Through the Looking-Glass: Chapter 7: The Lion and the Unicorn Summary & Analysis

Alice sees soldiers running through the wood and hides behind a tree. The soldiers all trip and fall, and their horses don't do much better. Alice finds a clearing and the White King there, busy writing in his memorandum book. In a delighted tone, he says that he sent all his soldiers and is thrilled when Alice says that she saw them. He notes that he sent all the horses but two, as two are in play in the game. The king says that he's also missing his two messengers and asks Alice to look up and down the road in case they're coming. Alice says that she sees "nobody" on the road, and sadly, the king says that he wishes he could see "Nobody."

Alice continues to look up the road and she exclaims that she can see someone coming slowly and skipping oddly. The White King says that the messenger is an Anglo-Saxon messenger and his behaviors are "Anglo-Saxon attitudes." The messenger's name is Haigha. Alice can't help herself. She begins saying that she loves Haigha "with an H" because he's happy, hates him because he's hideous, and feeds him ham sandwiches and hay. She struggles to come up with a town that begins with H and the king, seemingly unaware that he's joining in Alice's game, says that Haigha lives on the hill. The White King says that he has two messengers so that he has one to come and one to go. The other's name is Hatta.

Alice doesn't understand why the White King needs two messengers. He says impatiently that he needs one to fetch and one to carry. Haigha arrives, out of breath, and when the king says that Alice loves him with an H, his movements become even more absurd. The king asks for a ham sandwich, which Haigha produces from a pouch around his neck. The king eats it and asks for another, but Haigha says he only has hay left. The king accepts the hay and remarks that there's nothing like a snack of hay when he feels faint. Alice suggests that cold water might be better, but the king says he wasn't talking about what's best.

The White King asks Haigha who he saw on the road and he is pleased to hear that Haigha saw nobody. He asks Haigha what he saw in the next town over. Haigha says that he's going to whisper it, which makes Alice sad—she wants to know what he saw. To her surprise, Haigha shouts in the king's ear, "They're at it again." Shocked, the king threatens to punish Haigha. Alice asks who's at it, and the king explains that the Lion and the Unicorn are fighting for his crown. They all run to watch and, as they go, Alice mutters an old song about a lion and a unicorn fighting for the crown, eating white and brown bread, and receiving plum cake before being chased out of town with drums.

Alice asks if the winner gets the crown, a suggestion that shocks the White King. She quickly finds that she's out of breath, but the White King refuses to stop. They finally reach a big crowd surrounding the fighting Lion and Unicorn. They join Hatta, who's drinking tea and eating buttered bread. Haigha whispers to Alice that Hatta just got out of prison, so he's hungry and thirsty. He asks how Hatta is and how prison was, but Hatta cries and refuses to speak. The king finally demands that Hatta tell them how the fight is going. With a gulp, Hatta says that each fighter has been down about 87 times. Alice asks if they'll bring the bread around soon, which Hatta confirms. The Lion and the Unicorn sit down and pant and the king calls for a break for refreshments.

Haigha and Hatta carry around trays of white and brown bread. Alice takes a piece but finds it very dry. The White King says that the Lion and the Unicorn won't fight more today, so he commands that Hatta get the drums. Alice watches silently and then notices the White Queen running in the distance. The king says that someone is probably chasing her and when Alice expresses concern, the king insists that he can't help. He opens his memorandum book to make a note and asks how to spell "creature."

The Unicorn saunters by the White King, eyes his crown, and suggests that he did the best this time. The king nervously chastises the Unicorn for stabbing the Lion. The Unicorn insists it didn't hurt the lion and catches sight of Alice. He stares at her with disgust and asks what "it" is. Haigha eagerly introduces Alice as a big and "natural" child. The Unicorn admits that he thought children were "fabulous monsters" and asks if Alice is alive. Haigha says that Alice can talk. With a smile, Alice says that she thought that unicorns were fabulous monsters. The Unicorn asks if they can agree to both believe in the other's existence.

The Unicorn shouts for the White King to grab the plum cake. The king talks Haigha through pulling a plum cake, a dish, and a knife out of his bag. The Lion joins, looking sleepy. He asks what Alice is and excitedly, the Unicorn says that Alice is a fabulous monster. The Lion asks that "Monster" pass around the plum cake and demands that the king and the unicorn sit down so they can share fairly. The king is clearly uncomfortable as the Lion and the Unicorn argue over who won and who will win in the future.

The White King tries to change the subject, but the Lion ignores the attempt and notices that Alice is struggling to cut the cake. Alice saws at the cake and laments that the pieces won't separate. The Unicorn grouses that Alice doesn't know how to deal with Looking-glass cakes and instructs her to pass it around first and then cut it. Alice thinks this sounds silly, but does as she's told. The cake divides itself. The Unicorn and the Lion argue over who got the bigger piece, but the drums begin and drown everything else out. Alice leaps over a brook and watches the Lion and the Unicorn get up as though to fight.