Carroll must have thought this version was too dark for public consumption, and so we have the Mouse’s tale here as a conflict between Mouse and an imperious dog Fury, with the threat of death but not the actual act. We will see that this poem’s mockery of the court system foreshadows the trial that serves as the climax to Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, and also the scene of the Barrister’s dream in The Hunting of the Snark.

The Mysterious Fury: Although it is not made clear in the poem, Fury was the name of a terrier owned by one of Carroll’s friends. The name is also appropriate when we consider the Erinyes, or furies, of Greek mythology. Those furies were demonic spirits of justice and divine retribution who haunted the dreaming ghosts of the netherworld. When we consider the underground nature of Wonderland itself, the allusion is quite a clever one!

She Had Got to the Fifth Bend: Alice is visualizing the Mouse’s poem in tail form, bending back and forth. The Mouse, of course, is simply furious because he realizes that Alice has been going off with her own daydreaming, and has forgotten (yet again!) to be sympathetic to his fears.

The Old Crabs: Later, when the Mock Turtle is regaling Alice with tales of the Underwater School, we will learn that this school has a classics master who is an old Crab as well: a caricature of the author of a famous Greek lexicon, Alice’s father Henry Liddell. the female old Crab is pedantic and chiding of her daughter, and may represent Alice’s society-climbing mother, Mrs. Lorina Liddell. Carroll may be taking jabs at those stuffy parents who sometimes forbade him from taking the Liddell sisters boating on the River Isis!

Chapter IV

“As Sure as Ferrets Are Ferrets”: The Rabbit here is hinting at the hunting instinct of wild ferrets, who often clamp their teeth into rabbits’ necks, drain their blood, and even kill them. The White Rabbit’s obvious fear of the Duchess here (and her death threats, which Alice will learn of later) is ominous indeed.

Mary Ann, the Housemaid: Carroll may have chosen this common English name at random, or may have been naming one of Alice’s friends. However, it is more likely that he is providing a winking reference to Mary Ann Hillier. Ms. Hillier worked as a parlor maid for Carroll’s colleague, the pioneering experimental photographer Julia Margaret Cameron. Mary Ann was quite beautiful and was Julia’s favorite model throughout the years when the “Alice” stories were written.

Why Is Mary Ann in Wonderland?: As Carroll pointed out in his character sketch of the White Rabbit, Mr. Rabbit is a bit elderly and has poor vision. Here he has mistaken Alice for Mary Ann, his housemaid. This curious episode leads one to wonder if Mary Ann is a dreamer much like Alice herself, who was unable to wake and was “taken in” by the Rabbit; or, if Mary Ann is a simultaneous dreamer, caught up in the same dream as Alice.

The Fragility of Kid-Gloves: Kid-gloves are made of fine, thin leather and are very comfortable. However, they tear or split easily, and—despite care with olive oil—often need to be replaced. This is likely why the White Rabbit owns multiple pairs.

Going Messages for a Rabbit: Alice is of course referring to the servant’s duty of running messages between houses in the age before telephones! Same-day business (for which the mail was too slow) was always conducted by servants “going messages.”  In Wonderland, as we shall see, this duty is performed by the Fish and Frog Footmen as well.

“When I Grow Up, I’ll Write One”: This passage is intriguing because it might imply that Alice had told Lewis Carroll that she was interested in writing her own stories when she got older. This never happened, but Alice was certainly a creative young woman. She was very skilled in sketching and watercolors, and studied under John Ruskin himself. (Many of these works survive.)  But she was quite secretive about her talents. If Alice ever wrote a book of her own, it has never come to light.

Cucumber Frames, Digging for Apples: Here we learn a bit about White Rabbit’s favorite foods. A cucumber frame is a miniature greenhouse for cultivating cucumbers quickly and in abundance. By digging for apples, Pat is making a jest about the French term for potatoes, pomme de terre—“apple of the earth.”

“It’s an Arrum”: Pat here is a caricature of a typical servant in the English countryside: garrulous, well-natured and poorly spoken.

Alas, Poor Bill: Bill, it seems, is a hearty Irish lad, with more loyalty than sense. He’s industrious, takes orders well, is fairly clumsy, and when he is hurt, is by no means averse to drink. The name William means “valiant protector”: an apt one in this case, considering that the White Rabbit intentionally sends Bill in his place to take care of a dangerous situation!  (By the way: From a color illustration in The Nursery “Alice,” we can venture a guess that Bill is a common, or viviparous lizard (Lacerta vivipara), a species native to England. If this is the case, he is agile, swift, an excellent climber, and none too bright.)

Many Voices All Talking Together: This section of confused babble is written for effect, not for clarity. If it were properly attributed (with some guesswork applied), it would probably go something like this:

White Rabbit: Where’s the other ladder?

Pat: Why, I hadn’t to bring but one. Bill’s got the other.

White Rabbit: Bill! Fetch it here, lad!

Pat: Here, put ’em up at this corner.

Guinea Pig: No, tie ’em together first—they don’t reach half high enough yet.

White Rabbit: Oh, they’ll do well enough.