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30 A CAUCUS-RACE and after a few minutes it seemed quite natural to Alice to find herself talking familiarly with them, as if she had known them all her life. Indeed, she had quite a long argument with the Lory, who at last turned sulky, and would only say, “lam older than you, and must know better ;” and this Alice would not allow, without knowing how old it was, and as the Lory positively refused to tell its age, there was no more to be said. At last the Mouse, who seemed to be a person of some authority among them, called out, “Sit down, all of you, and listen to me! FU soon make you dry enough!” They all sat down at once, in a large ring, with the Mouse in the middle. Alice kept her eyes anxiously fixed on it, for she felt sure she would catch a bad cold if she did not get dry very soon. “Ahem!” said the’ Mouse with an important air, “are you all ready? ‘This is the driest thing I know. Silence all round, if you please! ‘William the Conqueror, whose cause was
