Ia. Dedication
Carroll precedes the tale with a charming poetical foreword, the first stanza of which the music aims to express. It runs:
Child of the pure, unclouded brow
And dreaming eyes of wonder!
Though time be fleet, and I and thou
Are half a life asunder,
Thy loving smile will surely hail
The love gift of a fairy tale.
A simple song theme, briefly developed, leads to