Friends of the White Rabbit had come to help him get rid of Alice. Alice couldn't see how many creatures had gathered under the window. But she could hear them.
"Send someone down the chimney!" one voice cried.
"Pull the arm out the window!" another voice cried.
"I wish they could pull me out the window," Alice said to herself. "I don't want to stay here any longer."
She heard more mumbling, and finally the White Rabbit spoke. "Good!" he said. "A wheelbarrow full should be enough."
"A wheelbarrow full of what?" Alice asked quietly.
She didn't have long to wonder. The next moment a shower of pebbles came through the window. Some of them hit Alice in the face.
"Ow! I'll put a stop to this," she said to herself. Then in a louder voice, she called, "You'd better not do that again! If you do, I'll tell my cat, Dinah, about this!"
No one outside said anything. Meanwhile Alice was surprised to see the pebbles turning into little cakes. "If I eat one, it's sure to change my size. I can't grow any larger, so I bet it'll make me smaller."
Alice swallowed a cake and was delighted to feel herself shrinking. As soon as she was small enough to fit through the door, she ran outside. A crowd of birds and animals immediately rushed at her. But Alice ran off as fast as she could. She was soon deep in the woods.
However, Alice did not feel safe yet. As she was searching anxiously among the trees, she heard something bark. Alice looked up and saw an enormous puppy staring back at her. It stretched out a paw, trying to touch her.
"Oh, you poor thing," Alice said in a kind voice. Maybe if she gave it a pat, it wouldn't eat her. But the puppy wouldn't approach her even though she was only three inches tall.
Perhaps it would play fetch. Alice picked up a stick, and the puppy yelped with delight. It charged at Alice, who ran behind a bush. When Alice appeared again, the puppy rushed at the stick and tumbled head over heels.
"Oh my!" Alice said. "I'm so small now, this is like playing games with a horse!"
At any moment she expected the puppy to crush her. But now it was running back and forth, barking wildly. Finally it got tired and lay down, panting. The puppy's tongue was hanging out, and its eyes were closing.
"This is probably a good time to escape," Alice said. While the puppy rested, she quietly slipped away. Then she ran and ran until she could barely hear the puppy barking.
"That was a nice puppy," Alice said breathlessly. She rested against a tiny flower, fanning herself with one of its leaves. "If I were bigger, I could teach it some tricks. I really do need to grow bigger again. But how will I do that? I suppose I should eat or drink something, but what?"
That was certainly a good question. Alice looked around at the flowers and grass. But she couldn't see anything that might help her. There was a mushroom growing near her that was as big as she was. Alice looked under it for anything to eat or drink. Then she stood on tiptoe and peeped over the edge of the mushroom.
Her eyes met those of a blue caterpillar. He was sitting quietly on top of the mushroom with his arms folded. They stared at each other in silence for quite some time.