"If you didn't sign it," said the King, "that makes your case worse. You must have meant some harm or you'd have signed your name like an hon-est man."
All clapped their hands at this as it was the first smart thing the King had said that day.
"That proves his guilt," said the Queen.
"It does not prove a thing," said Al-ice, "Why you don't so much as know what the rhymes are."
"Read them," said the King.
"Where shall I be-gin, your ma-jes-ty?" the White Rab-bit asked.
"Why at the first verse, of course," the King said look-ing quite grave, "and go on till you come to the end; then stop."
The White Rab-bit read:
"They told me you had been to her,
And spoke of me to him:
She gave me a good name, in-deed,
But said I could not swim.
"He sent them word that I had gone
(We know it to be true):
If she should push the mat-ter on
What would be-come of you?
"I gave her one, they gave him two,
You gave us three, or more;
They all came back from him to you,
Though they were mine be-fore.
