Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass Looking-Glass, Chapter 12 Summary

Which Dreamed It?

Back at home in England, Alice rubs her eyes, apparently waking from a dream.

  • Alice tries to talk to Kitty, the black kitten, about her adventure, but it simply purrs.
  • Alice finds the Red Queen among the chess pieces and shows it to Kitty, trying to make the kitten admit that it's the Red Queen. It won't, but Alice is convinced that it knows.
  • Looking over at Snowdrop, the White Kitten, Alice finds that she is still being washed by Dinah, the old cat. She realizes that Snowdrop turned into the White Queen.
  • Looking at Dinah, Alice thinks she must have turned into Humpty Dumpty.
  • Turning back to Kitty, Alice tells it that she heard a lot of poetry on this adventure, all about fishes. She promises to recite "The Walrus and the Carpenter" for the kitten the next day.
  • Alice asks Kitty whether she herself (Alice) dreamed the adventure, or whether they are simply all characters in the Red King's dream.
  • The narrator ends by asking us the same question: which of them dreamed it?