Alice (Romping) In Wonderland

The Mad Hatter

Chapter 4

The Mad Hatter

As night was starting close in, Alice went walking down a pink gravel path in where she hoped it would ultimately lead her to the Hatter and with nightfall starting to show, she hoped things would work out after many false turns so far in these strange woods. The slender blonde girl really had no idea what to expect with who this person might be; would he be another animal of some kind or something human related like Tweedledum and Tweedledum? Would she find a place to rest for the night (still hoping that the Mad Hatter would agree to it) and what did the Cheshire Cat mean by thinking Alice would be the Hatter's mate?

And the less said about that stupid white rabbit that had gotten her into this world in the first place the better; that rabbit was likely gone by now.

It was all very strange for her to think about such things, mainly annoyed how much time she wasted back there both on the beach on that pointless meeting with Tweedledee and Tweedledum and wonder why didn't she just walk away as soon as she did. She blamed this on her having to be raised to be respectful and not to interrupt whenever someone was trying to speak but surely it really could have been deserving if she had followed her own thoughts there. Nonetheless as she walked along the path, she used the chance to notice some of the wildlife in the woods.

To say the wildlife in Wonderland was totally bizarre would be an understatement as there were flying seahorses with wings on them, badgers with shovel tails and purple horn like duck creatures that swaddled along nearby were just some to name a few. However, the more she went along this path that seemed to be going on to nowhere, she felt her stomach grumble and the pain of hunger struck her.

"I hope this Hatter has something for me to eat," Alice moaned, "that is if I can find him, oh, where should I go?"

Just as she was feeling both annoyed and hungry, Alice suddenly smelt a whiff of something delicious floating through the air that was familiar and something Alice all knew very well.

"Wait...does that smell of...cake? Yes...Yes! It is!" It was said that if Alice were a sniffer dog to search for cake then she would have been top of the class as she always had a keen sense of smelling for cake as demonstrated in that moment.

Without further thought, she broke into a sprint in the direction of where the smell was coming from while talking to herself as to what kind of cake she might encounter.

About a few minutes later of following the trail, she found herself looking at a tall hedge and beyond that was a kooky yet charming looking cottage which with it's straw roof and patterned panelling look like one of those old houses you'd find in the countryside and judging by how strong the smell was, it was certain that the cake smell was coming from there and this simply had to be the location of the Mad Hatter.

As she was heading towards the garden gate, she heard china plates breaking, followed by a loud row over who was to blame for what had happened and then so suddenly and storming out of the gate was a tall and well-dressed brown Marsh Hare.

He looked really pissed off as he stormed out and didn't even seem to acknowledge Alice being there by walking straight past her while swearing to himself about how that Hatter ruined his prized teacup and how in general, he was an asshole.

Alice stared at the Hare walking away in bemusement for a moment until her attention turned back at who or what was behind that hedge. With some trepidation, she went to the gate and opened it carefully feeling that something was going to suddenly jump out at her; not exactly a wild thought considering what she had experienced so far in Wonderland.