The scenes and all the company changed so often in Looking-Glass Land that Alice had all she could do to keep pace with her adventures. For you see all this time she was only a pawn, moving over an immense chess-board from square to square, until in the end she should be made queen. The White Queen whom Alice met shortly was a very lopsided person, quite unlike the Red Queen, who was neat enough no matter how sharp her tongue. Alice had to fix her hair, and straighten her shawl, and set her right and tidy.
“Really, you should have a lady’s maid,” she remarked.
“I’m sure I’ll take you with pleasure,” the Queen said. “Twopence a week, and jam every other day.”
Alice couldn’t help laughing as she said:
“I don’t want you to hire me, and I don’t care for jam.”
“It’s very good jam,” said the Queen.
“Well, I don’t want any to-day at any rate.”
“You couldn’t have it if you did want it,” the Queen said. “The rule is—jam to-morrow and jam yesterday, but never jam to-day.”
“It must come sometimes to ‘jam to-day,’” Alice objected.
“No, it can’t,” said the Queen. “It’s jam every other day; to-day isn’t any other day, you know.”