Alice entered into her bedroom where she sat down on her bed and rested her hand on her chin and began to lose herself in deep thought and contemplation. After a while, her cat Dinah crawled up to her and rubbed her head against her arm and let out a small meow as if to get her attention. Alice blinked and then slowly turned towards Dinah and began to stroke her back affectionately.
"Hey, Dinah," she said to her feline companion. "I'm just very busy thinking now. I'm trying to decide whether or not I want to go to church this Easter with my Aunt, Uncle, and cousins when they come to visit."
Dinah looked up at Alice and gave a tiny meow as if asking why.
"Well," Alice replied slowly, "It's just that I've never been to church before and so I don't know anything about what it's like being there, and I'm also a little nervous about it seeming strange to me. And for that matter, I don't even know if I really do believe in any of the things that everyone who goes there does, like my relatives who asked if I wanted to come with them. I'm so confused. Some of the things I've heard that you have to believe in if you are a Christian sound nice, and some also sound scary, or otherwise just don't make any sense to me. You see why I'm so confused?"
Dinah then appeared to nod her head as though she fully understood what Alice meant.
Alice sighed and got up from her bed. She walked up to her full-length mirror and a small smile slowly made its way onto her face.
"Well, she said, "whenever I'm confused about anything I always know where to go for advice!"
And then she reached out and calmly stepped through the magical portal built into the mirror and stepped out on the other side of it into another world called Wonderland.
Alice then walked a short distance, then took a left turn in the path in the woods, and soon came upon the house where the Hatter and the Hare were enjoying themselves having tea in the front yard. She approached them.
"Wow, Hatter!" exclaimed the Hare as he set down his teacup. "You are a genius, I must say, to have had the idea of us having iced tea today with ice cream in it!"
The Hatter smiled modestly and replied, "Well, I just thought it was time to try something new, and then I remembered my old Granny Hatter's family recipe for ice cream and tea."
"Well, I'm just glad you did," said the Hare. "And I can't think of anything I would rather do today, or anyone who I'd rather spend the day with than with you."
The Hatter smiled and then he noticed Alice coming up to them. He promptly stood up and greeted her with a wide smile. "Why, hello Alice! It's good to see you here again today. Would you care to sit here and join us?"
Alice smiled and nodded. So then the Hatter politely pulled out a chair for her in front of himself and the Hare.
"Would you also like to have some of my new ice cream and tea?" the Hatter asked. Alice nodded and smiled again. "Which flavor?" the Hatter asked next.
"Vanilla," Alice replied. Then as she took the teacup the Hatter provided her with she continued, "I've been thinking about something a lot today. And I have a lot of questions I can't seem to answer myself. So I came here hoping you two could maybe help me to sort out my confusion."
"Of course we can!" said the Hare very brightly. "Absolutely! You know I always love to help others to find answers to hard questions."
"So do I," added the Hatter. "Now what seems to be troubling you today, Alice?"
"Well," Alice began slowly, "back where I live Easter is coming up soon. And I'll be having a few relatives coming over to visit. They come just about every year for it and we always have these really fun Easter egg hunts and suchlike. And this year, they've asked me if I would also like to come with them to their church on Easter Sunday. And this is where I'm so confused. I just don't know if I want to go or not."
The Hatter and the Hare listened to her with intense interest. And now they both looked rather confused themselves. "Well," said the Hatter, "what exactly is this church thing all about?"
Alice thought for a moment and then replied, "Well, it's kind of hard to explain. From what I've been told about it you first have to wake up very early in the morning and dress as nicely as possible and then you go to this small building where you meet with a lot of other people and then you just sit and listen to some old guy who stands in front of you all and reads a little bit of something out of a very long book and then just basically tells you what his interpretation is of it and that you have to take it literally or else you're in big trouble."
The Hatter and the Hare were now both frowning. "Well," said the Hare, "that sure doesn't sound like any fun at all if you ask me."
"I quite agree," added the Hatter, "in fact, it sounds very dull, and boring, and a complete waste of time."
"That is what I've been thinking also," agreed Alice. "And also the church that my relatives go to is of the Presbyterian Christian denomination, and I've heard that one is one of the strictest and harshest denominations there are."
The Hatter and Hare now looked confused all over again."What do those words mean?" asked the Hatter. "Presbyterian... Christian... and denomination? I've never heard of them."
"Nor I," added the Hare.
"Well," began Alice, "Christian... or Christianity means a group of people who follow in the teachings of someone who they believe was a great divine teacher and cult leader who lived more than two-thousand years ago. And Presbyterian means a group out of the larger group of Christians who call themselves this because they believe they have all been predestined, that is everything about them was always set in stone before they were born even. And a denomination means a smaller group out of the larger group who only believe in a selection of what this doctrine teaches, and others include Baptist, Methodist, Protestant, Catholic, and Lutheran."
The Hatter and the Hare were now frowning more than before. "Well," said the Hatter slowly and evenly, "While I have never heard of any of the names of the... denominations you mention. The basic idea of them as you described sounds rather familiar to me."
"It does? How so?" asked Alice curiously.
"I mean," began the Hatter, "it reminds me of something that happened to me and the Hare a long time ago. Something which he and I will always regret happened. You see, we were both much younger than so we may not have really known better at the time anyway. It all started one day when a group of elitists who called themselves The Finest Hats of Hatters in the Land came to my neighborhood where Hare and I were growing up. And I took an instant interest and admiration with them and they seemed to take the same with me, or so I thought. And so I decided I wanted to become one of them and I said so to them. And they said I could, but I would have to do so at a price."
"And what price was that?" asked Alice.
"I had to stop hanging out with Hare," the Hatter replied gloomily. "They told me I had to stop being friends with him altogether, and if I could, forget I ever even knew him at all."
"But why?" exclaimed Alice in shock.
"Because, as they told me," the Hatter went on, "Hare was an animal, and animals they told us were sometimes used to make coatings on hats and clothes, and if I was friends with one of them I couldn't be in their club because in order for me to be in their club I had to look perfect in their eyes."
"That is so terrible!" exclaimed Alice. "How could they want you to do such a thing, and for such ridiculous a reason also?"
"That was just what I thought too," said the Hatter. "But at the same time I really wanted to be in their club and so I explained this to Hare as gently as I could. And he said he understood and wouldn't stand in my way. And so then... I was in their club... but not for long. You see, what happened shortly after was that they all found out I enjoyed making and designing the hats I did in a way which they all found was unacceptable to them. And so then I tried to do hats in the way which they did but found I just couldn't because I was not happy doing it their way. And so, inevitably, I was kicked out of their club almost as soon as I had got in it. And then Hare and I reconciled, it took a while though, but we were able to renew our friendship with a better understanding of how special and unique it truly is."
"I'm glad you were able to learn from your experience however bad it may have been," said Alice.
"So am I," said the Hatter. "And I never needed to be in any elitist club at all either. Especially since I have now become so well known in Wonderland as an individual for just being the Queen's favorite Hatter and got there by just being myself."
"That's right," agreed Alice. "And so, I shouldn't have to join any elitist clubs either so to be liked, as I can be liked just for being who I am as a special and unique individual also."
"Right!" said the Hatter and Hare in unison.
Then after Alice had chatted, laughed, and drank tea and ice cream more with them, she left the Hatter's and then went into the Mushroom Glen where she went to visit with her good friend the wise Caterpillar.
She found the giant insect sitting on his favorite mushroom and writing a set of letters with his three pairs of arms. When he looked up and saw her he smiled and said, "Hello, Alice! Have a seat?"
Alice took a seat on another giant mushroom beside him. "Hello, Mr. Caterpillar," she said, "who are you writing to?"
"I'm writing a new article for the Fashion Caterpillar Magazine up here," he said indicating his first set of hands, "and writing a letter to my pen pal Sammy Centipede here," he said indicating his second set of hands, "and writing a brand new story for Wonderland's children to read here," he said indicating his third set of hands.
Alice grinned and said, "Well, it looks like having so many arms can come in very handy!"
The Caterpillar chuckled and then asked, "So would you like to listen to my new story right now?"
"I'd love to, if you would please," said Alice.
So the Caterpillar set down his first and second letters, brought his new story up to his first set of hands and began to read to her.
"Once there was a young chimpanzee named Lucy who was always curious about everything. She was curious to learn about everything. About how things were made, how things were done, and most of all, how things came to be as they were to begin with. One day she went to her grandmother and asked her how chimps came into existence and where they were before then. Her grandmother gave her an ancient book and told her to read from it to find the answers. Lucy read the book and found no answers that would satisfy her curiosity however. She found only an answer that chimps had been brought here by a magical creator's magic. So she went to the library and asked the librarian the same question she had her grandmother. The librarian gave her three books to study. One was a science book, one was a history book, and one was a biology book. So Lucy read and studied each book and not only did she find the answer she was looking for, but she also found her curiosity growing even more and in a very good way. And so she continued to study, learn, and explore new things all the time. The end."
Alice smiled as the Caterpillar finished the story. "I really liked it, I really did," she told him sincerely. "In fact, I believe it also helped me to solve a puzzle I'd been having lately."
"And I am always happy to solve your puzzles, you know," replied the Caterpillar."
Alice got up and left the Caterpillar's Glen and started on her way to the Palace to visit with the Queen and the Rabbit. Along the way she met with the Tweedles.
"Hello, Mr. Dum, and Mr. Dee," she greeted warmly.
"Hello, Alice," said Tweedle Dee. "We're on our way to the Palace to give these new games to the Queen that Her Majesty wanted to try playing on the Cryatal. Would you like to come along and play with us all?"
"I'd love to," Alice replied happily.
Then while they were on their way down the path towards the Palace, Alice said, "I've been thinking about some things lately that have gotten me rather confused."
"Such as?" asked Tweedle Dum.
"Well," Alice began, "such as if there could possibly be more than just this life we have here now."
"What do you mean?" asked Tweedle Dee in confusion.
"I mean," replied Alice, "could there possibly be another life beyond this one? That we can all go to after this one is over and done with?"
Tweedle Dum chuckled lightheartedly at this, as did Tweedle Dee. "Come on, Alice!" he said. "Be serious!"
"Yeah," said Tweedle Dee heartily. "How can there be another life after this one is over and done with? I mean, first of all, where could it be?"
"Well..." Alice said uneasily. "I remember when I used to hear stories about there being another place to live after this life that is in the sky."
"But have you ever seen that place actually?" asked Tweedle Dee.
"Well, no," said Alice frankly.
"Then how can you tell if it is real or not?" said Tweedle Dee.
"Yeah," said Tweedle Dum. "There's nothing up there other than just the sky, and clouds, and sun. Nothing else at all."
"And besides," added Tweedle Dee, "After this life is done we can't go anywhere else to live, because we're not living anymore, and you can't call someone alive if they are in fact not anymore. It just doesn't work that way. This is all we have right here with us now."
"Yeah, I suppose you're both right," said Alice. "And I mean, after all, I could never imagine there ever being anything more beautiful than the world we are in right here and now."
"Neither can I," agreed Tweedle Dum. "It would be such a waste of this precious only life we have to just hope there is a much better one after it, when it's so impossible."
They then came to the Palace where they were at once welcomed there by the Queen's Right Hand Rabbit who showed them all into the throne room. The Queen at once stood from her throne and welcomed them all with a delighted smile.
"Oh, so good to see you Tweedles, and you too, Alice my dear," she said brightly. "I see you brought the games! How wonderful! So now why don't we all start to play!"
So then as the Rabbit and the Tweedles began to set up the Crystal for the games, Alice turned to the Queen with a thoughtful expression.
"Your Majesty," she began, "I've been wondering about something lately that just has me stumped."
"And what is that, my dear?" asked the Queen.
"Well," said Alice, "I've been wondering if perhaps there could something, or someone, that is much more powerful than all of us here. Something that watches us and guides us through our lives."
The Queen frowned and said, "Why whatever could that something possibly be?"
"I don't know," Alice said, "It's just something I heard of a very long time ago, and I just started wondering if it could be true now."
"Well," said the Queen thoughtfully, "I'm sure there is no such thing as a higher power that watches and guides us all. I mean, how could there be if we've never even seen or heard it at all? And you know perfectly well, my dear, that we are all responsible for our own actions, each and every one of us. And we must deal with the consequences of our actions, good and bad. Even us Queens must face the reality of our lives always. We, like all others, always make our decisions based on what we've learned and understood from our experiences throughout our lives that was learned only through such, and not by any other thing."
"Couldn't have said it better myself, You Majesty," said the Rabbit approvingly.
Alice smiled and said, "You're right, as you so often seem to be, Your Majesty. So now let's start playing these new games!"
And so they did, and then after a few hours later, Alice stepped through the portal in Wonderland and entered back into her bedroom through her mirror. She went back up to her bed where Dinah was still curled up on.
"Dinah, I have made my decision now," she said resolutely. "When my relatives come to visit this Easter I will tell them I won't go to church with them because I am not a Christian and I never will be because I am a good girl who does not believe in the things that Christianity teaches. And I'll tell them I'll just go ahead and get the egg hunt ready for everyone!