The hatter bit his teacup, an illustration by John Vernon Lord in Lewis Carroll's
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, Artists' Choice Editions, 2009.
The text:
'Take off your
hat,' the King said to the Hatter.
'It isn't
mine,' said the Hatter.
'Stolen!' the
King exclaimed, turning to the jury, who instantly made
a memorandum
of the fact.
'I keep them
to sell,' the Hatter added as an explanation; 'I've none
of my own. I'm
a hatter.'
Here the Queen
put on her spectacles, and began staring at the
Hatter, who
turned pale and fidgeted.
'Give your
evidence,' said the King; 'and don't be nervous, or I'll
have you
executed on the spot.'
This did not
seem to encourage the witness at all: he kept shifting
from one foot
to the other, looking uneasily at the Queen, and in his
confusion he
bit a large piece out of his teacup instead of the bread-
and-butter.