Алиса в Зазеркалье / Through the Looking-glass, and What Alice Found There

“I was in a wood just now, and I wish I could get back there.”

But at that moment there was a shrill scream from the engine[19 - a shrill scream from the engine – пронзительный свисток паровоза], and everybody jumped up.

The Horse said, “It’s only a brook and we have to jump it over.” Alice was nervous. In another moment the carriage rose up into the air …

And the next moment she was sitting under a tree with the Gnat [20 - gnat – комар]from the train.

It was sitting on a branch over her head. It was an enormous Gnat. “About the size of a chicken,” Alice thought.

“You don’t like insects?” the Gnat asked.

“I like them when they can talk,” Alice said. “They don’t talk, where I come from.”

“What kind of insects do you like from where you come from?” the Gnat asked.

“I don’t like them at all,” Alice explained, “because I’m afraid of them … at least the large kinds. But I can tell you the names of some of them.

”

“Do they answer to their names?” the Gnat asked.

“I don’t know …”

“What’s the use of having names[21 - What’s the use of having names – В чем же смысл имен]” the Gnat said, “if they won’t answer to them?”

“It’s useful to the people who name them. If not, why do things have names at all?”

“I can’t say,” the Gnat said. “Here they’ve got no names.”

After this, Alice was silent for a minute or two.

The Gnat asked, “I think you don’t want to lose your name.”

“No, I don’t,” Alice said. She was a little nervous.

“Only think how nice it would be if you could go home without a name! For example, if the governess wanted to call you to your lessons, she would say “come here … ,” and there she would have to stop, because she didn’t know your name, and of course you wouldn’t have to go, you know.”

“That would never happen, I’m sure,” said Alice.

“If she couldn’t remember my name, she’d call me �Miss!’.”

“Well, if she said �Miss,’ and didn’t say anything more,” the Gnat said, “of course you’d miss [22 - miss – слово-омоним: Мисс (как обращение), пропускать (зд. игра слов)]your lessons. That’s a joke.”

Alice looked up, but the Gnat wasn’t there! Alice got up and walked on.