Aisha Faruqui

THE TWISTED LAND OF WONDER BASED ON LEWIS CARROLL’S A LICE’S ADVENTURES IN WONDERLAND

WE FINALLY ARRIVED AT OUR COTTAGE after two hours of driving. Dad drove, Mom was in the passenger seat, and my younger sister Lucy sat in the back beside me. I, of course, was playing Alice in Wonderland on my iPod Touch for the whole journey.

“We’re here!” Mom exclaimed, easing the car onto the gravel driveway.

“Yay! Come on Alice, play with me! Play with me!” Lucy shrieked, jumping up and down.

“Hah. You wish!” I retorted, putting on my headphones. Mom glared at me.

“Alice Levine Macleod! If I hear you talk like that again, I will ban you from all electronics for the rest of the year!”

“Fine.” I sighed. “Okay, Lucy, what do you want to do?”

“Follow me!” she hollered, running behind our cottage. I trudged on after her.

At the back of the house there was a huge Ginkgo tree with large, green leaves, and gnarled roots intertwining in and out of the ground. The light summer breeze made the leaves sway back and forth. There was a hole the size of a baseball on the tree trunk that was big enough for an animal to live in. Lucy picked up a stick and started poking at the hole.

“Don’t, Lucy. Something lives in there. Put the stick down,” I asserted, raising my voice.

“Humph.” Lucy pouted and dropped the stick.

All of a sudden, a white squirrel poked its head out of the hole in the tree. It had piercing red eyes and a restless tail that seemed to be getting bushier by the second! It looked over and glared at Lucy.

“EEEEEEK!” Lucy yelped, running behind me. The squirrel darted down the tree and into a hollow in the ground a few metres away.

“Relax, Lucy; it’s only a squirrel.” I sighed, overcoming my own fear.

“B-but it had huge red eyes and giant black claws and sharp fangs!” she spluttered quietly.

“I think you’re over-exaggerating, Lucy,” I said, walking over to the hollow the squirrel jumped in. “It’s just a squirrel.” I bent down and peeped at the hollow. It looked like any other hollow: dark, muddy, and full of roots.

“See, nothing to be afraid of.” I gestured to the hollow, but Lucy wasn’t convinced. Her face turned an awful shade of white, and she opened her mouth getting ready to speak.

“He was-’’ she started, but got cut off.

“-Alice! Lucy!” Dad called, “Come help unpack!” The sound of my Father’s voice seemed to bring Lucy out of her ghostly state.

“Come on,” I groaned as I dragged Lucy behind me.

After we unpacked, we had a lovely dinner of burnt hamburgers and soggy french fries while we sat in chairs around the crackling campfire. The only decent food we had for dinner was roasted marshmallows, but I wasn’t feeling well enough to eat anything.

“I’m going to bed, Mom,” I said, swallowing the last bite of my hamburger and heaving myself out of the chair.

“Okay, honey. I’m sorry dinner didn’t turn out too well,” Mom said, glaring sideways at Dad, the chef of the day’s meal.

“Lucy should go to bed too,” she decided, throwing my paper plate into the campfire.

I hate bunk beds. I’m always afraid that I’ll fall off if I’m at the top. Unfortunately, my sister is absolutely petrified of heights, so I had to sleep on the top whether I liked it or not. I settled down into my bed.

“Goodnight, Lucy,” I yawned after a while.

“Goodnight.”

“AAAAAAHHHHH!” I screamed as I felt a huge mass of wind rush towards me like a breakneck wave. The last thing I remembered was hitting my head, and then I blacked out.

“Um, my name is Alice and-” I started, but the Mad Clatter interrupted me.

“-Oh, yes I know your story. Can’t remember your past, want to get back, right?” he raised his eyebrows.

“Uh, right.” I blinked.

“I can send you back to your old life, but what will you do for me in return?” he raised his eyebrows even higher.

“I don’t know. What do you want?” I sighed.

“I want the bag of precious jewels located in the dresser of the Queen’s bedroom,” The Mad Clatter declared with utmost certainty.

“You want what!?” I almost yelled in his face.

I woke up to see a green and red face staring at me.

“Eeek!” I gasped.

I tried to get up, only to find that I was on a bed.

“W-where am I?” I stuttered.

“Well,” said the green and red face, “you are in the Twisted Land of Wonder. I’m Dr. Catarpillar,” declared Dr. Catarpillar. “You hit your head very hard, but you’ll be fine as soon as you take this medicine,” he said, pouring purple liquid onto a spoon. Before I even knew it, the spoon was shoved into my mouth, delivering a putrid taste.

“Bleeeech!” I coughed. Well, at least my headache was gone.

“I can’t remember anything! How did I hit my head?” I spluttered.

“Can’t remember anything, huh?” Dr. Catarpillar scratched his chin. “I suggest you visit the Mad Clatter. He lives in the park behind the hospital. He can give you some useful information.”

“Okay.” I frowned, heading towards the door. “Thanks!” I waved goodbye.

I found the Mad Clatter sitting down having tea with a bunch of animals in the middle of the woods. There were a cluster of brown mice, a large, black badger, and a scary-looking albino squirrel that looked oddly familiar…

“Who’s there?” a deep voice said.

“You heard me. Here’s a map. I’ll escort you to the Queen’s castle.” The Mad Clatter got up and started walking. My eyes widened as soon as I saw what he was wearing on his feet. They were giant, three-footlong wooden shoes with intricate emblems and beautifully embellished decorations. Every time he took a step, his shoes made a clacking noise.

I followed the map and ended up at the Queen’s room, finding that the door was unlocked. I slowly ventured in.

“BARK, BARK, BARK!” A huge Great Dane secured with a chain came charging towards me from the Queen’s bed. He was just two feet away when he suddenly stopped, his rope collar jerking him back. I gasped out of fright and covered my eyes, thinking that he got me.

But then I heard the sound of clanking armour behind me. I quickly shut and locked the door behind me, stupidly trapping myself with a ferocious dog. There was a small table beside me with what looked like pieces of broiled meat. I had to get out of here fast! I took the large knife beside the meat. Then I took the largest piece of meat and threw it on the bed. The dog scrambled over and started eating it.

I ran to the dresser and rummaged around until I found the bag of precious jewels. Then I ran to the windowsill and opened the window. I cut the rope that was securing the dog, hearing his barks at the sight of knights, and I jumped into the summer breeze.