Alice in Wonderland: Chapter 1 Summary

Chapter 1: Down the Rabbit Hole

• Alice is sitting on the bank with her sister, growing tired and bored.
• She finds the book her sister is reading uninteresting because it lacks pictures and conversations.
• A White Rabbit with pink eyes suddenly runs past Alice.
• Alice finds it only slightly odd that the Rabbit speaks to itself, muttering, “Oh dear! Oh dear! I shall be too late!”.
• Alice is startled when the Rabbit pulls a watch out of its waistcoat pocket.
• Alice had never seen a rabbit with a waistcoat pocket or a watch.
• Alice follows the Rabbit out of curiosity as it disappears down a large rabbit hole under the hedge.
• Alice doesn’t consider how she will get out again as she falls down the hole.
• The rabbit hole is initially like a tunnel, then drops suddenly.
• Alice falls slowly enough to observe her surroundings.
• She notices cupboards and bookshelves lining the sides of the well.
• Alice grabs a jar labelled "ORANGE MARMALADE" from a shelf, but it is empty.
• Alice avoids dropping the jar to prevent hurting someone below.
• Alice wonders how many miles she has fallen, estimating about four thousand miles.
• Alice wonders what latitude and longitude she is at, though she doesn’t know what they mean.
• Alice imagines falling through the earth and meeting people who walk upside down, referring to them as "antipathies".
• Alice considers asking the upside-down people if she landed in New Zealand or Australia.
• Alice is falling for such a long time that she wonders if the fall will ever end.
• Alice wonders if Dinah, her cat, will miss her.
• A main concern is whether cats eat bats.
• Alice lands on a heap of sticks and dry leaves; the fall is over.
• Alice jumps up and looks around, seeing another long passage.
• The White Rabbit is still in sight, hurrying away.
• Alice hears the Rabbit say, "Oh my ears and whiskers, how late it's getting!" as he turns a corner.
• Alice follows the Rabbit around the corner but can no longer see him.
• She finds herself in a long, low hall lit by lamps hanging from the roof.
• The doors in the hall are all locked.
• Alice discovers a small three-legged table made of solid glass.
• A tiny golden key sits on the glass table.
• Alice hopes the key will open one of the doors.
• The key does not fit most of the locks, being either too large or too small.
• Alice finds a small fifteen inch high door behind a curtain.
• The golden key fits the small door.
• The door leads to a passage with a view of a beautiful garden.
• Alice cannot fit through the door; her head won’t fit through the doorway.
• Alice wishes she could shut up like a telescope so she could fit through the door.
• Alice returns to the table, hoping to find another key or a book of rules for telescopes.
• Alice finds a bottle labelled "DRINK ME".
• Alice is cautious, checking to see if the bottle is marked poison.
• The bottle is not marked "poison", so Alice cautiously tastes it.
• The drink tastes like a mix of cherry tart, custard, pineapple, roast turkey, toffee, and hot buttered toast.
• Alice finishes the bottle.
• Alice feels a curious sensation and believes she is shutting up like a telescope.