Alice was delighted to see the Duchess again, who was now in a much better mood. The Duchess warmly linked arms with Alice as they walked. She talked about finding morals in everything, which Alice found a bit puzzling but interesting.
As they walked, the Duchess leaned close to Alice and chatted away. Suddenly, the Queen appeared with a stern expression. The Duchess quickly left, and the Queen invited Alice to resume the croquet game. The game was still chaotic, with flamingos as mallets and hedgehogs as balls. The Queen kept shouting, “Off with their heads!” whenever she was displeased.
The Queen led Alice to a Gryphon—a mythical creature with the body of a lion and the head and wings of an eagle. “Take this young lady to see the Mock Turtle,” the Queen ordered, and then she left to oversee more executions.
The Gryphon told Alice not to worry. “They never really execute anyone,” he said. He then took her to the Mock Turtle, who was sitting sadly by the sea. The Mock Turtle looked very gloomy, and Alice felt sorry for him.
“Why are you so sad?” Alice asked.
The Mock Turtle began to tell his story. “Once, I was a real turtle,” he said with a deep sigh. He talked about his school under the sea, where his teacher was an old turtle they called Tortoise. “We had the best education,” he said. “We learned subjects like Reeling and Writhing, and the different branches of Arithmetic—Ambition, Distraction, Uglification, and Derision.”
Alice found these subjects quite strange. “I’ve never heard of Uglification,” she said.
The Gryphon and the Mock Turtle were surprised. “Don’t you know what to beautify is?” they asked. “Well, Uglification is the opposite!”
They continued chatting about his school days and the lessons he took. Alice listened eagerly, even though some of it was confusing. She asked about the games they played, and the Gryphon suggested that the Mock Turtle tell her about them.