`It's the first position in dancing.' Alice said; but was
dreadfully puzzled by the whole thing, and longed to change the
subject.

`Go on with the next verse,' the Gryphon repeated impatiently:
`it begins "I passed by his garden."'

Alice did not dare to disobey, though she felt sure it would
all come wrong, and she went on in a trembling voice:--

`I passed by his garden, and marked, with one eye,
How the Owl and the Panther were sharing a pie--'

[later editions continued as follows
The Panther took pie-crust, and gravy, and meat,
While the Owl had the dish as its share of the treat.
When the pie was all finished, the Owl, as a boon,
Was kindly permitted to pocket the spoon:
While the Panther received knife and fork with a growl,
And concluded the banquet--]

`What IS the use of repeating all that stuff,' the Mock Turtle
interrupted, `if you don't explain it as you go on? It's by far
the most confusing thing I ever heard!'

`Yes, I think you'd better leave off,' said the Gryphon: and
Alice was only too glad to do so.

`Shall we try another figure of the Lobster Quadrille?' the