LC: 'Perhaps it doesn't understand English,' thought Alice. 'I daresay it's a French mouse, come over with William the Conqueror' (p. 41).

1875: 'Maaske forstaar den ikke Dansk', tænkte Marie, 'det er bestemt en fransk Mus, der er kommen her til Landet med de franske Hjælpetropper' (p. 21f).

1946: 'Den forstaar maaske ikke, hvad jeg siger,' tænkte Alice. Det er bestemt en fremmed Mus, der er kommet her til Landet...' (p. 23).

1972: 'Den forstår måske ikke Engelsk,' tænkte Alice. 'Det er måske en fransk mus, der er kommet hertil med Vilhelm Erobreren' (p. 7).

1982: 'Den forstår måske ikke dansk,' tænkte Alice. 'Det kan være, at den er amerikansk. Der er jo så mange amerikanske turister' (p. 18).

1999: 'Måske forstår den ikke engelsk', tænkte Alice. 'Det er nok en fransk mus, der er kommet over med Vilhelm Erobreren' (p. 18).

2000: 'Måske forstår den ikke sproget', tænkte Alice. 'Det er sikkert en fransk mus, der er kommet over sammen med Vilhelm Erobreren' (p. 34).

As will be seen, early translations substitute 'Danish' for 'English', or leave out the specific reference, whereas some of the more recent ones keep 'English'. 1875 replaces 'William' with a reference to the Napoleonic wars, when Napoleonic auxiliary troops were stationed in Denmark. But in 1946 this reference was no longer felt to be relevant, and more recent translations stay with 'William', although Danish children are not likely to know much about him. An exception is 1982, which substitutes 'American tourists' for 'Norman marauders'.

A special problem is the poems that are parodies of well-known English poems. A more or less direct translation, which most translator's try (such as 'You are old, Father William') obviously loses the allusion to Robert Southey's 'The Old Man's Comforts and How he Gained Them' (see the Annotated Alice, Carroll, 1981: 69–70). However, 1875 and 1972 sometimes

use a different strategy, modelling their versions (which then cease to be translations, strictly speaking) on popular Danish poems. Thus 1972 transAlice in Denmark 129lates 'How does the gentle crocodile' with 'se den lille kokodille', alluding to a popular Danish children's song, Se den lille kattekilling ('look at the little kitten'). (For 1875, see endnote 1.)

Stylistic levels

Hjørnager Pedersen (2004) frequently refers to the fact that the average literary style in Victorian fiction for children was at a higher level than that found in Denmark, and certainly higher than is found in modern Danish texts. Even if the extract from a history textbook in 'The Caucus Race' is not children's fiction, it is still a text to which children might be subjected, and it presents certain difficulties for most translators.

LC: This is the driest thing I know ... 'William the Conqueror, whose cause was favoured by the Pope ...' (p. 46).

1875: Changes the text, so that it no longer deals with history, but politics instead.

1946: 'Dette er noget af det tørreste, jeg kender ... Jeg vil holde et historisk Foredrag om Vilhelm Erobreren – altså, Vilhelm Erobreren, hvis sag fandt støtte hos Paven ...' (p. 26).

1972: 'så kommer den tørreste beretning. ... Vilhelm Erobreren, hvis sag støttedes af paven ...' (p. 9).

1982: 'I skal nu høre det tørreste, jeg nogen sinde selv har hørt. ... Det drejer sig om et stykke af Englands historie. Det forholdt sig således, at Vilhelm Erobreren, hvis sag støttedes af paven ...' (p. 22).

1999: 'Høm!' sagde musen med en vigtig mine. 'Er I klar? Det her er det mest tørre, jeg kender. Må jeg bede om fuldstsændig stilhed! Hør så: Vilhelm Erobreren, hvis sag blev støttet af paven ...' (p. 21).

2000: 'H-hm!' begyndte musen og så sig om med en vigtig mine. 'Er I klar alle sammen? Det her er det mest knastørre, jeg kender. Ro i lejren, om jeg må bede!' Og så startede musen på sit foredrag. 'Vilhelm Erobreren, som hos paven fandt støtte for sin sag ...' (p. 42).

It appears that several translators find it necessary to write a little introduction to the paragraph on William. On the other hand, the language in the actual text tends to be less formal than in the English original, for example in 2000, which avoids the passive of the first clause:

LC: 'William the Conqueror, whose cause was favoured by the pope, was soon submitted to by the English, who wanted

leaders, and had been of late much accustomed to usurpation and conquest' (p. 46).

2000: 'Vilhelm Erobreren, som hos paven fandt støtte for sin sag, ham underkastede englænderne sig snart, fordi de savnede ledere og på det sidste havde været udsat for gentagne tilfælde af magtmisbrug og erobringsforsøg.'