ALICJA W KRAINIE CZARÓW

   Pan Gasienica i Alicja przypatrywali sie sobie nawzajem przez kilka minut w zupelnym milczeniu. Na koniec pan Gasienica wyjal z ust fajke i odezwal sie slabym, spiacym glosem:

   The Caterpillar and Alice looked at each other for some time in silence: at last the Caterpillar took the hookah out of its mouth, and addressed her in a languid, sleepy voice.

   - Kim jestes?

   'Who are YOU?' said the Caterpillar.

   Nie bylo to zbyt zachecajace. Alicja odpowiedziala niesmialo: - Ja... ja naprawde w tej chwili nie bardzo wiem, kim jestem, prosze pana. Moglabym powiedziec, kim bylam dzis rano, ale od tego czasu musialam sie juz zmienic wiele razy.

   This was not an encouraging opening for a conversation. Alice replied, rather shyly, 'I — I hardly know, sir, just at present—at least I know who I WAS when I got up this morning, but I think I must have been changed several times since then.'

   - Co chcesz przez to powiedziec? - zapytal surowo pan Gasienica. - Wytlumacz sie!

   'What do you mean by that?' said the Caterpillar sternly. 'Explain yourself!'

   - Nie moge sie wytlumaczyc - odrzekla Alicja - poniewaz, jak pan widzi, nie jestem soba.

   'I can't explain MYSELF, I'm afraid, sir' said Alice, 'because I'm not myself, you see.'

   - Nic nie rozumiem - rzekl pan Gasienica.

   'I don't see,' said the Caterpillar.

   - Obawiam sie, ze nie bede mogla wytlumaczyc panu tego jasniej, poniewaz, szczerze mówiac, sama nic nie rozumiem. Te ciagle zmiany wzrostu dzialaja na czlowieka raczej oglupiajaco.

   'I'm afraid I can't put it more clearly,' Alice replied very politely, 'for I can't understand it myself to begin with; and being so many different sizes in a day is very confusing.'

   - Nie widze powodu - rzekl pan Gasienica.

   'It isn't,' said the Caterpillar.

   - Byc moze, ze nie zaznal pan tego dotychczas - odparla uprzejmie Alicja - ale kiedy zmieni sie pan w poczwarke, a pózniej w motyla, to bedzie to dla pana czyms równiez bardzo dziwnym, prawda?

   'Well, perhaps you haven't found it so yet,' said Alice; 'but when you have to turn into a chrysalis—you will some day, you know—and then after that into a butterfly, I should think you'll feel it a little queer, won't you?'

   - Nieprawda - rzekl pan Gasienica.

   'Not a bit,' said the Caterpillar.

   - Byc moze, ale pan te sprawy odczuwa inaczej. W kazdym razie byloby to dziwne dla mnie.

   'Well, perhaps your feelings may be different,' said Alice; 'all I know is, it would feel very queer to ME.'

   - Dla ciebie? - rzekl pan Gasienica pogardliwie. - A kim ty wlasciwie jestes?

   'You!' said the Caterpillar contemptuously. 'Who are YOU?'

   W ten sposób powrócili na nowo do poczatku rozmowy. Opryskliwe odpowiedzi pana Gasienicy mocno juz zirytowaly Alicje, powiedziala wiec z naciskiem: - Sadze, ze to pan powinien mi sie przedstawic pierwszy.

   Which brought them back again to the beginning of the conversation. Alice felt a little irritated at the Caterpillar's making such VERY short remarks, and she drew herself up and said, very gravely, 'I think, you ought to tell me who YOU are, first.'

   - Dlaczego? - zapytal pan Gasienica.

   'Why?' said the Caterpillar.

   Byla to znowu sprawa nader klopotliwa. Widzac, ze pan Gasienica jest w bardzo kiepskim humorze, Alicja odwrócila sie i zamierzala odejsc.

   Here was another puzzling question; and as Alice could not think of any good reason, and as the Caterpillar seemed to be in a VERY unpleasant state of mind, she turned away.

   - Czekaj! - zawolal nagle pan Gasienica. - Mam ci cos waznego do powiedzenia.

   'Come back!' the Caterpillar called after her. 'I've something important to say!'

   Brzmialo to dosc obiecujaco. Alicja zawrócila wiec i zmienila sie w sluch.

   This sounded promising, certainly: Alice turned and came back again.

   -Trzymaj nerwy na wodzy - rzekl pan Gasienica.

   'Keep your temper,' said the Caterpillar.

   - Czy to juz wszystko? - zapytala Alicja, usilujac opanowac gniew.

   'Is that all?' said Alice, swallowing down her anger as well as she could.

   - Nie - odparl pan Gasienica.

   'No,' said the Caterpillar.

   Alicja pomyslala, ze wlasciwie moze zaczekac na dalszy ciag tej rozmowy, bo i tak nie ma nic lepszego do roboty. Przez pare minut pan Gasienica milczaco pykal z fajki, po czym wyjal cybuch z ust i zapytal: - Wiec wydaje ci sie, ze nie jestes soba?

   Alice thought she might as well wait, as she had nothing else to do, and perhaps after all it might tell her something worth hearing. For some minutes it puffed away without speaking, but at last it unfolded its arms, took the hookah out of its mouth again, and said, 'So you think you're changed, do you?'

   - Obawiam sie, ze nie jestem, prosze pana - odpowiedziala Alicja. - Nie pamietam juz niczego w sposób normalny, zmienial wzrost co dziesiec minut.

   'I'm afraid I am, sir,' said Alice; 'I can't remember things as I used—and I don't keep the same size for ten minutes together!'

   - Czego nie pamietasz? - zapytal pan Gasienica.

   'Can't remember WHAT things?' said the Caterpillar.

   - Próbowalam na przyklad powiedziec „Pan kotek byl chory”, ale wyszlo jakos inaczej.

   'Well, I've tried to say "HOW DOTH THE LITTLE BUSY BEE," but it all came different!' Alice replied in a very melancholy voice.

   - Powiedz „Ojca Wirgiliusza” - rzekl pan Gasienica.

   'Repeat, "YOU ARE OLD, FATHER WILLIAM,"' said the Caterpillar.

   Alicja splotla dlonie i zaczela deklamowac:

   Alice folded her hands, and began:—

Ojciec Wirgiliusz uczyl dzieci swoje
 Na glowie przy tym stojac wiele lat
 Rzekl jeden z synów: - Tak bardzo sie boje
 O ciebie ojcze, bos juz stary dziad.

   'You are old, Father William,' the young man said,
     'And your hair has become very white;
    And yet you incessantly stand on your head—
     Do you think, at your age, it is right?'

- W latach mlodosci - ojciec mu odpowie Bywalem
 nieraz w strachu o swój mózg,
 Lecz dzis, gdy widze, ze mam pusto w glowie,
 Cwiczac, najwyzej slysze wody plusk.

   'In my youth,' Father William replied to his son,
     'I feared it might injure the brain;
    But, now that I'm perfectly sure I have none,
     Why, I do it again and again.'

- Jestes juz stary, jak sie wyzej rzeklo,
 I gruby - wybacz - ze az brak mi slów,
 Ale koziolki fikasz z pasja wsciekla.
 Skad sie, mój ojcze, bierze zwyczaj ów?

   'You are old,' said the youth, 'as I mentioned before,
     And have grown most uncommonly fat;
    Yet you turned a back-somersault in at the door—
     Pray, what is the reason of that?'

- W mojej mlodosci - rzecze medrzec siwy Nacierac
 zwyklem co dzien czlonki swe,
 Zas uzywalem tej oto oliwy,
 Chcesz, to ci sprzedam butelke lub dwie?

   'In my youth,' said the sage, as he shook his grey locks,
     'I kept all my limbs very supple
    By the use of this ointment—one shilling the box—
     Allow me to sell you a couple?'

- Masz ojcze, szczeki slabe ze starosci
 I zdolnys chyba lykac tylko ciecz,
 Ale zezarles ges z dziobem i koscmi,
 Przyznasz mi, ojcze, ze to dziwna rzecz.

   'You are old,' said the youth, 'and your jaws are too weak
     For anything tougher than suet;
    Yet you finished the goose, with the bones and the beak—
     Pray how did you manage to do it?'

- Za mlodu - rzecze starzec - prowadzilem
 Dyskusji z zona codziennie ze szesc
 I to mym szczekom dalo owa sile,
 Która pozwala dzis mi gesi jesc.

   'In my youth,' said his father, 'I took to the law,
     And argued each case with my wife;
    And the muscular strength, which it gave to my jaw,
     Has lasted the rest of my life.'

- Wez pod uwage, ojcze, ilosc lat twa,
 W tym wieku oczom bystrosci juz brak,
 A ty wegorza utrzymujesz latwo
 Na czubku nosa - powiedz, ojcze, jak?

   'You are old,' said the youth, 'one would hardly suppose
     That your eye was as steady as ever;
    Yet you balanced an eel on the end of your nose—
     What made you so awfully clever?'

- Jest w domu dzieci sto dwadziescia troje
 - ojciec odpowie - i mam pytan dosc.
 Juz mi obrzydly idiotyzmy twoje,
 Wiec radze, zmykaj, zanim wpadne w zlosc!

   'I have answered three questions, and that is enough,'
     Said his father; 'don't give yourself airs!
    Do you think I can listen all day to such stuff?
     Be off, or I'll kick you down stairs!'

   -To sie zupelnie nie zgadza - rzekl pan Gasienica.

   'That is not said right,' said the Caterpillar.

   - Niezupelnie sie zgadza - poprawila niesmialo Alicja. - Niektóre slowa sa inne.

   'Not QUITE right, I'm afraid,' said Alice, timidly; 'some of the words have got altered.'

   -To brzmi inaczej od poczatku do konca - zaopiniowal pan Gasienica, po czym zapanowalo parominutowe milczenie.

   'It is wrong from beginning to end,' said the Caterpillar decidedly, and there was silence for some minutes.

   Wreszcie odezwal sie znowu:

   The Caterpillar was the first to speak.

   -A jakiego wzrostu chcialabys byc?

   'What size do you want to be?' it asked.

   - Wlasciwie jest mi wszystko jedno - odpowiedziala Alicja. - Nie chcialabym tylko zmieniac sie tak czesto, wie pan...

   'Oh, I'm not particular as to size,' Alice hastily replied; 'only one doesn't like changing so often, you know.'

   - Nie wiem - rzekl pan Gasienica.

   'I DON'T know,' said the Caterpillar.

   Alicja nie odrzekla na to ani slowa. Nigdy w zyciu nie spotkala sie jeszcze z kims tak nieuprzejmym i czula, ze zaczyna tracic panowanie nad soba.

   Alice said nothing: she had never been so much contradicted in her life before, and she felt that she was losing her temper.

   - Czy twój obecny wzrost ci odpowiada? - zapytal pan Gasienica.

   'Are you content now?' said the Caterpillar.

   - Chcialabym byc troszeczke wieksza, jesli nie ma pan nic przeciwko temu. Dziesiec centymetrów, wie pan, to nie jest zbyt dobry wzrost.

   'Well, I should like to be a LITTLE larger, sir, if you wouldn't mind,' said Alice: 'three inches is such a wretched height to be.'

   -To jest swietny wzrost - odpowiedzial gniewnie pan Gasienica. (On sam mial wlasnie dziesiec centymetrów wzrostu).

   'It is a very good height indeed!' said the Caterpillar angrily, rearing itself upright as it spoke (it was exactly three inches high).

   -Ale ja nie jestem do takiego wzrostu przyzwyczajona - rzekla placzliwie Alicja, po czym dodala cicho: - Jakzebym chciala, zeby te zwierzeta nie obrazaly sie tak latwo.

   'But I'm not used to it!' pleaded poor Alice in a piteous tone. And she thought of herself, 'I wish the creatures wouldn't be so easily offended!'

   - Przyzwyczaisz sie do tego wzrostu z czasem - rzekl pan Gasienica, wkladajac cybuch w usta i pykajac wolno z fajki.

   'You'll get used to it in time,' said the Caterpillar; and it put the hookah into its mouth and began smoking again.

   Alicja czekala cierpliwie, dopóki pan Gasienica sie znowu nie odezwie. Po minucie wyjal cybuch z ust, ziewnal, przeciagnal sie, po czym zlazac z grzyba rzucil jakby od niechcenia: - Od jednej strony sie rosnie, od drugiej - maleje.

   This time Alice waited patiently until it chose to speak again. In a minute or two the Caterpillar took the hookah out of its mouth and yawned once or twice, and shook itself. Then it got down off the mushroom, and crawled away in the grass, merely remarking as it went, 'One side will make you grow taller, and the other side will make you grow shorter.'

   „Od jednej i drugiej strony, ale czego?” - pomyslala Alicja.

   'One side of WHAT? The other side of WHAT?' thought Alice to herself.

   - Grzyba - odpowiedzial pan Gasienica, jak gdyby uslyszal pytanie, po czym znikl w trawie.

   'Of the mushroom,' said the Caterpillar, just as if she had asked it aloud; and in another moment it was out of sight.

   Alicja przypatrywala sie przez chwile grzybowi, starajac sie rozróznic dwie strony, o których wspominal pan Gasienica. Ale jak to zrobic, skoro grzyb byl okragly? Na koniec objela go rekami, jak najdalej mogla, i odlamala po kawalku z obu konców.

   Alice remained looking thoughtfully at the mushroom for a minute, trying to make out which were the two sides of it; and as it was perfectly round, she found this a very difficult question. However, at last she stretched her arms round it as far as they would go, and broke off a bit of the edge with each hand.

   - Jak teraz odróznic te kawalki? - zapytala Alicja odgryzajac odrobine grzyba z prawej reki. W tej samej chwili poczula gwaltowny ból: kurczac sie stuknela podbródkiem o kolano!

   'And now which is which?' she said to herself, and nibbled a little of the right-hand bit to try the effect: the next moment she felt a violent blow underneath her chin: it had struck her foot!

   Alicja przerazila sie nie na zarty ta nagla zmiana. Wiedziala, ze nie ma chwili do stracenia, usilowala wiec odgryzc odrobine z drugiego kawalka. Podbródek jej przylegl juz tymczasem tak mocno do stopy, ze zaledwie mogla otworzyc usta. Na koniec udalo jej sie przelknac kawalek grzyba z lewej reki.

   She was a good deal frightened by this very sudden change, but she felt that there was no time to be lost, as she was shrinking rapidly; so she set to work at once to eat some of the other bit. Her chin was pressed so closely against her foot, that there was hardly room to open her mouth; but she did it at last, and managed to swallow a morsel of the lefthand bit.

   - Nareszcie moge swobodnie poruszac glowa! - krzyknela Alicja. Ale zachwyt zmienil sie w przerazenie, kiedy po chwili zorientowala sie, ze jej ramiona znikly gdzies w niewytlumaczalny sposób. Patrzac w dól widziala jedynie szyje potwornej dlugosci, która wyrastala na ksztalt olbrzymiej lodygi z morza zielonych lisci, szemrzacego gdzies w dole.

   'Come, my head's free at last!' said Alice in a tone of delight, which changed into alarm in another moment, when she found that her shoulders were nowhere to be found: all she could see, when she looked down, was an immense length of neck, which seemed to rise like a stalk out of a sea of green leaves that lay far below her.

   - Co to wlasciwie moze byc? - powiedziala na glos Alicja. - I gdzie podzialy sie moje ramiona? A moje rece - jakzebym chciala je zobaczyc! - To mówiac podniosla rece, ale nie ujrzala nic, poza jakims lekkim poruszeniem posród odleglych lisci.

   'What CAN all that green stuff be?' said Alice. 'And where HAVE my shoulders got to? And oh, my poor hands, how is it I can't see you?' She was moving them about as she spoke, but no result seemed to follow, except a little shaking among the distant green leaves.

   Jesli nie mozna uniesc rak do wysokosci glowy, to moze uda sie przynajmniej pochylic glowe ku rekom? Czyniac to Alicja stwierdzila z zachwytem, ze szyja jej wygina sie z latwoscia we wszystkich kierunkach niczym zmija. Wygiela ja wiec w sliczny zygzak i myszkowala glowa miedzy listowiem (okazalo sie, ze byly to korony drzew, pod którymi Alicja przechadzala sie jeszcze tak niedawno). Nagle uslyszala ostry syk i z przerazeniem cofnela glowe. Naprzeciw ujrzala duza Golebice bijaca gwaltownie skrzydlami.

   As there seemed to be no chance of getting her hands up to her head, she tried to get her head down to them, and was delighted to find that her neck would bend about easily in any direction, like a serpent. She had just succeeded in curving it down into a graceful zigzag, and was going to dive in among the leaves, which she found to be nothing but the tops of the trees under which she had been wandering, when a sharp hiss made her draw back in a hurry: a large pigeon had flown into her face, and was beating her violently with its wings.

   - Zmija! - wrzasnela Golebica.

   'Serpent!' screamed the Pigeon.

   - Nie jestem zmija - odparla z godnoscia Alicja. - Prosze zostawic mnie w spokoju.

   'I'm NOT a serpent!' said Alice indignantly. 'Let me alone!'

   - Zmija - powtarzam - rzekla Golebica pokorniejszym juz tonem i dodala z naglym szlochem: - Próbowalam juz wszystkich sposobów, ale widac nie ma na to rady!

   'Serpent, I say again!' repeated the Pigeon, but in a more subdued tone, and added with a kind of sob, 'I've tried every way, and nothing seems to suit them!'

   - Nie wiem, o czym pani mówi - rzekla Alicja.

   'I haven't the least idea what you're talking about,' said Alice.

   - Próbowalam juz chronic sie miedzy korzeniami drzew, próbowalam odgradzac sie zywoplotem - zalila sie Golebica, nie zwracajac zadnej uwagi na slowa Alicji wszystko na prózno!

   'I've tried the roots of trees, and I've tried banks, and I've tried hedges,' the Pigeon went on, without attending to her; 'but those serpents! There's no pleasing them!'

   Alicja byla coraz bardziej zdumiona, ale uwazala, ze dopóki Golebica nie skonczy swych biadan, wszelkie wyjasnienia sa bezcelowe.

   Alice was more and more puzzled, but she thought there was no use in saying anything more till the Pigeon had finished.

   -Tak jakby nie bylo dosc klopotu z wysiadywaniem jajek! - skarzyla sie dalej Golebica. - Trzeba jeszcze dniem i noca strzec sie zmij! Juz od trzech tygodni nie zmruzylam oka!

   'As if it wasn't trouble enough hatching the eggs,' said the Pigeon; 'but I must be on the look-out for serpents night and day! Why, I haven't had a wink of sleep these three weeks!'

   - Naprawde, bardzo mi przykro - rzekla Alicja, która zaczynala na koniec pojmowac, o co chodzi.

   'I'm very sorry you've been annoyed,' said Alice, who was beginning to see its meaning.

   - Wybralam sobie najwyzsze drzewo w calym lesie - biadala Golebica - juz myslalam, ze bede miala troche spokoju, a tu raptem znowu zmija wpelza w moje gniazdo, i to prosto z nieba! Precz, zmijo!

   'And just as I'd taken the highest tree in the wood,' continued the Pigeon, raising its voice to a shriek, 'and just as I was thinking I should be free of them at last, they must needs come wriggling down from the sky! Ugh, Serpent!'

   -Alez ja nie jestem zmija - rzekla Alicja. - Ja jestem... jestem...

   'But I'm NOT a serpent, I tell you!' said Alice. 'I'm a—I'm a—'

   - No, kim jestes? Widze, ze usilujesz cos krecic!

   'Well! WHAT are you?' said the Pigeon. 'I can see you're trying to invent something!'

   - Jestem mala dziewczynka - rzekla niepewnie Alicja, przypominajac sobie wszystkie przeobrazenia, jakich doznala od rana.

   'I—I'm a little girl,' said Alice, rather doubtfully, as she remembered the number of changes she had gone through that day.

   - Patrzcie ja! Kto by w to uwierzyl! - krzyknela Golebica tonem najglebszej pogardy. Widzialam juz w zyciu dosc malych dziewczynek, ale nie spotkalam sie nigdy z dziewczynka o takiej szyi! Nie, nie! Ty na pewno jestes zmija, nie próbuj nawet zaprzeczac! Mam nadzieje, ze nie bedziesz mi wmawiac, ze nie znasz smaku jajka!

   'A likely story indeed!' said the Pigeon in a tone of the deepest contempt. 'I've seen a good many little girls in my time, but never ONE with such a neck as that! No, no! You're a serpent; and there's no use denying it. I suppose you'll be telling me next that you never tasted an egg!'

   - Oczywiscie, ze znam smak jajka - rzekla Alicja z wrodzona sobie prawdomównoscia - ale male dziewczynki jedza nie mniej jajek niz zmije.

   'I HAVE tasted eggs, certainly,' said Alice, who was a very truthful child; 'but little girls eat eggs quite as much as serpents do, you know.'

   - Nigdy w to nie uwierze - rzekla Golebica - ale jesli tak czynia, to sa one równiez rodzajem zmij. To wszystko, co mam do powiedzenia.

   'I don't believe it,' said the Pigeon; 'but if they do, why then they're a kind of serpent, that's all I can say.'

   Bylo to dla Alicji cos zupelnie nowego. Zamilkla wiec na chwile, a Golebica dodala triumfujaco: - Wiem doskonale- ze szukasz jajek. Wiec cóz za róznica, czy jestes mala dziewczynka, czy zmija?

   This was such a new idea to Alice, that she was quite silent for a minute or two, which gave the Pigeon the opportunity of adding, 'You're looking for eggs, I know THAT well enough; and what does it matter to me whether you're a little girl or a serpent?'

   - Dla mnie jednak to jest róznica - rzekla szybko Alicja. - Poza tym wcale nie szukam jajek. A gdybym nawet szukala, to nie laszczylabym sie na pani jajka: nie lubie ich na surowo.

   'It matters a good deal to ME,' said Alice hastily; 'but I'm not looking for eggs, as it happens; and if I was, I shouldn't want YOURS: I don't like them raw.'

   - W takim razie wynos sie - rzekla Golebica obrazonym tonem, po czym schowala sie w swym gniezdzie. Alicja wyruszyla tymczasem w dalsza droge miedzy drzewami, co odbywalo sie bardzo wolno. Szyja jej bowiem zaplatywala sie ciagle w galezie i Alicja musiala zatrzymywac sie, aby ja odplatywac. Po chwili przypomniala sobie, ze trzyma wciaz w rekach kawaleczki czarodziejskiego grzyba. Zabrala sie wiec do dziela z cala ostroznoscia^ odgryzala po malej odrobince z kazdej czasteczki i to rosnac, to znów malejac, zdolala wreszcie osiagnac normalna wysokosc.

   'Well, be off, then!' said the Pigeon in a sulky tone, as it settled down again into its nest. Alice crouched down among the trees as well as she could, for her neck kept getting entangled among the branches, and every now and then she had to stop and untwist it. After a while she remembered that she still held the pieces of mushroom in her hands, and she set to work very carefully, nibbling first at one and then at the other, and growing sometimes taller and sometimes shorter, until she had succeeded in bringing herself down to her usual height.

   Odwykla juz bardzo od swego wzrostu., tak ze z poczatku bylo jej dosc dziwnie. Przyzwyczaila sie jednak po paru minutach i zaczela, jak zwykle, rozmawiac ze soba:

- W ten sposób polowa mojego planu bylaby wykonana! Jakze zdumiewajace sa te ciagle zmiany! Nie moge przewidziec, co sie ze mna stanie za chwile! Jak to przyjemnie byc z powrotem soba! Teraz trzeba sie jakos dostac do ogrodu - ale ja k, wlasnie jak? - To mówiac znalazla sie nagle na otwartej przestrzeni. Posrodku zauwazyla domek mniej wiecej metrowej wysokosci. „Nie bede mogla wejsc do tego domku - pomyslala Alicja. - Jestem na to obecnie za duza. Jego lokatorzy zwariowaliby chyba ze strachu na mój widok!” Odgryzla wiec kawalek grzyba z prawej reki i podeszla blizej dopiero wtedy, gdy miala odpowiedni wzrost (to znaczy okolo dwudziestu centymetrów).

   It was so long since she had been anything near the right size, that it felt quite strange at first; but she got used to it in a few minutes, and began talking to herself, as usual. 'Come, there's half my plan done now! How puzzling all these changes are! I'm never sure what I'm going to be, from one minute to another! However, I've got back to my right size: the next thing is, to get into that beautiful garden—how IS that to be done, I wonder?' As she said this, she came suddenly upon an open place, with a little house in it about four feet high. 'Whoever lives there,' thought Alice, 'it'll never do to come upon them THIS size: why, I should frighten them out of their wits!' So she began nibbling at the righthand bit again, and did not venture to go near the house till she had brought herself down to nine inches high.