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The Mouse is a fictional character in
Lewis Carroll Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (; 27 January 1832 – 14 January 1898), better known by his pen name Lewis Carroll, was an English author, poet and mathematician. His most notable works are ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' (1865) and its sequel ...
's 1865 novel ''
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' (commonly ''Alice in Wonderland'') is an 1865 English novel by Lewis Carroll. It details the story of a young girl named Alice (Alice's Adventures in Wonderland), Alice who falls through a rabbit hole into a ...
''. He appears in Chapter II "The Pool of Tears

and Chapter III "A Caucus-Race and a Long Tale

Alice (Alice's Adventures in Wonderland), Alice, the eponymous heroine in the book, first talks to the mouse when she is floating in a pool of her own tears, having shrunk in size: With no response from the mouse, Alice fears that it may not speak English and attempts to speak French. Upon mentioning the French word for
cat The cat (''Felis catus'') is a domestic species of small carnivorous mammal. It is the only domesticated species in the family Felidae and is commonly referred to as the domestic cat or house cat to distinguish it from the wild members of ...
, ''chatte'', the mouse panics. This leads to a discussion about cats and dogs, culminating in the mouse telling Alice his history.


The Mouse's Tale

When Alice hears the mouse's "long and sad tale", she is watching his tail. So, she imagines the tale in its shape. The "Fury" referenced in the tale is Carroll's childhood friend's dog.de Rooy, Lenny
Poem Origins: Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
                    Fury said to a 
                  mouse, That he
                met in the
              house, 
           "Let us
             both go to
               law:  I will
                 prosecute
                    YOU.  --Come,
                       I'll take no
                        denial; We
                     must have a
                 trial:  For
              really this
           morning I've
          nothing
         to do."
           Said the
             mouse to the
               cur, "Such
                 a trial,
                   dear Sir,
                         With
                     no jury
                  or judge,
                would be
              wasting
             our
              breath."
               "I'll be
                 judge, I'll
                   be jury,"
                    Said
                     cunning
                      old Fury:
                     "I'll
                      try the
                         whole
                          cause,
                             and
                        condemn
                       you
                      to
                       death."'


In other media

Although the Mouse does not appear in the 1951 Disney film, part of his personality has been integrated to the Dormouse. The character makes an appearance in the 1985 made-for-TV adaptation of ''
Alice in Wonderland ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' (commonly ''Alice in Wonderland'') is an 1865 English novel by Lewis Carroll. It details the story of a young girl named Alice who falls through a rabbit hole into a fantasy world of anthropomorphic creatur ...
'' and is portrayed by
Sherman Hemsley Sherman Alexander Hemsley (February 1, 1938 – July 24, 2012) was an American actor. He was known for his roles as George Jefferson on the CBS television series ''All in the Family'' (1973–1975; 1978) and ''The Jeffersons'' (1975–1985), Dea ...
. In this incarnation the Mouse sings "I Hate Dogs and Cats" before joining in the Caucus-race with the rest of the animals that have been floating on Alice's pool of tears. In the 1983 anime ''
Fushigi no Kuni no Alice is an anime adaptation of the 1865 novel ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' which ran on the TV Tokyo network and other local stations across Japan from October 10, 1983 to March 26, 1984. The series was a Japanese-German co-production betwee ...
'', The Mouse appears in overalls. Though he dislikes cats, he isn't actually scared of them. In the anime and manga series ''
Pandora Hearts ''Pandora Hearts'' (stylized as ''PandoraHearts'') is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Jun Mochizuki. It was serialized in Square Enix's ''shōnen'' manga magazine '' Monthly GFantasy'' from May 2006 to March 2015, with its ...
'' The Mouse is reimigined as Gilbert Nightray with his fear of cats and his younger brother Vincent is based on the Dormouse. The character also makes an appearance as Mr. Mouse in the 1999 made-for-TV '' Hallmark adaption'' and is portrayed by
Ken Dodd Sir Kenneth Arthur Dodd (8 November 1927 – 11 March 2018) was an English comedian, singer and occasional actor. He was described as "the last great music hall entertainer", and was primarily known for his live stand-up performances. A life ...
.


References

{{Alice, state=expanded Mice and rats in literature Anthropomorphic mice and rats Lewis Carroll characters Literary characters introduced in 1865