"When we remember we are all mad, the mysteries disappear and life stands explained."
"Anybody remotely interesting is mad, is some way or another."
"In a mad world, only the mad are sane."
"But I don't want to go among mad people," Alice remarked.
"Oh, you can't help that," said the Cat: "we're all mad here. I'm mad. You're mad."
"How do you know I'm mad?" said Alice.
"You must be," said the Cat, "or you wouldn't have come here."
Alice awoke, her heart fluttering uneasily like a butterfly. But she was not startled, nor scared. She was disappointed. For she had just left the company of the Chesire Cat and Wonderland- a beautiful and magical place she entered in her dreams. A soft knock sounded at her door, causing her to start, and she sat up, absentmindedly brushing her hair back from her face.
"Come in," she called out softly. The door opened slowly, revealing a tall figure leaning against the door frame, the only distinct feature about him the tall top hat he wore slightly titled to the side. Sighing, Alice relaxed and collapsed back in her bed, not worried about looking un-ladylike (not that she ever did make an effort).
"Miss Alice, is there something bothering you? A bad dream perhaps?" the man asked, not moving from his place.
"Hatter, there is no need to be so formal," Alice chided, reaching out with her hand and patting the chair at her bedside. "Please, come sit." The Hatter did so, walking forward with such grace as a cat, an action that painfully reminded Alice of the clever and charming cat she herself had left behind only minutes before.
"Did you have a bad dream?" Hatter asked again, sitting down uneasily. It was clear that he was uncomfortable; for what reason, Alice did not know.
"Oh, not at all," Alice said, resting her head on the pillow and facing the man. "I was in Wonderland again- the Chesire Cat was there."
"Ah yes; the Cat," Hatter said, nodding as if in thought. "Whatever did he want this time?"
Alice's eyes lit up as they always did when she spoke about the magical place. "He said the queerest thing- we are all mad. Do you think we're all mad, Hatter?"
"Where? In Wonderland or here?"
"Here. Do you think I'm mad?"
The Hatter allowed the corners of his mouth to twitch up. "Why Alice," he said, leaning forward, his eyes twinkling. "Don't you know? We're all mad here."
"We're all mad here."
