscut. The Queen pinched off a piece and dipped a thimble full of tea
    for Effie. "You must get my mother back." Effie said, while trying to sip
    her tea by scooping it her right hand. The Queen smiled, "Alice is
    dead. You must let her go." Effie sat down on the edge of the biscut plate
    and sobbed. The Queen looked over to her knights, "Who will risk their
    life to bring Alice to me?" Every knight stepped forward. "No!" Effie shouted;
    "Please. I didn't want to start a war." The knights bowed and left.
    "War is chess and Wonderland is a chess board. The Red Queen will
    challenge your claim to Alice's throne. And you must defend it or perish."
    said the White Queen.

    <^>

                                              Jelly Cake

            "How can I be a Queen? I'm no taller than your thumb." Effie
    asked the White King. He was an old King with a bristly white beard.
    "I seen many royals. Some were quite fat and stupid. Size is not
    important." the King sat on a royal chair infront of his incampment.
    He and his Queen were preparing to assault the Red Queen's castle
    in the Black Forest. "Why did she build a castle in a forest?" the
    old King grumbled: "I've fought 23 campaigns and been captured twice.
    But, this Red Queen is a crooked match. My Knights will be rooked
    in all that wood." "That's why she put her castle there." the White Queen
    answered and kissed the King. "Please stop! I don't want anyone hurt."
    Effie cried her voice squeeked up to the giant King.
          "Nonsense. Everyone in my kingdom is a pawn. This is chess and
    there can be no surrender." the King bellowed and took a slice of jelly
    cake. "If I could convince the Red Queen to give back my mother,
    then would you stop this war?" Effie shouted to be heard. "Didn't your
    mother tell you? The Red Queen never gives anything back. She'll
    cut your head off." the Queen answered and pinched some crumbs off
    the cake. Effie dodged the falling crumbs and shouted "This is pointless!"
    "That's not the point. We are chess pieces. We play to win." the King
    fidgeted in his throne and sipped some tea. Effie threw her hands in
    the air and ate some jelly cake. "Oh? My?" she felt dizzy.
          Her legs and arms grew and stretched, then her torso and finally her
    head inflated like a balloon. She shot up in size just under the White
    Queen's height. "eeeek!" Effie cloth's had ripped off her. "Well. Don't
    stand there gawking. Get the Queen some cloths." commanded the
    White King. Serveral pawns raced about Effie with shields to hide her.
    Three maidens skipped across the court with a royal emerald gown.
    A crown of emeralds was placed on Effie's head. "Ah. I knew your mother's
    raiments would fit you." the White Queen said with a cheshire cat smile.
    Effie walked out behind the pawns shields and the court kneeled before
    her. "Yes. I thought she'd never grow up." the King laughed. Effie looked
    down at the stone floor. She remembered a poem her mother had taught
    her;

                      "As I was walking near the lake,
                      I met a little rattlesnake.
                      He ate so much of jelly cake,
                      He made his little belly ache."


    "What a strange thing to say." the King looked perplexed. The White Queen
    put her hand over her mouth and whispered to the King, "Perhaps, she
    is a Witch like her mother?" The White King looked very troubled.


    =+=


                                        Forget Ourselves


        Effie lay on silk sheets on her bed, worried about the war.
    "My mother told me, 'Don't try to keep other people's conscience'"
    she pondered the meaning of all this madness. There was a commotion
    outside her royal tent. Effie put on her robe and stepped outside to
    see the White Knights burning the Black Forest. "Noooo!" Effie ran
    over to the White King and Queen, seated on their thrones.
    "You'll burn my mother!" Effie shouted. "This is war. Your mother is
    a necessary sacrifice." the White King answered with a huff.
    "B-but the war is about bringing Alice back!" Effie sobbed. The Queen
    looked with disdain at Effie, "You must let her go. This has always
    been about capturing the Red Kingdom and then Wonderland."
        Trumpets sounded an alarm. The Red Knights had galloped out of
    the burning woods. A colum of Red Pawns marched behind them.
    Finally, the Red King and Queen apeared behind a line of their Pawns.
    "Ah that's much better now we can have a proper game of chess in
    the meadow." the White King chuckled. Two lines of pawns assembled:
    one red the other white. The knights were behind them and behind the
    knights their King and Queen. Effie looked out at the battle field and
    the Red Queen, "She holding something up in her left hand."
    The White King took out his spy glass, "It's Alice." The King handed
    the spy glass to his queen. She inturn handed it to Effie.
    "She's standing?" Effie could see her mother waving to her.
    A large blue monarch butterfly fluttered down around the Red Queen.
    Alice lepted on its back. The Red Queen tried to snatch her back, but
    the butterfly was too quick. Alice flew over the battle field.
    Effie stood in shock as her mother landed with the butterfly on her nose.
    Alice was a child again. "Effie! I told you not to move the stones!" Alice
    scolded. "Well. If she hadn't moved the stones; you'd be stone dead."
    the butterfly said. Alice frowned, "This is an old friend. I knew him when
    he was a caterpillar."
        "I think I'm going to faint." Effie grabbed an arm on the White Queen's
    throne. Alice flew over to the biscuts between the King and Queen and ate.
    She begain to stretch and grow in hieght just a liitle under Effie.
    "That's much better." Alice curtsied to the King and Queen. Effie staggered
    to a canvas chair beside them. "Mom? Are you my mother?" Effie
    mumbled. Alice took a napkin and soaked it with water and touched
    about her daughters face. "I know it's odd, but everything is odd
    here." Alice said softly to Effie. "Were going to have trouble explaining this
    if we get home." Effie put her head on Alice's chest. Alice hugged Effie,
    "In Wonderland nothing is impossible."


    ***


                                      Look to the End


        A pawn ran to the White King and fell on his knees. "We are loss!
    The Red Queen advances!" the pawn gasped and fell dead covered in
    blood. "I don't want to be captured again." huffed the White King.
    The White Queen walked over to Alice and Effie, "Now is the time to act."
    Alice took Effie by the hand and lead her up to a ridge overlooking the
    battle. "Raise up your hand, Effie!" Alice commanded. The two girls raised
    their right hands. The White Knights saw them and cheered, "For Alice!
    For Wonderland!" The line of White Pawns pressed forward as the
    White Knights rode through the Red Knights. Effie felt ill at the sight of
    such carnarge. She wavered backwards. Alice tightened her grip on her.
    "You must be strong." her mother whispered.
        They could see the Red Queen defending her King. She cut off the
    heads of serveral White Knights and pawns. "Ah! Checkmate!" the
    White King chuckled. "They haven't surrendered yet." the White Queen
    answered. Red Knights galloped back to their King and were met with
    a line of White Pawns. "This is insane. There's plenty of room for everyone."
    Effie sobbed. Alice squeezed Effie's hand,  "These are chess pieces.
    No one has died." Effie looked astonished at her mother. Alice gave
    a toothy smile back. "Can we go home?" Effie whispered to her mother.
    The Red King took off his crown. "Ha! There! You see checkmate!"
  the White King shouted and pointed and clapped. His Queen curstied
  and bowed to him as did Alice and Effie and all the pawns about him.
  "I am a merciful King. Let's all have a picnic!" declaired the White King.
    All the chess pieces picked themselves up and pieced themselves
    together. "Oh. This is a rum day!" Alice laughed and clapped. Effie sat
    beside a Red Pawn and shared a cup cake. Effie's face was confused:
    one eye brow higher than the other.
        "Effie the White King sent the March Hare to take you home." Alice
    giggled and skipped about her daughter. "I-ah? Are you coming?" Effie
    was very confused. Alice kissed her daughter, "Don't be silly. Of course!"
    Effie stumbled after Alice and the March Hare as they ran up the meadow
    to a rabbit hole under the roots of a tree. "Will never fit." Effie mumbled.
    Alice laughed and handed Effie some jelly cake. After a few bites they
    were tiny enough to fit in the breast pocket of March Hare's yellow vest.
    "We don't have a stitch to wear." Effie shivered. "The pocket is wool.
    My lamb knitted it for me." replied the March Hare as he scrambled
    down the rabbit hole. Scratching and hopping he wiggled his tail up
    and out of the great sink hole. "There! My wiskers always know the
    right way to go." the March Hare said.
        Effie and Alice climbed down out his pocket, holding on to the
    last crumbs of jelly cake. They ate and grew. Alice was just under Effie
    in height. "It wont do for us to stand about like this." Effie said and took
    Alice by the hand to their house. Mr. Durgeon was shocked to see his
    mistress walking naked up the lane with a little blond girl, without a
    stitch of clothing. "Madnam!" he bellowed and pulled some blankets
    from the trunk of the limo and quickly covered them. "Hello! Theo!" Alice
    giggled. The butler looked at Alice. "You look like a girl I knew many years
    ago." he answered with tears swelling. "Oh. This is my niece Alice.
    She'll be staying here... for a while." Effie swallowed her reply.
        "I want a bubble bath! Then, some cake!" Alice giggled and ran up the
    steps to the old victorian house. Mr. Durgeon stared at the exuberant girl.
    Effie shook out the twigs in her long red hair. "I'll be joining her.
    Oh? Would you make a plate of carrots for our guest?" Effie pointed
    down to the March Hare standing between them with his yellow vest on
    and a lage pocket watch. "Yes. Mom." Mr. Durgeon responce was
    hestitant,  "Your son Charles went searching for you two weeks ago."
    Effie spun about in terror, "D-ddown the hole?" "Yes. Mom." Mr. Durgeon
    replied and showed the March Hare to the kitchen. "I am not going
    back there." Effie mumbled as she slipped into the bubble bath with Alice.
    "Back? What's wrong?" Alice giggled and threw bubbles in the air.
    "Your grandson went searching for us. .. down there." Effie grumbled and
    washed out her hair. Alice laughed, "Well? Let's go!" Alice lepted out
    of the old iron claw tub and threw on her favorite green skirt with the
    white apron. "Does this ever end?" Effie grumbled. Alice spun about the
    bathroom floor on the tips of her toes, "Nothing ever ends in Wonderland!"
    Efffie sat in the tub and sobbed into her hands.


    :)