8. " The Queen's Croquet-Ground " - Chapter 8 - Alice's Adventures in Wonderland

Alice enters the garden and meets three gardeners in the shape of playing cards. The gardeners Two, Five, and Seven bicker with each other as they paint the white roses on the rose trees red. Upon noticing Alice, the gardeners explain that they have planted white rose trees by mistake and must paint them red before the Queen of Hearts finds out. Just then, the Queen arrives, surrounded by a great entourage of living playing cards. The gardeners scramble to their bellies to bow before the Queen, who asks for Alice’s name with great severity. Alice answers the Queen graciously and realizes she should not be afraid, as they are simply a pack of cards. The Queen asks Alice about the trembling gardeners. Alice responds flippantly, prompting the Queen to call for Alice’s beheading until the King calms her down. Upon discovering what the gardeners were doing, she orders their decapitation and moves on. Alice saves the gardeners by hiding them in a flower pot and going off with the Queen to play croquet. When she arrives at the croquet match, Alice finds out from the White Rabbit that the Duchess is under sentence of execution for boxing the Queen’s ears.

Alice has a difficult time adjusting to the curious version of croquet played by the Queen. The croquet ground is ridged, the croquet balls are live hedgehogs, and the mallets are live flamingos. The various playing cards stand on all fours to form the arches that the balls are hit through. As she plays, the Queen apoplectically shouts for everyone’s decapitation. Alice attempts to slip away from the croquet match, but catches sight of the Cheshire Cat’s grin. The Cheshire Cat asks her how she is getting on, and Alice begins to complain about the Queen’s unusual behavior. The King notices the conversation and attempts to bully the Cheshire Cat, but it refuses to give in to the King’s taunts. The King becomes aggravated and calls for the Queen to remove the Cheshire Cat. The Queen carelessly orders its decapitation, but the executioner and the King cannot agree on how to execute the Cheshire Cat, who at this point is only a head floating in mid-air. They appeal to Alice, who suggests that they get the advice of the Duchess, who owns the Cheshire Cat. By the time the Duchess arrives, the Cheshire Cat has completely vanished.