“If there’s no meaning in it,” said the King, “that saves a world of trouble, you know, as we needn’t try to find any. And yet I don’t know,” he went on, spreading out the verses on his knee, and looking at them with one eye; “I seem to see some meaning in them, after all. ‘ —said I could not swim⁠— ’ you can’t swim, can you?” he added, turning to the Knave.

The Knave shook his head sadly. “Do I look like it?” he said. (Which he certainly did not , being made entirely of cardboard.)

“All right, so far,” said the King, and he went on muttering over the verses to himself: “ ‘ We know it to be true⁠— ’ that’s the jury, of course⁠—‘I gave her one, they gave him two⁠—’ why, that must be what he did with the tarts, you know⁠—”

“But, it goes on ‘ they all returned from him to you ,’ ” said Alice.