How to use "the" in a sentence

I hear the voice in my head

So I wait for the second voice

I wait, but tonight the second voice doesn't come

In the first days, the second voice always came

Now there is only the first voice

It says the same thing over and over again

Finally, I must accept the truth: I am going to die.

It is Saturday, April the 26th, 2003

Edward Abbey, one of my favourite writers, described it as 'the most beautiful place on Earth'

Right now, with the sun on my back and the wind in my hair, I agree.

Today is the third day of an activity holiday

Yesterday, I biked the Slick Rock Trail, alone

It's not very long - only a little over nineteen kilometres - but it's one of the most difficult bike trails in the US

Today, my plan is to hike through Blue John and Horseshoe Canyons after biking to the trail

I'll leave my bike at the end of the trail and hike back to the carpark

I'll drive over in the truck and collect the bike later.

I hope I get some sleep because tomorrow I want to hike the most popular trail in southern Utah - Little White Horse.

I plan to spend the whole of Monday biking along the White Rim Trail

Aspen is famous for its mountains and the countryside around it

Leona, one of the people I live and work with, is having a goodbye party on Monday night

Now that winter is over, she's going to another town in Colorado to work as a gardener for the summer

8.45 am I arrive at the Horseshoe Canyon carpark early in the morning, pull my bike from the truck and lock the door

Then I check the time: eight forty-five in the morning

As I start cycling, I wonder how quickly I can get to the start of the trail.

I can now see the sign pointing to this end of the trail.

It will give me more time to finish my hike back to the truck

As I walk, I think about the history of the people who were here before me

He and his men stole horses and hid from the law during the last years of the nineteenth century.

Since that time, the area has been called Robbers Roost country.

My climbing bag is heavy with the weight of my equipment

I think about my plan for the day

Blue John Canyon will be the most difficult part of the hike.

Three kilometres along the trail is the Big Drop Rappel.

Here, the canyon suddenly drops eighteen metres

The walls there are very narrow and the trail goes up and down, sharply

There are also a lot of very large rocks called boulders, stuck between the canyon walls

But I'm not thinking of danger at the moment

Today, I will finally see the Great Gallery

The Gallery is part of Horseshoe Canyon, and it's famous for the huge rock paintings which cover its walls

This is one of the things my mother taught me

I'm on a high rock, looking down at the trail

I've spent the last eighteen hours alone

'Hi,' I call as I climb down the rock

'I'm Megan,' says the darker girl, 'and this is Kristi.'

We shake hands and continue along the trail

They work in the same business, too

We are on the trail together for about five kilometres

At that point, there is a smaller canyon to the west

The girls left their bikes at the end of it

We will say goodbye there and I'll continue on alone to the Big Drop Rappel.

In the hour and a half we've been together, we've already become friends.

Megan feels the same

'We can finish the west canyon trail, go back to our truck and have a few beers.'

I like the idea, but following my plan is more important

'Maybe not, but I really want to do the Big Drop Rappel

And I can't miss the paintings in the Great Gallery

We agree on a plan to meet and go to the party together.

It is the last time I will wave goodbye with my right hand.

The girls disappear into the west canyon

I continue walking towards the Big Drop Rappel

The music is perfect for the way I feel: lucky, free and happy

It's warm and sunny with just a few white clouds in the sky.

Suddenly, my feet hit a pile of loose stones and I nearly fall to the ground.

I listen to the voice in my head and look up the canyon

I can see that the trail ahead becomes more difficult

Twenty minutes later, I arrive at the most difficult part of the trail

Here, the canyon walls are a lot narrower

I look up and see part of a tree stuck between the canyon walls

It was carried along the canyon after heavy rain

This is one of the dangers of hiking in canyon country

In seconds, the water can throw you against the canyon walls and kill you

That's why it's always very important to check the weather before canyoning.

Just below the tree is the first drop in the trail

There are plenty of holes in the rock for my hands and feet so I climb down easily

A metre from the bottom I let go and land on the ground

Soft sand covers the tops of my boots

I have all the equipment I need in my backpack

This will be quicker than dropping on to the trail and climbing back up again

The bad news is that the boulders could move

I manage the first few boulders without any problems and reach another drop

About three metres from the edge of the drop is a boulder

It's about the same size as the wheel of a bus

If I climb onto it, the drop from there will be shorter

I chimney to the boulder quite easily.

I lie down, put my hands in two holes on the far edge of the boulder and push my legs over the opposite side to jump down.

As most of my weight pushes on one side of the boulder, it makes a strange sound

I let go of the boulder and drop towards the ground

As I fall, I look up and see the boulder crashing towards my head

If I don't get out of the way, I'm dead

I try to push against the boulder with both hands

It hits my left hand hard against the canyon wall

The boulder then hits my right arm and traps my hand against the right side of the canyon.

I don't even notice landing on the canyon floor

Stupid, Aron, stupid! When you first stood on the rock, it moved

That was a clear message to stay away! But you were in such a hurry to finish the hike you didn't stop and check.

This time I push against the boulder with my knees at the same time.

Stop thinking about how bad the problem is, Aron

Without stopping to think, I take the water bottle from my bag and drink a third of it in five seconds.

I suddenly realise what I'm doing and pull the bottle out of my mouth

This means that the most important thing of all is to save water.

For the last half hour, I've been thinking of my best chance of escape

I said I would meet Kristi and Megan after the hike

What about other hikers? Will they find me by chance? Again, the answer is probably 'no'

Very few people travel to the Great Gallery from this end of the trail

They weren't completely sure I was going to the party

He will probably call my family and they will tell the police that I am missing

But I didn't tell anyone exactly where I was going, so it will take the police days to find me

The first plan is to use the large knife on the multi-tool to chip at the boulder

This might take away enough of the rock to free my hand

The second plan is to try and lift the boulder using some of my equipment

The third plan is the worst

I could amputate my arm using the multi-tool

I take the multi-tool from my climbing bag

One is longer than the other

I use the longest one, which is not so sharp

7.0 pm I've been chipping at the rock for almost three and a half hours

I lay the multi-tool on the boulder and reach for the water bottle

I wonder how long I'll be able to survive with the water I have left, only two-thirds of a litre

Until Monday night, maybe? Tuesday morning at the latest.

After Kristi and Megan left Aron, they got lost in the west canyon and arrived late at the meeting place

'We'll see him at the party.'

By the time they reached Goblin Valley, the car park was full and there was nowhere to stay for the night.

The girls now felt very tired and decided not to go to the party

Kristi agreed and they parked by the side of the road for the night.

All they found was a truck from Colorado with a bike inside and skis on the roof.

'He must be in the canyon already

She wrote their email addresses on a piece of paper and left it on the truck window.

12.00 am My headlamp is on and I'm chipping at the boulder

Perhaps I can remove this large piece before I stop for the night

I don't want to break the knife, so I use a different part of the multi-tool

I hit the boulder as hard as I can and the piece of rock falls onto my trapped arm

I chip at the rock for another hour and remove as much as the piece that came off before

I look up at the sky

The wind is the worst

Every few minutes, it blows down the canyon and makes my body shake

I lay everything inside it on top of the boulder

Then I put the bag back on

Now I can rest my knees instead of standing up all the time.

The problem is the weight on my legs

Then I tie carabiners to one end of the rope and make a kind of ball

The idea is to throw the rope over one of the boulders above my head

If I do it right, the ball will stick in the space between the boulder and the canyon wall.

It takes twenty-five throws before it lands in the right place

Now, will it hold my weight? I sit in the harness

I've done quite well, but one thought still worries me: I haven't chipped much rock from the boulder

The sun is shining into the canyon and a raven has just flown across the blue sky above my head

The sight and sound of the bird fills me with hope.

I hold my leg in the sunlight

I will use my ropes, webbing and carabiners to try and lift the boulder and free my hand

If I can throw the rope around this, it might hold everything in the right position.

I tie the other end of the rope around the boulder

Everything holds, but the boulder doesn't move

I put more weight on the rope, but it still doesn't work

1.00 pm I've spent four hours trying to lift the boulder, but nothing has worked.

It's just a small animal moving in the rock

The optimistic feelings of earlier in the day have disappeared

That leaves only the third, and worst, plan: I will have to amputate my right arm

What will I need for the job? The knife, that's certain, but also a tourniquet to stop the blood

The plastic pipe from the CamelBak seems best for that

As soon as I put the knife against the skin of my arm, I feel ill

I drop the knife and lay my head on the boulder

I can't lift the boulder

I feel angry with the boulder, but it's not the boulder's fault - it's mine

I didn't tell anyone where I was going, I didn't go with Kristi and Megan to the west canyon, and I didn't get off the boulder when it moved.

2.45 pm It's exactly twenty-four hours since the accident.

I place my camcorder on the boulder, turn it on and start speaking.

It's just after three o'clock on Sunday, April the 27th, 2003

I have been trapped in Blue John Canyon for the last twenty-four hours

I describe all that has happened in the last two days

As I reach the end of my story, I feel very sad

I turn off the machine

6.00 pm My second night in the canyon is moving closer

I feel strong enough to survive the fear of death, but not my body's need for water

Then I missed the next drink and decided to save it for later

I'll drink at nine, midnight, three and six in the morning, but I'll take even smaller sips.

There are several at my feet and some drinking the blood on the canyon wall

It seems colder than the night before

I start chipping at the boulder just to keep warm.

I tie the camera bag around my left arm

I do the same for my right arm, using webbing.

I decide to put the plastic rope bag over my head

I keep the far end open to let fresh air in

I lay my head against the boulder

The long, boring hours of the night pass slowly by

Finally, the sky grows lighter

Clouds at night are good because they trap the day's heat in the canyon, but clouds during the day are bad because the sun doesn't warm the air

There's also the chance of a storm.

Slowly the pale sky turns bright blue

As always, the light and warm air make me want to do something

I try and lift the boulder again by pushing down on the rope with my feet.

All I see in my mind are pictures of the food and drink left on the floor of my truck.

I didn't try hard enough the last time

I put on the tourniquet and make it tight

When everything is ready, I try to cut through the skin of my arm with the longer knife

I push hard but the skin doesn't break

Then, over the same area, I use the shorter, sharper knife

It's still not sharp enough to do the job.

All I have for the time I've spent on this is a long red line across my right arm

I take off the tourniquet and go back to waiting.

It has arrived at exactly the same time as yesterday.

For the first time in two days, I need to urinate

I open my shorts and watch the yellow urine disappear into the sand.

I spend most of the day chipping, resting, and counting the minutes before my next drink of water.

2.45 pm It's the middle of the afternoon and time to film again

I turn on the camcorder.

It's Monday, April the 28th

She is getting married in the autumn

It's strange but I feel the need to urinate again

This time, my second voice tells me not to urinate on the ground.

I urinate into the CamelBak

Sunlight shines off the bottom of thin clouds high above me

I hope they will stay and keep the heat in the canyon

Like the raven, the mosquitoes seem to arrive on time

Mosquitoes mean there must be water quite close - probably at the Big Drop Rappel.

Back in Aspen, Aron's housemates were preparing for the party

Elliot, another friend of his, was moving into the house after Leona had gone

'Does he know about the party?' Elliot asked.

The party ended at around two o'clock the next morning, but there was still no sign of Aron.

Early Tuesday morning, he called the house and spoke to Leona.

'He didn't come to the party last night,' Leona told him

At six-thirty that evening, they called the police

The officer on the desk asked for Aron's information: full name, age, height and weight

He also wanted to know the model of his truck and the license-plate number

But there was something the officer didn't tell them: a person has to be missing for at least forty-eight hours before the police will start a search and rescue operation

This meant that they wouldn't do anything until late the following day.

I decide not to drink any more until the water is finished

I've changed my drinking routine because the night is colder

I put the bottle between my legs and turn the top

Some of the valuable water falls onto my shorts.

Now look what you've done! Says the first voice.

I've just lost half of the rest of my life.

It's now Tuesday, April the 29th: my fourth day trapped in the canyon.

I put the camcorder on the boulder, then turn the screen the other way

He might call the police and report me missing

If I'm very lucky, they might search the Robbers Roost area first

Even then, the earliest they'll reach me is Thursday

7.30 am That last video recording was the most pessimistic so far

It's strange, but the feeling of hopelessness doesn't last

As the sky grows brighter, I think of the raven

I try lifting the boulder once more

I make the rope even shorter, but when I step on it, nothing happens

I push, jump and shout as I put all my weight onto the rope

I step down and lay my head on the boulder

But there's still the knife

It's lying open on top of the boulder.

Quickly, I put the tourniquet around my arm and tighten it

Then I pick up the multi-tool, open the shorter knife and push it hard into my arm

This time, the knife goes all the way in.

I pull out the knife and look at the deep hole I've made in my right arm

I can see the bones in my arm through the hole

I pick up the bottle and feel the last of the water disappear down my throat

I check the time

I feel happy and start thinking of all the wonderful times I've spent with friends and family

I also think of all the adventures I've had with different friends

I urinate into the CamelBak

Then I pour the clearer half of the urine into my water bottle

I throw the rest away

It is now the warmest part of the day

This is the time I am most comfortable

I have found the best way to sit and feel calmer in the warm air

If so, I will soon be as free as the raven.

Three hours later, I have reached the end of my third day trapped in the canyon

I eat the last burrito

On Wednesday morning, Brion After was at work in the shop

He picked up the phone

Aron's mother answered on the first ring.

'No, just that he might hike somewhere in the Canyonlands area of Utah,' explained Brion

'I think you should call the Aspen police.'

Mrs Ralston's hand was shaking as she put down the phone

She went to the computer

None of the answers she gave worked but she kept trying

In the end, she guessed the correct answer and sent the information to Brion.

After Brion had called the Aspen police, the head officer, Adam Crider, started the rescue operation

He called Mrs Ralston for the license-plate number of her son's truck

How could she find the correct license-plate number?

He called Aron's housemate Elliot and asked him to manage the store and rescue operation until he returned

When Elliot reached the store, he received a call from Mrs Ralston

She wanted to check the license-plate number she had given Brion

Elliot checked as she read out the number.

I'll call Officer Crider and give him the correct number.'

By early afternoon, Elliot had received an email from Steve Pratchett, the most important of Aron's climbing friends

He often led rescue operations to find climbers lost in the mountains

Another friend, Jason, had sent Steve a list of all the canyons Aron said he wanted to hike in Canyonlands

Steve called the Utah police for the area and spoke to one the main officers, Kyle Ekker

Steve gave him the latest license-plate number for Aron's truck and Officer Ekker sent his men out to look for it.

There was no sign of the truck

Officer Ekker checked the number with the national license office

Once again, the number was wrong.

Then she remembered that Aron was living in Albuquerque, New Mexico, when he bought the truck

The vehicle license office for the area was in Santa Fe

She called and an officer searched the records and found Aron's name

Finally, they had the correct number

It would have to wait until the morning.

Friends suddenly appear in the canyon like silent ghosts and wave me towards them

I follow and find myself in some place I know from the past

I am happy while the visions last

It is only when they disappear and the cold and pain return that I know they are not

Then, shaking hard, I continue chipping at the boulder

After that, I sit again and it's not long before the visions return

During the second half of the night, I have visions of myself as a child

Something about the visions tells me that I have not given the people I care about enough attention

I'm always thinking of the things I want to achieve and not noticing other people

Now I realise that my love for friends and family is the main reason I want to escape

I promise myself that if I can escape from here back to the people, I will be kinder towards them.

Just as I am about to drink, the vision disappears and I wake up

Then I feel the cold and the pain of the rope against my legs

However, the visions tell me something: I am not ready to die

As morning comes on the fifth day, I feel sure I can still last a few more days

I don't know if this is true, but I'm still alive when the sun rises

The sound of its wings and the light in the canyon are beautiful

I watch its smooth flight, following the line of the canyon

When I did this last night, the time seemed to pass more slowly

It came to me, as I was looking at all the rocks around me

Why not find a hard rock and use it to break the boulder? There's one in a hole in the canyon wall above me

It's perfect - just the right size and weight.

I hit the rock hard against the boulder

Little bits of stone fly into the air

I continue, but soon have to stop because of the pain in my left hand

Early afternoon is usually the warmest time of day

But today it's only thirteen degrees, the coldest day so far

It also means that tonight will be the coldest night

The problem with using the black rock was that it hurt my left hand

By 6.00 pm, I have taken off more of the boulder in three hours than I did in four days

And even with the sock there is too much pain in my left hand to continue.

I put down the rock

I feel sure I won't survive another night in the canyon

Another night of the sitting - standing routine will kill me

I am so certain of this that I take the knife and write the dates of my life on the canyon wall

When I have finished I read them by the light of my headlamp: ARON OCT 75 - APR 03.

I am walking alone through the canyon wall

On the other side is a living room

A little boy in a red shirt comes into the room

He is my future son and the room is in my future home

The little boy runs across the wooden floor, laughing

He holds my arms in his little hands and together we dance around the room

I am back in the canyon again, but now I don't feel the same as before

Seeing the boy has changed everything

Now, even with the cold, pain, tiredness and thirst, I am sure I will survive.

On Thursday, May the 1st, Kyle Ekker was looking at a map of the Canyonlands area on his office wall

Already that morning, his men had searched the top and centre of the area and found nothing.

What about the Robbers Roost canyons in the south? The only roads down there were made of rocks and sand

He called Glen Sherrill, the head officer for the area

When Glen answered the phone, Kyle described Aron's truck.

Kyle thanked him and put down the phone.

We've found the truck you're looking for

It's in the Horseshoe Canyon carpark.'

By 10.00 am, the good news had reached Elliot, Steve, and Mrs Ralston

Steve immediately arranged for a rescue team to join the police and help in the search

8.45 am It's Thursday, May the 1st

Perhaps the vision of the little boy kept me alive last night

I am also upset because the raven hasn't appeared

I try and forget about the bird and pick up the camcorder

I'm crying as I close the camcorder for the last time

I pick up the black rock and hit it as hard as I can against the boulder

I continue, trying to forget the pain in my left hand

In the end, I can't

I try to drop the rock, but the fingers of my hand won't open.

What have you done now? asks the first voice.

Stay calm, says the second.

Slowly, my fingers loosen and the stone falls out of my hand

As I'm removing these with the knife I push too hard and the blade goes through the skin near my wrist

I push the knife through the skin of my thumb

The arm is poisoned and the poison will kill me

I don't want the arm to be a part of me anymore

I throw myself against the boulder

That moment is like the sun coming out

I throw the whole weight of my body below the boulder

I tie the tourniquet, take the knife and begin cutting.

The only thing on my mind is escape, but the pain is terrible.

I scream as I push down with the knife.

For almost one hour the pain, screams, and cutting continue.

11.32 am Finally, I feel the knife hit rock on the other side of my arm

Blood is coming out of the end of my arm and it's a long walk back to my truck.

I tighten the tourniquet

Before I leave, I take two pictures of the part of my arm still trapped by the boulder

My body crashes from one side of the canyon wall to the other

There might be some at the Big Drop Rappel, but first I need to get there.

I stand at the edge and look down

It is just over eighteen metres to the canyon floor.

There are metal rings in the rock for climbers

For once, I am careful as I go down the rope

I reach the bottom and turn

On the ground in front of me is a pool of brown water

I just want to stay there for the rest of my life.

Then I fill my bottle and the CamelBak and begin walking

I wonder if I can get back to the truck in time.

Quickly, I drink the rest of the water

Now I only have the water in the water bottle

This has to last all the way back to the truck and the temperature is rising

I take a sip and keep the water in my mouth as I walk

1.55 pm I've arrived at the Great Gallery

I stop to fill the water bottle

Blood is now coming from my arm really fast and I'm in terrible pain from the amputation

I was trapped by a boulder in the canyon for five days

I'm losing blood, fast...' Unable to continue, I fall to the ground.

'The police at the carpark told us about you,' he says.

They are tourists from the Netherlands

Eric gives me more water while Monique and Andy run back to get the police

3.03 pm A noise somewhere above me answers the question

I sit down and wait as a man jumps to the ground and walks towards me.

A second man gets out of the helicopter and they help me inside

I ask one of the men to get my climbing bag

'Thanks for everything.' I wave goodbye as the helicopter rises into the air.

I sit behind the pilot and watch blood pour slowly down my arm.

'Keep him talking,' the pilot says to his partner.

'Where are we going?' I ask the second man.

'We're taking you to the hospital in Moab,' he replies.

He asks me what happened in the canyon and I begin telling my story

By the time I finish, we are circling around Moab

I realise we are landing in front of the hospital

A man who looks like a policeman is standing with two nurses in white coats on the hospital steps

The helicopter lands and the nurses carry me into the building.

As the nurses take off my shoes, I ask Steve to let my mother know that I'm OK and to arrange for someone to collect all the things I left at Horseshoe Canyon.

He wants to know what happened in the canyon

It's the third time I've done this in two hours

He doesn't get the chance

A doctor comes back into the room with a large needle.

'Look, do you want this for the pain or not?'

I continue talking to Steve as the needle goes into my arm.

He pulls at the things over my right arm and asks Steve what they are.

I look at the clock on the wall.

It's 3.45 pm on Thursday, May the 1st

My rescue was only the first part of a long, difficult fight back to health

Most were for the pain and to fight the poison in my blood

The time I woke up after the operation was the lowest point after my escape

However by May the 25th, I was home to stay.

I was soon eating normal food and by the end of the summer, I was the same weight as before the accident.

On August the 31st, four months after the accident, I spoke at Sonja's wedding

On October the 25th - two days before my twenty-eighth birthday - I returned to Blue John Canyon

We filmed the place where the accident happened

Then, as the others made their way back to their vehicles, I stayed behind for a few minutes

Just before I left, I looked at the dates of my life on the canyon wall

My life didn't end in the canyon

Thoughts of the people I love had kept me alive

I believe we are on Earth to do the things we love, even if that means making a hard choice

Sometimes, that means cutting out something and leaving it in the past

Hope you have enjoyed the reading!

The Monster from the Deep

My job is to study everything dead or alive under the sea

Some sailors said that they saw a dangerous giant monster living in the cold waters of the ocean

I was famous because I was the writer of a book called The Mysteries of the Great Ocean Depths

When the captain of the American ship the Abraham Lincoln decided to leave and look for the monster, he asked me to go with them as an expert.

He always helps me to organise the names and places of the wonderful strange sea creatures that we find in the oceans of the world

He accepted the invitation and we got ready to go.

The Abraham Lincoln left New York harbour on the 3rd of July, 1867

Ned Land, the famous whale killer, was also on the ship

Farragut, the captain of the ship, was a strong and brave man

"Don't worry! The ocean isn't big enough for both the sea monster and me

I didn't like this idea, but I didn't say anything at the time.

We sailed for three months and we never saw the creature once.

The men wanted to find and kill the sea monster, but after all this time everyone on the ship started to believe that there was no monster

It was night-time and we were 200 miles on the coast of Japan when suddenly Ned Land, the harpooner, cried out.

The men on the ship began to run and shout.

"Get the ropes! Prepare the cannons!"

We could see it because there was a strange light under the water

Then, a cannon fired at the monster

Just then, I saw Ned Land, with his harpoon in his hands, climbing to the front of the ship.

I saw the harpoon leave his hand and hit the giant creature right in its back

Water shot out of the wound

Its force knocked me right out of the ship into the dark cold ocean.

Saved from the Ocean

It was very cold and I tried hard to get to the top and breathe

When my head was finally above the waves, I saw that the Abraham Lincoln was more than one hundred feet away.

My clothes felt heavy in the water

I felt something touch me on the leg

I thought it was a shark, or even the monster!

"When I saw you fall into the water, sir, I felt it was my duty to follow you."

But what happened to the ship?"

"I'm afraid the whale hit the ship, sir

It was dark and we knew that we had to stay in the water for the night

We hoped dial in the morning someone from the ship could see us if we were still alive.

The moon came out from behind the clouds and we saw that Abraham Lincoln was too far away

"Did you fall into the water too?"

I landed on the monster,"

"Monster? You mean we're on the monster?"

Ned sat on a platform which was on top of the ship

We knocked on the ship's sides, but they were too thick and no one heard us.

We heard the noise of the ship's engine.

"I only hope it doesn't go under the water."

Suddenly the ship stopped sinking

A short man in strange black clothes opened a secret door on the top of the ship

Two minutes later, six large men with black masks came out, took us by the arms and took us down inside the ship.

Inside the Nautilus

They put us into a dark room, then closed the door behind us

It only had a table and five chairs in the middle

Ned screamed at the locked door, but no one answered his call.

"You are on the Nautilus

This ship, and my own life, is a secret to the outside world

I live here, under the sea

You will stay here with me, but you will have the same freedom everyone else on the ship has."

"That means that you are free to sec all the wonderful things under the sea

Captain Nemo spoke to the short man in their strange language, then the short man left us

"You will not find life on the Nautilus so bad

Captain Nemo took me down to the bottom of the Nautilus, where there was a room like a large museum

It had pictures by famous painters on the walls and glass cases with beautiful shells from the sea.

The Captain pressed a button and two of the walls opened up

Behind them, there were large glass windows looking out onto the sea

A white light coming from the ship made everything easy to see

I stood in front of the window like a small boy at the zoo, and, believe me, I didn't feel at all like Captain Nemo's prisoner.

Outside the Nautilus

The Nautilus travelled underwater watching the mysteries of the ocean.

They gave us wonderful sea food and we were free to visit any place we liked on the ship.

We travelled near the coasts of Australia and Papua New Guinea

I enjoyed seeing all the strange sea life of these waters

But Ned Land was not happy on the Nautilus

He was a whale hunter and his life was above the water, hunting whales.

"But how will we leave the Nautilus?"

There was a loud crash, and we all fell to the floor

The lights went on and off, and the engine stopped.

The top of the Nautilus was just above the surface of the water

I saw Captain Nemo on the platform outside the ship

We had to wait six days for the water to rise before the ship could leave

"The sea brought us here, the sea will take us away."

I could see it from the ship

Ned Land asked the Captain if we could go on land and hunt some animals because he didn't want to eat fish

Captain Nemo let the three of us go

There was a small boat on the Nautilus which we used to get to land

We found bananas and coconuts, and we made a small camping area for the day

Some wild animals came out of the forest and ran away

"I thought they were the cannibals."

We walked through the tropical forest

We were far from the beach

Suddenly, we saw others moving through the forest.

We ran back to the beach

We jumped into the boat, leaving all our food and guns behind

They got into the water after us

We jumped back on the Nautilus and went below.

I found Captain Nemo in a small room next to the museum

He was playing the piano.

"Captain, there are cannibals outside the Nautilus."

The Captain left the piano and went out of the room

He and some of his men went up and opened the outside door of the Nautilus

One tried to get in, but when his hand touched the ship, he screamed

Another tried the same thing, and he also screamed

The Nautilus was finally free of the rocks near Papua

We now travelled east, past Australia and into the Indian Ocean

Life on the ship was normal again.

We sometimes stopped on the ocean floor and walked outside the ship

But now that we were in the Indian Ocean, there was nowhere to escape to.

One afternoon, while the Nautilus was on the surface of the water, I went upstairs to have a look outside

He said something to one of his men, and the man went downstairs quickly

At that moment, I felt a strong hand knock the telescope away from my eye.

Captain Nemo was upset about something, and he had the power to tell us what to do

There was blood on the bandages, and the man looked very sick

The next day, I saw the Captain on the platform

I did not want to say anything about the sick man, but I was curious

I asked him if he wanted to go for a walk on the ocean floor

The Indian Ocean had the most beautiful rocks, plants and fish in the world

They put the bag down and began digging

They were going to bury the dead man.

When we returned to the Nautilus, I told Captain Nemo that his man was safe where he was.

"Not even the sharks can go there, Captain."

The Giant Pearl and the Shark

We travelled in the Indian Ocean for ten days

I did not see Captain Nemo for some days after the man's death

One day Conseil, Ned Land, and I were in the museum room

We were looking through the underwater windows at the beautiful fish

I wanted to know what the others thought of Captain Nemo

That's why he's here, under the sea

He loves the sea, yes, but here is something missing from his life

As I said this, the walls closed over the side windows and Captain Nemo walked in.

"Would you like to go pearl fishing? This is the richest part of the world to fish for pearls."

We were prisoners, but it was exciting to see all of the mysteries under the sea.

I didn't like the idea of sharks

I wanted to take it back to the ship with us

It was the only one of its kind in the world

He wanted the pearl to grow, alone there in the cave, until it was truly the most fantastic pearl in the world.

On the way back to the ship, we saw an Indian boy swimming for pearls

Captain Nemo swam away from the rocks, with his knife in his hand, and began fighting with the animal

Captain Nemo fought with the shark, and there was blood in the water

Immediately, Ned Land attacked and killed the shark with his harpoon

When we got back to the Nautilus, the Captain thanked Ned Land.

He would feel the same way if he were in Ned Land's position.

Captain Nemo took us north, through the Indian Ocean, to the Red Sea

But the Red Sea had no exit

As we got closer to Egypt, I went upstairs to the glass room at the top of the ship

We were a long way under the sea

Captain Nemo turned on the outside lights.

We cannot go through the land."

We moved down below the country of Egypt

Suddenly, I saw a large hole in the rock.

The Nautilus shook as we went through the small tunnel

Then, water surrounded the ship and there was no more land.

When Conseil and Ned woke up, I told them that we were in the Mediterranean Sea.

We're close to Europe, and we can take the small boat to get to land

Conseil loved the sea, but I did not think he wanted to live his life there

But the Nautilus did not go near the surface of the water again for some time

I felt sorry for him, but I loved the sea

For many hours, I stood in front of the window in the museum.

We sailed through the Mediterranean Sea and entered the deep mysterious Atlantic Ocean

Captain Nemo came into the museum as I studied the ocean floor.

As he said this, a bright light appeared from behind the mountain of rocks in front of us.

We came closer to the light, and I could see trees on the ocean floor.

The Nautilus moved up over the mountain, and I saw that the light came from an old underwater volcano

There was no fire, but the hot lava still produced light.

The light showed us part of the ocean floor

It's the lost city of Atlantis!"

He never took his eyes off the window

We travelled through the Atlantic Ocean down to the South Pole

We went under the ice and came out on the other side

Imagine what we saw - penguins, whales, polar bears, dolphins, icebergs! It was like a dream and we saw it from the inside of the Nautilus.

We continued up the coast of South America

Finally, we came to the warm waters near the Bahamas

Conseil, Ned and I were in the museum, looking out at old stone walls, 5,000 feet under the sea.

"There are giant squid in the holes of those walls."

"Well, the giant squid is really just a story

I looked out of the window, and there was a 25-foot giant squid! It moved close to the Nautilus and it hit the window with its long tentacles

Soon, other smaller squid came near the window

They all wanted to attack the ship

Suddenly, the Nautilus stopped

Captain Nemo came into the museum.

"We can take the ship up, then try to free the monster."

Captain Nemo gave us all axes to cut the squid's tentacles if they attacked.

One man went to open the door to the platform

As he opened it, a long thick tentacle of the giant squid came inside like a snake and pulled the man outside

We all ran up the stairs.

Outside, six or seven small squid moved along the top of the Nautilus, throwing all their tentacles at the ship and its men

We fought them with our axes, but the large one, the one with Captain Nemo's man in his tentacle, stood holding the man in the air

Captain Nemo attacked the giant squid with his axe

I thought he was going to kill the Captain.

One of the smaller squid knocked the harpoon out of his hand and threw Ned down

The squid was about to pull him into the sea

Captain Nemo saw this, cut off the squid's tentacle and saved Ned Land.

"Didn't you do the same for me?"

Captain Nemo did not wait for the answer

When we cleaned our faces and our eyes, the squid was gone, taking the man with it.

The only sound we could hear was the ship's engine

The same thing happened after the death of one of his men

Maybe Captain Nemo thought that soon all his men would die, and the Nautilus and his secret would be lost.

"I want you to talk to the Captain, Professor

"Now is not the time, Ned."

I found the Captain in his library

No one who enters the Nautilus ever leaves

It was one of the Captain's men

I left the Captain, but I didn't return to my room

I went upstairs to the platform

Ned Land tried to call the ship over

Captain Nemo put a black flag on the Nautilus with a yellow "N" in the centre of it

We all went down, inside the ship, I watched the fight from the glass window in the museum

The Nautilus shook from the explosions of the cannonballs in the water, but it went forward, ready to attack the enemy ship.

The Nautilus made a hole in the bottom of the enemy ship with its sharp nose

I saw the men on the other ship fall into the water

Captain Nemo was not the man I thought he was

I had respect for him as a scientist, but he murdered those men on the other ship!

After the terrible battle with the enemy ship, everything on the Nautilus was quiet

We all felt the same, now, the adventure of the Nautilus was not exciting or interesting

We were in the North Sea, near the coast of Norway

Now is the time!"

If anyone stops you, kill them." Ned Land put a fishing knife in my hand and left the room, I looked around one more time

As I walked through the museum to the stairs, I heard music coming from Captain Nemo's library

I listened to him playing the piano, and I thought I heard him say.

I found Ned Land and Conseil in the small boat on the platform

Suddenly, I thought I understood what the men below said in their strange language

The waters off the coast of Norway were famous for this

"Don't free the boat

Something hit me on the head and that's the last thing I remember.

The whirlpool threw our boat away from the Nautilus

Some fishermen found us and took us to the shore.

I do not know what happened to Captain Nemo and the Nautilus

Maybe he is still alive, living under the sea

All I know is that we travelled 20,000 leagues under the sea, from the Pacific to the Indian Ocean, through the Reel Sea and the Mediterranean, across the Atlantic and to the North and South Poles

Hope you have enjoyed the reading!

Down the Rabbit-hole

She jumped up and ran after the animal

It ran down a large rabbit-hole, so Alice went down the hole too

There were cupboards in the walls of the rabbit-hole

Some of the cupboards were open, and there were books in them

'When will the hole end?' she wondered

'Perhaps I'm going to come out in Australia! I'll have to ask the name of the country

Suddenly, Alice was at the bottom of the hole

She could see the White Rabbit and she ran after him again

'Oh, my ears and nose!' the White Rabbit cried

Alice followed him through the hole

She looked round for the White Rabbit, but she couldn't see him anywhere.

There were four doors in the room, but Alice couldn't open them

Also, she couldn't see the hole anywhere

'Perhaps it will open one of the doors,' she thought

She took the key and tried to open each door with it

She put her head down and looked through the door into a beautiful garden

Sadly, she shut the door again and put the key back on the table.

She looked at the table

'That bottle was not on the table before,' thought Alice.

She went to the door, but could not open it

The key was on the table

She went back to the table

But Alice was too short and she couldn't get the key

She tried to climb the table legs, but it was too difficult

Then she saw a little box under the table

On it, she saw the words, 'EAT ME'.

'Perhaps I'll get bigger and then I can get the key

Then I can get under the door into the garden.'

She felt the top of her head with her hand

But nothing happened - she stayed the same size

So she finished the cake.

She took the little key from the table

Then she went to the door and opened it

But she couldn't stop the big tears and after a time there was water everywhere.

She heard the sound of small feet

She looked down and there was the White Rabbit again

'Oh, the Duchess, the Duchess!' he said

He ran out of the room and his hat fell from his hands

Alice took the hat.

So who am I? That's the question.'

She had the White Rabbit's hat in her hand.

'I'm smaller because I've got the hat in my hand!' she thought.

She put the hat on

It was the right size for her head.

'Am I smaller than the table now?' she wondered

She went to the table and stood next to it

She was smaller than the table

'I'm getting smaller all the time!' she cried

'I'm going to vanish!' She quickly took the hat off.

'Now I can go into the garden!' thought Alice, and she started to run to the little door

She tried to put her feet on the ground but she couldn't

'I'm in the sea!' she thought

But it wasn't the sea

Something was in the water - Alice could hear it

'Do you know the way out of this room?' The Mouse didn't answer.

She remembered some words from her schoolbook, so she spoke to the mouse in French.

'Don't like cats!' cried the mouse

'We!' cried the Mouse

When the Mouse heard this, it turned round

'I'll talk to you, but let's get out of the water.'

There were a lot of animals and birds in the water

When they saw her, they got out of the water too.

Alice and the birds and animals felt cold and wet

'I am the Dodo.'

'I have an idea,' said the Dodo.' We all want to get warm

'I can tell you,' said the Dodo,' but I won't

He put the animals and birds in different places in the room

In a race, somebody usually says,' One, two, three, go!' But the Dodo didn't do that

After half an hour, the Dodo cried, 'Everybody stop! All the birds and animals stopped

Then they all came to the Dodo and stood round it.' Who was first? Who was first?' they shouted.

'But who will give us the chocolates?' the Mouse asked.

'She will,' the Dodo said and looked at Alice

'Here we are,' she said, and opened the box

'But Alice has to have something, you know,' said the Mouse.

'Of course,' the Dodo answered

'I can have the box,' said Alice sadly.

'Give it to me,' said the Dodo and Alice gave it to him.

They all stood round Alice again, and the Dodo gave her the box.

She took the box and smiled politely.

But the chocolates were too big for the small birds, and they had to eat them very slowly

'And who is Dinah?' the Dodo asked.

She can catch a mouse in the morning for her breakfast and a little bird in the evening for her dinner - Oh! I'm sorry!'

They all spoke politely to Alice and left the room.

'Nobody likes Dinah down here, but she's the best cat in the world

After a time, she heard the sound of small feet and looked up.

'Perhaps it's the Mouse,' she thought.

It was not the Mouse

It was the White Rabbit

He came slowly into the room.

She wanted to help him, but she couldn't see the hat anywhere

She wasn't in the long room anymore, and there was no table or water

She was outside again, in the country.

Above the door were the words 'W

She went in and ran up the stairs.

Alice took the hat and looked at the bottle

It didn't have the words 'DRINK ME' on it, but she drank from it.

She drank half the bottle

'Oh!' Her head hit the top of the house and she put the bottle down quickly.

But after a very short time she was too big for the room

She had to put one arm out of the window and one foot in the fireplace.

Oh, why did I go down the rabbit-hole? But it is interesting here

'Mary Ann, Mary Ann! Where are you? Bring me my hat!' The words came from the garden, outside the window

It was the White Rabbit.

He came inside and ran up the stairs to the room

He tried to open the door

'I'll climb in through the window,' the Rabbit said.

One of her arms was outside the window

When she could hear the Rabbit outside the window, she moved her arm up and down

'Pat, Pat, where are you? Come here!' shouted the Rabbit.

'What's that in the window?' asked the Rabbit.

'Well, what's it doing up there? Take it away!' said the Rabbit angrily.

Something came through the window and fell on the floor

I can't get bigger!' So she ate the cake and two or three minutes later she was small again

She ran out of the house as quickly as she could.

'But how? I have to eat or drink something, but the question is - what?'

That was the question

She stood up tall and looked over the top

There, on top of the mushroom, was a large green caterpillar.

'What do you mean?' the Caterpillar asked.

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

'You see, I change all the time

'For you? Who are you?' said the Caterpillar and laughed

'Why do I have to tell you?' asked the Caterpillar.

'Come back!' the Caterpillar called

'Don't get angry,' said the Caterpillar.

She felt very angry with the Caterpillar.

'No,' said the Caterpillar.

'I can't remember things, and my size changes all the time

'So you can't remember things,' said the Caterpillar

'You are old, Father William,' the young man said,

'You are old, Father William,' the young man said,

Now what is the answer to that?'

'That is not right,' said the Caterpillar

Some of the words are different,' said Alice.

'It's wrong from beginning to end,' said the Caterpillar

'Seven centimetres is a very good size,' said the Caterpillar angrily

And she thought, 'Why does it get angry all the time?'

Then it climbed down the mushroom

Alice looked at the two mushrooms and thought for a minute

Then she went to the Caterpillars mushroom and broke off some of it with her right hand

She went to the brown mushroom and did the same with her left hand.

She ate some of the brown mushroom

She quickly ate a little from the white mushroom in her left hand

Then she ate some from one hand and some from the other

She began to walk through the wood

'The people in the house will be afraid of me

I know! I'll eat some of the brown mushroom.'

When she was 18 centimetres high, she walked to the house

She opened the door and went in.

The Duchess and the Cheshire Cat

There was a cook by the fire and there was food on the table

Near the fire, there was a large cat with a big smile

'I think that woman is the Duchess,' thought Alice

But the Duchess did not say anything to her, so Alice asked, 'Please, why is your cat smiling?'

'Because it's a Cheshire Cat, that's why,' said the Duchess.

'You don't know much,' said the Duchess.

Suddenly, the cook threw a plate at the Duchess

Some of them hit the Duchess and the baby

The Duchess did nothing, but the baby started to cry

'Oh, don't throw things at the baby!' cried Alice

'You be quiet, it isn't your baby!' the Duchess shouted

These were the words of the song:

The cook sang the song too

The Duchess started to throw the baby up and down

At the end of the song, she threw the baby to Alice.

I'm going to see the Queen.'

The cook threw another plate at the Duchess

It didn't hit her, but she left the room quickly.

Alice looked at the baby

It was very strange, but the baby was now a pig.

Alice put the little animal down and it ran happily away into the wood.

The Cheshire Cat was up in one of the trees

'Where do you want to go?' asked the Cat.

'Somewhere different,' repeated the Cat

We call him the "Mad Hatter".'

It said, 'Walk this way and you'll find the March Hare

'Oh, you can't help that,' said the cat

'Of course you are,' the Cat said

Are you going to see the Queen today? She's quite strange too?'

'I'd like to see the Queen,' Alice said, 'but I haven't got an invitation?'

'You'll see me in the Queen's garden?' said the Cheshire Cat, and vanished.

She waited for two minutes, and the Cat came back again.

'What happened to the baby?' it asked.

'I knew it!' said the Cat and vanished again.

Alice stayed under the tree for a short time

'I think I'll go and visit the March Hare?' said Alice

She looked up, and there was the Cheshire Cat in a tree - a different tree.

'Did you say "pig"?' asked the Cat.

Then she said, 'Cheshire Cat, one minute you vanish and the next minute you're there again

'I know?' said the cat

Slowly, the Cheshire Cat's smile vanished too, and Alice began to walk again

She saw the March Hare's house through the trees

It was bigger than the Duchess's house.

Alice ate some of the white mushrooms

She felt afraid, but walked to the house.

'I hope the March Hare isn't too strange,' she thought.

There was a tree in front of the house

Under the tree was a big table with a lot of chairs round it

But there were only three at the table: the Mad Hatter, the March Hare and a large brown mouse

The Mouse sat between the Mad Hatter and the March Hare

She sat down in a chair at one end of the table.

'Have some wine,' the Mad Hatter said politely.

Alice looked round the table but there was only tea.

'There isn't any,' said the March Hare.

That wasn't very polite of you,' said the March Hare.

Cut your hair!' said the Mad Hatter.

'My watch says Monday,' the Mad Hatter said

Butter isn't good for a watch.' He looked angrily at the March Hare.

'But it was the best butter,' answered the March Hare.

'Yes, but you put it in with the bread knife

The March Hare took the watch from the Mad Hatter and looked at it sadly

He took it out and looked at it again.' It was the best butter, you know,' he repeated.

Alice looked at the watch

'It tells you the day, but it doesn't tell you the time.'

'So? Does your watch tell you the year?' asked the Mad Hatter.

'No,' Alice answered, 'but it's the same year for a very long time.'

'And my watch doesn't tell the time because it's always tea-time.'

She looked round the table

There were a lot of teacups on the table.

'We move from place to place,' said the Mad Hatter.

'Don't you wash the cups?' asked Alice.

'No, we don't have time,' said the Mad Hatter.

'It's a long story,' said the Mad Hatter

'Oh, look! The Mouse is asleep again,' said the Mad Hatter

He took his teacup and put a little hot tea on the Mouse's nose

'Be quiet!' the Mad Hatter said very loudly, and the Mouse stopped singing.

'Have some more tea,' the March Hare said to Alice.

'You can have more,' the Mad Hatter said

'Then don't speak,' the Mad Hatter said.

Alice got up angrily and walked away from the table into the woods.

When she looked back, the Mouse was asleep with its head on its plate.

She looked round and saw a door in one of the trees

And she opened the door and went inside.

She was back in the long room, near the little table! 'I'm small now

I can get through the little door into the garden.'

The key was on the table

She took it and opened the little door

Then she ate some of the brown mushroom

When she was about 30 centimeters high, she walked through the door into the garden.

Inside the Garden

There were three gardeners by the tree.

'We're making the flowers red,' one of the gardeners said.

'Well, Miss, the Queen wanted trees with red flowers on them

But this tree's got white flowers! We don't want the Queen to see it

So we're making the flowers red before she sees them.'

The three gardeners fell to the ground, with their faces down

Alice heard the sound of many feet and turned round.

'Now I'll see the Queen.'

First, ten men with clubs in their hands came into the garden

Next came the King's men

The children of the King and Queen came next, all with red hearts

Last of all were the King and Queen of Hearts.

The Queen said to the Knave of Hearts, 'Who is this?'

'Stupid man!' shouted the Queen

She didn't feel very afraid of the Queen

The Queen looked at the gardeners

They were on the ground and she couldn't see their faces

'Turn those men over!' she said to the Knave of Hearts

'Get up!' the Queen shouted.

The Queen turned to the little tree and looked at it carefully

'What's wrong with these flowers?' she asked the gardeners.

The Queen looked from the flowers to the men

The Kings men looked for the gardeners but couldn't find them

'Are their heads off?' shouted the Queen.

'Yes, Madam,' shouted the King's men.

'Good!' shouted the Queen.

Alice turned round and there was the White Rabbit next to her.

'Where's the Duchess?'

'Quiet!' said the Rabbit and looked all round him

'Did you say, "Oh no!"?' asked the White Rabbit.

'She hit the Queen,' the Rabbit said

'Quiet!' said the Rabbit again

You see, the Duchess came late

When she arrived, the Queen said-'

Suddenly, the Queen shouted very loudly, 'Cut off their heads!'

It was a smile! 'It's the Cheshire Cat,' she thought

'How are you?' the Cheshire Cat asked.

'Do you like the Queen?' the Cat asked.

But then she saw the Queen

But the King saw the Cat's head and came to Alice.

The King looked carefully at the Cat

'I don't like it,' said the King.

'Well, I don't like you,' said the Cat.

'That's not polite,' said the King and got behind Alice.

'Well, this cat has to go,' said the King

He called to the Queen, 'My dear, I don't like this cat.'

She didn't look at the Cat

After a short time, there were a lot of people round the Cat

There was the King and Queen, and a man with a very long knife in his hand.

'How can I cut off its head?' asked the man with the knife

'Oh yes you are,' said the King

'Do something now, or I'll cut off everybody's head!' said the Queen angrily.

'What do you think?' the King asked Alice.

Then she said, 'It's the Duchess's Cat

'Bring the Duchess here,' the Queen said.

Then the Cheshire Cat's head started to vanish

Somebody came back with the Duchess

The King looked for the Cat for some time, but he couldn't find it anywhere.

'Come for a walk, you dear thing,' the Duchess said to Alice

She put her arm through Alice's and they walked through the garden.

'Perhaps when the cook isn't there, she's nice

'Are you thinking?' asked the Duchess

She could hear the Queen at the other end of the garden

'Will they cut off your head?' Alice asked the Duchess.

Who Took the Tarts?

Alice and the Duchess followed everybody into a house with one very large room

They sat on big chairs above all the animals and birds

All the cards were there too

Near the King was the White Rabbit

The Knave of Hearts stood in front of the King and Queen

In the middle of the room was a table with a large plate of tarts on it.

'I know a lot of the animals and birds here,' she thought

She looked hungrily at the tarts.

'I hope they finish the trial quickly,' she thought

'Then we can eat the tarts.'

Suddenly, the White Rabbit cried, 'Quiet please!'

The King looked round the room

'Read the paper!' he said

'Cut off his head!' cried the Queen.

'No, no,' said the Rabbit

'We have to call people into the room, and ask them questions.'

Call the Mad Hatter!' said the King.

The Mad Hatter came into the room

He had a teacup in one hand, and some bread-and-butter in the other hand.

'When did you begin your tea?' asked the King.

The March Hare and the Mouse were quite near him and he looked at them for ideas

Then he said, 'March the fourteenth - I think.'

'Fifteenth,' said the March Hare.

'Sixteenth,' said the Mouse.

'Write that down,' said the King to the White Rabbit

Then he said to the Mad Hatter, 'Take off your hat.'

'It isn't mine,' said the Mad Hatter.

'Oh, so you took it from somebody, you bad man,' said the King.

I'm a Hatter,' answered the Mad Hatter

'Don't be afraid or I'll cut off your head!' said the King.

'I'm not a bad man!' the Mad Hatter cried

'But the March Hare told me-'

'I didn't!' the March Hare said quickly.

'Well, the Mouse said...' The Mad Hatter stopped and looked at the Mouse

But the Mouse didn't say anything, because he was asleep.

'After that,' said the Mad Hatter, 'I cut some more bread-and-butter.'

'But what did the Mouse say?' asked the King.

'I can't remember,' the Mad Hatter said.

'You have to remember,' the King said, 'or I'll cut off your head.'

'I'm a good man, Sir...' the unhappy Mad Hatter began

But the King wasn't interested now.

'You can go,' he said to the Mad Hatter.

The Mad Hatter ran out of the room.

'Take his head off outside!' shouted the Queen

But the Mad Hatter ran very fast and they could not catch him.

She was between the Duchess and the Mouse

'You're hurting me,' the Duchess said.

'You can't get bigger here,' said the Mouse.

'Yes, but not as fast as you,' said the Mouse

'Call the next person!' said the King.

It was the Duchess's cook.

'Speak!' said the King.

'No!' said the cook.

'Ask her some questions,' the White Rabbit said to the King.

'All right, all right,' said the King

'Fish,' said the cook.

'Don't be stupid,' said the King

'Call the next person!'

The White Rabbit looked at his paper and read the next name: 'Alice!'

The End of the Trial

'Put everything and everybody back!' said the King loudly

Then the King asked, 'What do you know about these tarts?'

'That's very important,' said the King.

'You mean, unimportant, Sir,' said the White Rabbit

'Unimportant - of course,' said the King

So she has to leave the room!' he said.

'You are,' said the King.

'More than two kilometers high,' said the Queen.

'Cut off her head!' shouted the Queen

'Cut off her head!' shouted the Queen.

She sat up and told her sister about the White Rabbit and the rabbit-hole

Hope you have enjoyed the reading!

He worked on the ships

Then the children started laughing and running away from me

Some couldn't eat or go to the toilet without help

But when I was thirteen, I grew six inches in six months! And by the time I was sixteen, I was bigger and heavier than all the other boys in the school.

I told him about the idiot school.

'OK,' the man said.

Three days later, the man in the car came and got me out of school

Mom was there, and they got all the things out of my desk and put them in a brown paper bag

Then they told me to say goodbye to the teacher.

The man in the car took me and Mom to the new high school

The man in the car was a football coach called Fellers

I began to play football with the high school team, and Coach Fellers helped me

And I went to lessons in the school

And who do you think I saw in the school cafe? Jenny Curran! She was all grown-up now, with pretty black hair, long legs, and a beautiful face

But there was a boy in the cafe who started calling me names, and saying things like, 'How's Stupid?'

A day or two later, after school in the afternoon, he and his friends came up to me and started pushing and hitting me

Then they ran after me across the football field

That afternoon, he gave me the ball to run with

But they gave me the ball, and I ran over the goal line two or three times

'I want to take Jenny Curran to the cinema,' I told Mom one day.

She was the prettiest thing that I ever saw.

Jenny got the tickets, and we went inside

Once I thought she was on the floor, and I put my hand on her shoulder to pull her up

A few minutes later, four policemen arrived, and took me to the police station!

Mom came to the police station

And the police said, 'That's OK with us

So the next morning, Mom put some things into a suitcase for me, and put me on a bus

But they started the bus, and away I went.

When we got to the university, Coach Bryant came to talk to us.

'Last man to get to the practice field will get a ride there on my shoe!' he shouted at us

The building that I went to live in was nice on the outside but not on the inside

Most of the doors and windows were broken, and the floor was dirty

He crashed into the room with a wild look in his eyes

On the practice field, things didn't start very well

I got the ball, but I ran the wrong way with it, and everybody got angry and started shouting at me.

'Just get in the line and start catching the ball,' he told me.

He had a car, and sometimes he gave me a ride to the practice field

But one day when he had to change a wheel on the car, I helped him.

'I heard the game on the radio!' she said

I found a young man who was sitting in his room playing the harmonica.

He broke his foot in football practice and couldn't play in the game

We didn't talk, but after about an hour, I asked, 'Can I try it?' and he said 'OK', and gave me the harmonica

When it got late, he told me to take the harmonica with me, and I played it for a long time in my room.

She wasn't angry about the cinema, and she asked me to have a drink with her!

We're playing at the Students' Centre tomorrow night

On Friday night, I went to the Students' Centre

Three or four other people were in the group with her, and they made a good sound

Jenny saw me and smiled, and I sat on the floor and listened

Jenny stopped singing for a second or two, and the others in the group stopped playing

The only other important thing that happened to me at the university was the Big Game at the Orange Bowl in Miami that year

The game started, and the ball came to me

I took it - and ran straight into a group of big men on the other team! Crash! It was like that all afternoon.

'Forrest,' he said, 'all year we have secretly taught you to catch the ball and run with it

Everybody was surprised to see that I could catch the ball

Then the other team got two men to run after me

But that meant Gwinn was free to catch the ball, and he put us on the 15-yard line

Then Weasel, the kicker, got a field goal, and it was 28 to 24!

Weasel made a bad mistake - and then the game finished, and we were the losers.

I couldn't stay at the university

I wasn't clever enough at the lessons, and there was nothing that anybody could do about it

And we had a good year - the best year, Forrest! Good luck, boy!'

Bubba helped me to put my things in my suitcase, then he walked to the bus with me to say goodbye

We went past the Students' Centre

It was late when the bus got to Mobile

'You've got to go in the army!'

After I left the idiot school, people were always shouting at me - Coach Fellers, Coach Bryant, and then the people in the army

But I have to say this: the people in the army shouted louder and longer than anybody!

The place where I had to live was just a bit better than the rooms at the university, but the food was not

Then, and in the months to come, I just had to do the things that I was told to do

They taught me how to shoot guns, throw hand grenades, and move along the ground on my stomach.

One day, the cook was ill, and somebody said, 'Gump, you're going to be the cook today.'

'It's easy,' said one of the men

'Just put everything that you see in the food cupboard into a big pot and cook it.'

'What am I going to cook it in?' I asked one of the men.

There are some pots in the cupboard,' he said

But the pots were only small.

'You've got to find something,' one of the other men said.

There was a big metal thing about six feet tall and five feet round, sitting in the corner.

'That's the boiler

But the men had other things to do

So I used the boiler.

I put everything in it, and after about an hour you could smell the cooking

Then the men came back and everybody was waiting for their dinner.

Suddenly, the boiler began to shake and make noises - and then it blew up!

It blew the food all over us - me, and all the men who were sitting at the tables.

After a year, we went to Vietnam to fight in the war

The 'showers' were just a long hole in the ground for us to stand in, while somebody threw water over us

Then the ground began to blow up all round us!

We threw ourselves on to the floor of the shower hole, and somebody started screaming

It was some of our men on the far side of the hole, and there was blood all over them

Then everything went quiet again, and after a minute or two the rest of us climbed up out of the hole.

The enemy soldiers tried to blow us up for the next five nights, then it stopped

But it was time for us to move up north to help some of our other men in the jungle.

We went in helicopters, and there was smoke coming up out of the jungle when we got there

The enemy started shooting at us before we got on the ground, and they blew up one of our helicopters

It was almost night before we found our other soldiers in the jungle.

Well, in between the shooting, Bubba told me about himself

His foot got too bad to play football, and he had to leave the university

But his foot wasn't too bad for the army to get him - and here he was.

'She left school and went off with a group of people who were against the war,' he said.

Danger in the Jungle

We were on one hill and the enemy was on the other