"You had better hurry, Alice," said the old gentleman rabbit as he was reading the evening paper.
"Oh, I don't know what to do!" she cried. "I can't decide which hair ribbon to wear."
"Wear them all," called Uncle Wiggily with a laugh, but, of course, Alice couldn't do that, and she was in despair, which means that she didn't know what to do.
She laid all the ribbons back in the box, and she was just going to shut her eyes, and pick out the first one she could reach, and wear that whether she liked it or not, for she didn't want to be late to the party. And then, all of a sudden, in through the open window of her room the old skillery-scalery alligator put his long nose and he cried:
"Hair ribbons! I must have hair ribbons! Give me hair ribbons!"
And then what do you think he did? Why, he grabbed up the whole box full of Alice's lovely hair ribbons, and before she could say "scootum-scattum," if she had wanted to, that skillery-scalery alligator ran away with them in his mouth, taking his double-jointed tail with him.
"Oh!" cried Alice. "Oh! Oh!" and she almost lost her breath, she was so surprised.
"What is it?" cried Uncle Wiggily, running up to her room.
"The alligator! He has taken my hair ribbons. Quick, run after him, dear Uncle Wiggily!"
"I will!" exclaimed the brave old gentleman rabbit and out of the house he hurried, but the 'gator with the double-jointed tail had completely gone, and the rabbit gentleman couldn't catch him.