"Once," said the Mock Turtle at last with a deep sigh, "I was a real Turtle."
These words were followed by a very long silence, broken only by an occasional exclammation of "Hjckr!" from the Gryphon, and the constant heavy sobbing of the Mock Turtle. Alice was very nearly getting up and saying "Thank you for your interesting story," but she could not help thinking there must be more to come, so she sat still and said nothing.