It looked like a large animal to Alice, but it was only a mouse.

‘Shall I speak to it?’ thought Alice. ‘Everything’s very strange down here, so perhaps a mouse can talk.’

So she began: ‘Oh Mouse, do you know the way out of this pool? I am very tired of swimming, oh Mouse!’

The mouse looked at her with its little eyes, but it said nothing.

‘Perhaps it doesn’t understand English,’ thought Alice. ‘Perhaps it’s a French mouse.’ So she began again, and said in French: ‘Where is my cat?’

The mouse jumped half out of the water and looked at her angrily.

‘Oh, I'm so sorry!’ cried Alice quickly. ‘Of course, you don’t like cats, do you?’

‘Like cats?’ cried the mouse in a high, angry voice. ‘Does any mouse like cats?’

‘Well, perhaps not,’ Alice began kindly.

But the mouse was now swimming quickly away, and soon Alice was alone again. At last she found her way out of the pool and sat down on the ground. She felt very lonely and unhappy.