Mixed Up: A Short Story Anthology

Wonderland (Round 2.1)

(This one won the round that got me disqualified from the contest. The fall musical is based on Alice in Wonderland, so guess what I had on the mind? I actually love this. One of my favorite things I've ever written.)

With a hiss of steam and a whir of gears, I raised my head and took my first look at the world. I was in some sort of workshop, crouched on top of a tool-covered table. A man with a wide smile and a white mustache looked down at me. He wore a brown waistcoat, and on his head was a tall black hat with a clock in the center and a ribbon around it.

"Perfect!" he said, beaming. "Why, you're just perfect!" 

I opened my mouth to reply. All that came out was a series of beeps and chirps, but the man seemed to understand my question. 

"Where are you, you ask?" he said, raising one bushy eyebrow. "You're in my workshop, of course! I'm an inventor, and you, my young friend, have the honor of being my latest invention: the world's first fully mechanical bunny rabbit! Hop around for me, won't you? Let's see how you move."

I raised my paws, testing them. I hopped once. Then twice. Soon, I was leaping around in circles on the inventor's desk, kicking my back feet in joy. 

"Marvelous!" cried the inventor. "I daresay, Alice will be thrilled. Wait here!" 

With that, he ran out of the workshop and returned a moment later. At his side was a small girl, her blonde hair braided and tied with a leather cord. Her dress was baby blue, and her apron was grimy and filled with tools. Goggles covered her eyes, but she flipped them up to look at me. 

"Grandfather, he's wonderful!" she said, clapping her hands. "How have you managed it?"

"Quite simple, my dear Alice. Once you've got the body, it's all a matter of breathing life into the thing."

"And how did you do that?" asked Alice. 

He smiled. Then he frowned. "You know, I really haven't the faintest idea." 

"Does he speak?" asked Alice, seeming unbothered by her grandfather's odd answer. 

"Of course he speaks, if you know what he's saying! His words won't tell you anything, but don't listen to them and you'll understand."

I found this answer rather confusing, but Alice only nodded. "Thank you, Grandfather. I love him."

"You're very welcome," said the old man. He removed his hat and placed it on a rack, choosing  an identical hat to replace it. "Now, I've got to go into town for a while. Run along and play with your new toy."

Alice obeyed and picked me up. "You're going to be my White Rabbit," she said as we left the workshop. "I realize you're a bit closer to gold than to white, but we can pretend, can't we?"

What's pretend?  I chirped, but Alice didn't seem to understand me as well as her grandfather had. 

"That's the spirit!" she said. "Now, in case you're not familiar with the story, I'll explain it to you: I'm Alice and you're the White Rabbit, and you're very late for the Queen's croquet game. I follow you down the rabbit hole and into Wonderland. Ready?" She set me down. "Go!" 

I stared up at her, failing to understand just what she expected me to do. I'm not going to any croquet game, I said.

Alice frowned. She opened a small door in the wall and declared, "This is the rabbit hole!" She pushed me through it, came in after me, and said, "And this is Wonderland!"

Whatever "Wonderland" was, it was most certainly not this room full of junk. Here, there were piles of old gears missing teeth and featureless, half-formed statues. I saw old bicycles, an old harmonica, broken tables, strange heaps of metal, cameras with broken flashbulbs, umbrellas with holes, long bits of pipe, old toys, balls of string, and countless other abandoned objects.