[Disclaimer, optional but suggested] “The following is a work of fanfiction using characters from C.S. Lewis’ Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Mark Twain’s Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. I do not claim any ownership over the characters present in this piece as they are owned by Lewis and Twain. I am deeply grateful for their work in creating such incredible characters and without their writing, the world would be a very boring place.” [Title] Huck in Wonderland [Subtitle, tagline, or summary] Huck falls down the rabbit hole and learns to drink tea in a fancy hat. [Rating] K+ [Exposition] “Stupid Tom drinkin’ stupid tea with stupid widow…” Huck muttered to himself as he meandered down to the river bank, his usual go-to spot when he was bored and the weather was nice. His shabby clothes blew helplessly in the hot summer wind and seemed to come unraveled a little more with each step. He approached his usual tree, and took some time to lean and pick the leaves off his bare feet, sticky with mud. [“Easter egg” referencing one of the original texts] Next to his hand was an inscription “10/6,” which marked the beginning of he and Tom’s journey down the river and back again that time they found a pile of treasure in an old cavern. That was a sure swell time, he thought to himself. He missed Tom, as the two rarely ever got together anymore. Tom was busy trying to become “real proper” as he put it. [Canonicity, retaining original character’s speech patterns] Ain’t no mad man gonna catch me sittin’ at no stinkin’ table drinkin’ no stinkin’ flavored hot water, the thought. [Initial conflict] As he picked the final leaf off his left foot, something light blue caught his eye. He followed the material around the thick trunk of the tree to the other side, where he found a sleeping young girl with golden hair. Nestled in her arms was a black cat, purring and making biscuits on her pale arm. He took in the cleanliness of her dress and well-groomed hair and thought she’d probably be one to drink tea. [Wide spacing for ease-of-reading] While he pondered whether to wake her up and tell her to get away from his tree, a white rabbit zoomed past, circling the tree with such speed and stopping every so often to look at its paw. It wasn’t until the third lap that he noticed the rabbit carried a little pocket watch in its paw. Surely, he thought, this little hopper can’t read time. I can’t even read time. That’s what Tom was for. I’m late I’m late I’m late! He heard in his mind, but it wasn’t him doing the thinking. The cat was now awake and stretching, eyeing him with bold green eyes. “What’re you lookin’ at, cat?!” he said. The rabbit zoomed right through his legs and straight into a hole at the base of the trunk, right below the “10/6” marking. Huh, never did I see that there hole before, he thought, while reaching out a foot to prod the hold with his toe. And just like that, he felt his body stretch and spiral down and down and around, flying through a hall of many doors. The biggest, fanciest doors he’d ever seen! He would have liked to investigate each one as they were so regal-looking that surely they must lead to some King’s treasure. But he spiraled past, down and around, until he landed with a thunk!