W. H. D. Rouse
speaker
684 appearances
1 recordings
1 series
first heard Aug 2026
last heard 1 Aug
W. H. D. Rouse’s voice in public audio — every appearance, attributed to the second.
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recordings per month · last 12 monthsRecordings per month over the last 12 months — 1 in all, peaking in Aug 2026 with 1.
Appearances
and alice was holding on to his wooden fingers and he was talking out of his wooden mouth and the whole affair was the most wooden episode alice could remember his remarks concerning some of the books alice wanted the little girl thought were the most wooden thing about him but the little man's face was rather nice for it was highly painted in blue and green and he had bright yellow eyes that fairly sparkled with enamel
let's see said the wooden man dolls were first on the list weren't they well here we are we call this room the kingdom of dolls although as a matter of fact it is ruled by a queen and never did have a king because the queen is rather old and nobody will marry her and as she won't allow any of the other dolls to marry until she herself finds a king it makes it hard for the younger ones
dear me said alice do you suppose i might get a peep at the queen without being seen easy enough said the wooden man for there she is that long-haired doll with the purple robe she likes to be looked at and i need hardly remark that her hair is false she's awfully stuck up though and we won't tarry long for she'd only snub us
what a funny crown she is wearing laughed alice turning her head to look back you may well say so said the wooden man ironically for it is made of kistletoe she never takes it off kistletoe said alice and then forgetting her humiliating experience about the chimley don't you mean
no i mean kistletoe replied the wooden man rather impatiently everybody knows what kistletoe is but then perhaps you are too young when you are older you will know more i'm thirteen said alice with proper dignity
thirteen shrieked the wooden man so loudly that alice felt sure she had offended again what a dreadfully unlucky number i should be frightened to death to be thirteen how long have you been thirteen nearly two months now alice confessed miserably then she brightened but everybody has to be thirteen some time weren't you ever thirteen
never declared the wooden man firmly when my thirteenth birthday approached i tore off an entire year of the calendar and passed right into my fourteenth year of course there was a fearful row about it but it's really just like skipping a grade at school if you're smart enough you can do it we have some very nice calendars he added professionally
alice was frankly bewildered but she had forgotten her wounded dignity in a moment her attention was attracted by a succession of melodious sounds ending on a queer upward inflection that seemed to leave the phrase unfinished and hanging in the air
do listen she exclaimed isn't that too sweet it sounds like a bird singing most birds do said the wooden man dryly that's your bird he added more politely you ask for a bird you know
but why does it end its song so abruptly asked alice it doesn't seem to finish confinement answered the little guide briefly its cage is too small its notes only reach the top of the cage and then echo back into its own ears which naturally surprises it into silence
it's too bad for its losing its upper register it once sang very well i shall let it go when i get it declared alice with decision you may do as you wish of course agreed the wooden man but you'll only be wanting another one next christmas
they hurried forward pressing through the crowd about the cage it was humorous the way the people fell back on either side of the wooden man's sharp elbows what they saw when they reached the cage was a beautiful yellow bird with black wings and big black eyes swinging and singing on a perch of gold
wound up too tightly muttered the wooden man one of the monkeys has been monkeying with the key with a ferocious glare at the children around him he reached in a hand and alice heard a sharp click the bird stopped singing in the middle of a note then the wooden man lifted the little creature from its perch and brought it forth with as little concern as if it were made of wood too
oh cried alice in distress you mustn't hurt the bird it wasn't its fault that somebody monkeyed with the key the word monkeyed puzzled her but she supposed it was all right since that was what the wooden man had said
but the wooden man only laughed and held out the bird for her inspection then alice saw that it was not a real bird at all but was made of thin metal so skillfully painted as to look real you forget this is toyland grinned the wooden man this bird is no more real than i am than these children arethan you are
ain't i real asked alice in alarm quickly correcting herself she said am i not real real enough said the wooden man casually a real nuisance he muttered under his breath but fortunately alice did not hear this rude remark he continued more pleasantly oh the bird is real enough too but it's been wound up too tightly
it doesn't know what it is singing or why it is singing it lacks a soul this remark was too deep for alice so she made no reply after a minute she asked aren't there any more animals birds aren't animals sneered the wooden man and then he was very much ashamed of himself i beg your pardon he said contritely i had forgotten you are only thirteen
he shuddered as he mentioned the sinister number well yes there is the performing pony and the whistling toad and the talking dog and the teddy bear and the laughing hyena and the sorrowful snake and the ingenious ibex and the loquacious lynx and oh we have quite a menagerie he looked quizzically at alice and suddenly began to sing
oh ferocious and atrocious is the beast they call the lynx and fierce his howl and black his cowl and red his jowl methinks
you have a very nice voice said alice as the singer paused i wish you wouldn't interrupt snapped the wooden man first you want to hear about the animals and then you don't he stopped short do you really like my voice he asked eagerly then his head drooped woodenly for he saw that alice was no longer paying attention i haven't much of a voice myself mused the little girl but i think i could speak a piece
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