`I'm afraid you've not had much practice in riding,' she ventured
to say, as she was helping him up from his fifth tumble.
The Knight looked very much surprised, and a little offended at the
remark. `What makes you say that?' he asked, as he scrambled back
into the saddle, keeping hold of Alice's hair with one hand, to save
himself from falling over on the other side.
`Because people don't fall off quite so often, when they've had
much practice.'
`I've had plenty of practice,' the Knight said very gravely:
`plenty of practice!'
Alice could think of nothing better to say than `Indeed?' but she
said it as heartily as she could. They went on a little way in
silence after this, the Knight with his eyes shut, muttering to
himself, and Alice watching anxiously for the next tumble.
`The great art of riding,' the Knight suddenly began in a loud
voice, waving his right arm as he spoke, `is to keep -- ' Here the
sentence ended as suddenly as it had begun, as the Knight fell
heavily on the top of his head exactly in the path were Alice was
walking. She was quite frightened this time, and said in an anxious
tone, as she picked him up, `I hope no bones are broken?'
`None to speak of,' the Knight said, as if he didn't mind breaking
two or three of them.
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