Now that she could see beyond the shrubberies that ringed the clearing, Alice didn’t feet quite as lost. The Caterpillar had told her to follow the signs, or rather, the sign, since there was only one.
‘Argyll Meadow. I like the sound of that. I could do with a leisurely walk, although it doesn’t look nearly as pleasant as the meadows I’m used to. In fact, I’m not sure it’s even a proper meadow.’
In Alice’s experiences, meadows were usually covered with grass and populated with wildflowers while this meadow seemed to be covered with shallow water and lily pads.
‘Argyll Fen would be more appropriate, in my humble opinion.’
Still, there was a path meandering between the pools of water and it appeared to be relatively dry, so she set out, careful to avoid getting her feet wet, for she did not wish to catch a cold. As she made her way through the wetlands, she began to admire the beauty of the place. While certainly not a meadow, it had a certain charm, if you enjoyed gloomy wet places, that is. By now, Alice had become quite used to travelling about naked and thought very little of continuing to do so. After all, there was no one else about to see her, and even if there was, there was very little she could do about it unless she came upon a wardrobe along the way which was highly unlikely, or so she thought. Unless, of course, she was to find herself in a village or a town full of shops. Of course, she had no coin, nor anything to trade with, so she supposed she would have to rely upon the kindness of strangers in such an event.
“Eventually, this path should lead somewhere,” she mused out loud. “After all, it is a very nice trail. Oh, and here is a bridge and it’s quite charming!” she exclaimed, somewhat surprised, for indeed, she had come to a small stone bridge that crossed a particularly deep stretch of water, and it was, indeed, quite charming as small animals were carved into the stone posts and there was a small metal plaque upon the small gate that blocked her way. Fortunately it didn’t seem to be locked. Pausing, she read the sign.
“Tread quietly and sing no songs, nor stamp your feet in mirth, lest you wake what dwells beneath.”
“A warning,” she whispered, a sense of dread filling her, for it did indeed sound dire, and she had nothing to defend herself with should she be set upon. Still, she supposed that, as long as she tread lightly, she’d have nothing to worry about, and so, very carefully (for the hinges appeared to be rusted over) she opened the gate and stepped out onto the bridge, nervously eyeing the water for any sign of danger.
‘It seems rather peaceful,’ she thought as she made her way across the bridge, trying not to hurry, lest she wake whatever fearsome creature made its home beneath her feet, holding her breath when she heard a loud croaking. Peering nervously over the short stone rail on her left, she spied a dapper-looking (for it wore a scarlet coat decorated with gold buttons and brocade and a black tricorne also trimmed with gold) frog sitting upon an unusually broad lily pad.
“Do be quiet,” she shushed the frog, holding her finger to her lips.
“How rude, not to mention impertinent,” the frog replied in a thick Scottish accent. “I will not be shushed by the likes of you. Who do you think you are?”
“I’m Alice, and I don’t mean to be rude,” she said hurriedly, “But if the sign upon the gate is to be believed, a fearsome creature lies within these waters and I would very much hate to see him gobble either of us up for dinner.”
The frog just snorted loudly at her announcement and shook his head.
“Don’t believe everything you read,” it croaked. “Nor everything you don’t read, for that matter. In fact-“
What other pearls of wisdom the well-dressed frog planned on sharing were swallowed up, much like the frog, as a huge gaping maw full of razor-sharp teeth rose out of the water and swallowed the lily pad upon which he was sitting, as well as him, whole.
Alice let out a surprised cry at the sight and turned to run even as several thick tentacles burst from the water, sending her running as fast as she could towards the far end of the bridge, her heart pounding with fear as they followed, close at her heels.
Glancing back, she quickly realized that it was very unlikely that she could outrun them, and yet, what choice did she have, so while she continued to sprint as fast as she could, she was not surprised when one of the slick appendages wrapped itself around her waist, a multitude of small suckers attaching themselves to her exposed flesh, bringing her to a sudden halt, just long enough for the others to wrap themselves tightly around her limbs. Despite her best efforts to free herself, her struggles were in vain and she quickly found her feet parting company with the bridge as she was lifted into the air.
“Help!” she screamed, the sound echoing across the churning water as several more tentacles rose from the surface, suckers opening and closing like mouths as they sought her out.