← the Duchess was sitting on a three-legged stool in the middle, nursing a baby; 🔊
← but she saw in another moment that it was addressed to the baby, and not to her, so she took courage, and went on again:-- 🔊
← While she was trying to fix on one, the cook took the cauldron of soup off the fire, and at once set to work throwing everything within her reach at the Duchess and the baby-- 🔊
← and the baby was howling so much already, that it was quite impossible to say whether the blows hurt it or not. 🔊
← While the Duchess sang the second verse of the song, she kept tossing the baby violently up and down, and the poor little thing howled so, that Alice could hardly hear the words:-- 🔊
← ‘Here! you may nurse it a bit, if you like!’ the Duchess said to Alice, flinging the baby at her as she spoke. 🔊
← Alice caught the baby with some difficulty, as it was a queer-shaped little creature, and held out its arms and legs in all directions, 🔊
← The baby grunted again, and Alice looked very anxiously into its face to see what was the matter with it. 🔊
← ‘By-the-bye, what became of the baby?’ said the Cat. ‘I’d nearly forgotten to ask.’ 🔊
← and the sneeze of the baby, the shriek of the Gryphon, and all the other queer noises, would change (she knew) to the confused clamour of the busy farm-yard-- 🔊