And after that other voices went on (“What a number of people there are in the carriage!” thought Alice), saying, “She must go by post, as she’s got a head on her⁠—” “She must be sent as a message by the telegraph⁠—” “She must draw the train herself the rest of the way⁠—” and so on.

But the gentleman dressed in white paper leaned forwards and whispered in her ear, “Never mind what they all say, my dear, but take a return-ticket every time the train stops.”

“Indeed I shan’t!” Alice said rather impatiently. “I don’t belong to this railway journey at all⁠—I was in a wood just now⁠—and I wish I could get back there.”

“You might make a joke on that ,” said the little voice close to her ear: “something about ‘you would if you could,’ you know.”