Entertainment BY TOM KLEMICK STAFF WRITER GTKSOO2@PSU.EDU On the day of her would be engagement, 19-year-old Alice Kingsley, the daughter of the late and well known businessman, Charles Kingsley, claimed that she fell down a rabbit hole and landed in a magical world she calls Wonderland. Alice and her mother were visiting the Ascot estate for what they thought was a friendly social gathering. Unbeknownst to Alice, it was actually a surprise engagement party. When young Hamish Ascot asked her for her hand, Alice told him she needed a moment to think about it and quickly dashed from the party much to the shock of numerous family and friends gathered on the lawn. For the next hour and a half, Alice was nowhere to be found. These are the facts. What happened next is still a mystery and many conflicting theories arose from guests present that day. The Chattaway sisters ril 1 2010 Alice claimed she snuck off to meet another male' suitor. Lady Ascot said she fell asleep under an oak tree. But the , story Alice told is by far the most outrageous and spellbinding of all. "I saw a white rabbit, dressed in an overcoat and carrying a pocket watch, scurrying about the property," said Alice. "I know it sounds impossible, but I sometimes imagine as many as six impossible things before breakfast." Alice claims to have followed the rabbit to a large hill overlooking the Ascot mansion where it disappeared down a large hole. "I knelt down to peek inside and slipped. I fell down that hole for what seemed like an hour," she said. Once inside, she ate a piece of cake that made her grow enormously large in order to retrieve a key from a tall glass table. She then consumed a drink that caused her to shrink in order to unlock a door that a mouse could barely fit through. On the other side was the wondrous region that she deemed Wonderland. Alice initially thought she was APITAL TIMES in Wonderland dreaming. "I remembered the place. I used to dream of visiting it when I was a little girl. I kept expecting to wake up in my bed. I even pinched myself. But I never woke up," she said. She described it as both colorful and bleak (depending on your exact location); a 3-D land full of unique characters unlike anything she had ever seen. She recalled the aforementioned rabbit, the contradictory twins: Tweedledee and Tweedledum, an always smiling, disappearing Cheshire cat, a wise, pipe smoking caterpillar named Absolem and two sisters: the evil and selfish Red Queen and the righteous White Queen. But one man in particular, the Mad Hatter, made a lasting impression on the young girl. "I miss him the most," said Alice. "He was a very kind and misunderstood man. He was my greatest friend in Wonderland. And there's no one in the world who could futterwacken (an indescribable dance step) like Hatter." When asked about her final exchange with the Hatter, Alice recalled his' favorite riddle. "Do you know why a raven is like a writing desk?" After a long pause she answered, saying, "I haven't the slightest idea." Finally, she recalled the most fantastic and riveting part of her journey. In an attempt to help the inhabitants of Underland, as the regions' citizens called it, end the Red Queen's reign of terror and restore the White Queen to the throne, Alice had to face the Jabberwocky, a dragon-like creature commanded by the Red Queen to crush any rebellion by Underland's creatures. Reluctant to do so at first, Alice said she gained the courage to fight after talking with Absolem. "Absolem was no Ringer a caterpillar," she said. "He was in a cocoon and in the process of great change. He made me realize that my experience was not a dream but a life-changing event. I had been here before as a child. I had returned for a reason. It was time for me to become a young woman." Alice faced her fears and killed the Jabberwocky, to courtesy and restored the White Queen to power. Having finished what needed to be done, Alice said her goodbyes to the friends she made in the mysterious land and climbed back out of the hole, returning to the estate and the party. Her story was met with skepticism from the guests but Alice was not discouraged. She claimed hers was a personal journey. When asked about her rejection of Hamish, she replied, "he's a nice boy. But he doesn't make me happy and I wouldn't make him happy. I have too many other things to do." Alice Kingsley's story is fantastic and no evidence of her account has surfaced as of yet. She was last seen boarding one of Lord Ascot's ships bound for China. She bid farewell to her family and friends and was last heard conversing with a butterfly she called Absolem. Is this the same Absolem from her Wonderland? No one knows for sure. Some say that she is mad. But as her father told her before he passed, "all the best people are." aming.com
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