The Hunting of the Snark
Lewis Carroll
Hardcover
(Throne Classics, Aug. 19, 2019)
After crossing the sea guided by the Bellman's map of the Ocean--a blank sheet of paper--the hunting party arrive in a strange land, and the Bellman tells them the five signs by which a Snark can be identified. The Bellman warns them that some Snarks are highly dangerous Boojums; on hearing this, the Baker faints. Once revived, the Baker recalls that his uncle warned him that if the Snark turns out to be a Boojum, the hunter will "softly and suddenly vanish away, and never be met with again." The Baker confesses that this possibility terrifies him.The hunt begins: They sought it with thimbles, they sought it with care; They pursued it with forks and hope; They threatened its life with a railway-share; They charmed it with smiles and soap.Along the way, the Butcher and Beaver, previously mutually wary, become fast friends after the Butcher gives the beaver a lesson on maths and zoology. The Barrister, meanwhile, sleeps, and dreams of witnessing a court trial of a pig accused of deserting its sty.During the hunt, the Banker is attacked by a bandersnatch, and loses his sanity after trying to bribe the creature.The Baker rushes ahead of the party, and calls out that he has found a snark, but when the others arrive, he has mysteriously disappeared, leading the narrator to explain: "For the Snark was a Boojum, you see."