Alice's Adventures Under Ground: “I Shall be Too Late!...Down!”

Gerald Barry

(Alice onstage. The White Rabbit enters stage right running fast in a straight line across the stage)

White Rabbit: (Panic) I shall be too late! (Exits stage left)

Alice: (Brilliant) Down! Down! Down! Will the fall never end?
How many miles have I fallen?
I must be getting somewhere near the centre of the earth
That would be four thousand miles down
That's about the right distance
What latitude or longitude have I got to?
Will I fall right though the earth?
I'll come out among people who walk with their heads downwards
I'll ask them what country it is.
Is this New Zealand or Australia?
Down! Down! Down!

(The White Rabbit enters stage left, running fast)

White Rabbit: How late it's getting! (Exits stage right)

Alice: Even if my head goes through, it would be of very little use
Without my shoulders
Oh I wish I could shut up like a telescope!
I think I could, if I only knew how to begin.

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