Alice's Adventures Under Ground

Alice's Adventures Under Ground, the precursor to Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, is a shorter and slightly cruder version of the classic tale. Here's a look at Alice's initial tumble down the rabbit hole:

• The Rabbit's Fuss: Similar to its revised counterpart, Alice finds herself bored on a summer day. She spots a white rabbit, this time waistcoat-less but still carrying a pocket watch, and chases him down a rabbit hole.

• A Curious Descent: Alice's fall is quite different. Instead of a seemingly endless tunnel, she bumps her head repeatedly and encounters various objects like jars and shelves on her way down.

• A Sea of Tears: Unlike the wonderland wonderland, Alice lands in a pool of her own tears, cried by fellow creatures who fell down the rabbit hole before her.

• A Menagerie of Characters: She meets some familiar faces - a Dodo (later replaced by a Caucus-race in the revised version) and a grumpy mouse (later becoming Dormouse at the tea party). There are new characters too, like a nameless shop that sells treacle and a baby with a pig for a tutor.

• Early Encounters with Food and Drink: The topsy-turvy logic is present. Alice nibbles a cake that makes her grow tall, then a drink that shrinks her back down. However, the iconic potions and the Mad Hatter's tea party are absent in this earlier version.

• The Story Ends Abruptly: Alice encounters a talking Caterpillar with some philosophical musings (later elaborated upon in the revised version), but the story breaks off here.

Overall: Alice's Adventures Under Ground offers a glimpse into the early development of the Wonderland story. It retains the fantastical elements and the theme of Alice questioning her own identity, but lacks the elaborate structure and iconic characters found in Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.