"Hmmm...one side will make me grow...but which is which?" pondered young Alice.

Currently the young lady was sitting on a mushroom - yes a mushroom - and holding a piece of said mushroom in each of her hands.  This mushroom was by no means abnormally large to the average human.  It was simply that Alice was currently in a shrunken state, no more than three inches high at that.  Sitting atop it, she yanked off a part of the mushroom from opposite ends after getting some rather odd advice just a moment ago.

To help clarify somewhat, let us recap a bit shall we?

On her pursuit of a White Rabbit, young Alice had stumbled into a Wonderland of sorts, meeting various characters which defied logic.  The White Rabbit himself dressed in fine clothes, spoke English, wore spectacles, carried a pocketwatch, and was apparently late "for a very important date" in his own words.  After stumbling down a rabbit hole (ironic enough), Alice went on an adventure through a hallway with a talking doorknob, witnessed a caucas race being organized by a talking dodo bird, and wandered into a forest where she was treated to the story of a walrus, a carpenter, and some oysters by a rather eccentric pair of twins.

After dismissing herself while the twins recited some tale of 'Old Father William,' she came upon the White Rabbit's house where she engaged in a series of growth and shrinking episodes while being visitied upon by the dodo once more as well as a lizard named Bill.  After escaping the White Rabbit's house (which was about to be set afire by the dodo), she once more pursued the rabbit into the forest.  Losing him shortly after, she was greeted by a garden full of talking flowers who entertained her with a song they referred to as the "Golden Afternoon".  However, she didn't leave on particularly well terms among the flowers once they believed her to be a common weed, ejecting her from their company with a splash (quite literally!).

As she wandered deeper into the forest, she came upon another somewhat eccentric character: a talking caterpillar, sitting on a mushroom and smoking from a hookah pipe.  After engaging in a riddle-based conversation with the caterpillar which included a rather entertaining smoke show while he narrated, Alice then got him into somewhat of an irritated mood when height was brought up.  Wishing she could return to her normal size, she made the mistake of commenting how "three inches high" was not adequate for someone like her.

Enraged by the comment, the Caterpillar responded with the following:

"I am exactly three inches high, and it is a very good height indeed!"

After puffing himself into a tizzy fit of sorts, the Caterpillar managed to transform into a butterfly and flew off just after giving Alice some advice on her height predicament:

"One side will make you grow taller...and the other side will make you grow shorter."

Upon being blatantly told at the end, "The Mushroom, of course!", the Caterpillar flew off for good, leaving Alice alone in the woods once more, sitting on a mushroom and processing the information she was just given.

Which brings us to the start of this chapter.

In a moment of self reflection, Alice pondered whether she should consume another unknown substance in a place she had never been to before.  She had, after all, sipped from a bottle that led to her getting shrunken, eaten cakes and cookies that led to her growing tremendously large, and bitten into a carrot that also ended up with her shrinking yet again.  It seemed that whatever she ate or drank in this strange world, her size was affected somehow by it all.  This time, she had some forewarning about this particular substance, yet still she hesitated as to whether she should go through with consuming it.

With uncertainty looming in the back of her mind, Alice considered leaving well enough alone and putting the mushroom pieces back.  Even though she was alone, she could not help but voice her thoughts as she considered all options in her situation.

"Hmm...after all that's happened, I...I wonder if I...I don't care!"

Without hesitation, she took the mushroom piece in her right hand and chomped down on it, swallowing a healthy amount of it a moment later.  As the chunk of mushroom travelled down her throat, Alice looked up at the sky through the canopy of forest trees and continued with voicing her thoughts.

"I'm tired of being only three inches high -yigh -yigh -yigh -yigh -yigh -yigh -yigh -yigh -yigh -yigh!"

Without warning, Alice shot up in rapid, ongoing spurts.  From her seated position, she soon enough found herself standing.  The sensation she was feeling was hard to explain.  It was as if a really powerful case of hiccups had caused her to shoot up like a fresh weed in fast forward.  Upon each "yigh" in her speech, she rocketed up, first by several inches, and soon after by several feet.  In the span of a few seconds, she went from three inches tall to her original height, and then from there to several times her original height.

Knocking loose random branches and twigs from neighboring trees, Alice rose in height to ten feet, then fifteen, then twenty, and so on and so forth.  Spurt after spurt shot Alice up a few feet more at a time.  Wondering if her her growth would ever come to a stop, Alice peered upwards as her head pushed ever onwards and upwards through the treeline, nearing the top.  With awe and wonder, she realized that soon enough she would be able to see over every tree in the forest for miles around.

As the young lady sprouted up rapidly through her spot in the trees, she ended up taking on an unexpected visitor, or perhaps stowaway might be more fitting given the circumstances.

While Alice was shooting upwards in height like a rocket ship with a bad case of hiccups, a bird resting in her nest was taken for a ride with no warning.  When Alice cleared past the ten foot mark, her head made contact with the bird's nest directly above it.  Lifting it up as if it weighed nothing, Alice's head served as a new platform for the nest to rest on.  Whereas previously the bird's nest rested in the twisted limbs of a random tree branch, it now rested on the soft, plush golden blonde hairs that covered Alice's scalp.

As Alice grew in size, the hair on her head easily provided more and more cushioning for the bird's nest as it was carried towards the treetops.  Panicking over the predicament she found herself in, the bird chirped in alarm as both she and the nest she rested in were jolted higher and higher towards the sky.  Wearing a pink bonnet and a small pair of spectacles, the bird had a sort of grandmother-like appearance to her.  The majority of her feathers were a light grey/dirty white, whereas the remaining feathers were a purer, cleaner white in color (mainly located on her stomach and chest).  Her beak and feet were of a dark orange tint and her eyes were of a shade of light blue with beady little black dots serving as pupils.

Gripping her bonnet in fear, the bird chirped in frantic panic as she shot up further towards the sky.  Just beneath her, the head of the enlarging young lady lifted upwards towards the sky, her mouth slightly opened as she stared in awe at what was happening.  A second later, Alice's head erupted above the treeline in an explosion of leaves that rained down on the forest ground below.  In that moment, Alice's growth finally came to a halt, with her head from the neck up above the forest canopy.  The young woman was at least fifty feet tall now, all from the power of a single bite of a piece of mushroom.  The Caterpillar certainly wasn't kidding about the effects.

With the effects of the mushroom now having run their course, the young woman stayed perfectly still as she took in her new surroundings her increased size had afforded her.  While she did so, the bird took in her new surroundings as well.

Straightening out her glasses, the bird scanned around her immediate area.  Realizing she was no longer nested within the forest canopy, she looked around and soon after downwards to see that she was indeed above the entire forest, with her nest resting atop something that was certainly not a tree.  With a gasp, the bird stated what was behind her predicament.

"Ah!  A serpent!" she declared.  Looking below she could make out a mix of long limbs, blue and white cloth, and white limbs with black tips further down.  She figured a creature of such great length must certainly be a serpent after all.  What else could it be?

Leaving her nest and fluttering about wildly, the bird continued her manic episode of alarm as she flew around Alice's head.

"Help!  Help!  Serpent!  Serpent!" she cried as she circled the giant girl's golden plush hair.

Looking up at her new visitor and trying to calm the situation, Alice beseeched the bird to hear her out.

"Oh but please, please!" she begged with wide opened eyes, her eyebrows furrowed in concern.  The Bird, however, was having none of it.

"Off with you!  Shoo, shoo!  Go away!" she gestured with her arm-like wings while she floated in the air.  She then continued with her tirade of screaming "Serpent!" on and on as she flew about.

"But I'm not a serpent!" declared Alice, trying to calm the Bird.

Halting in mid-air at this announcement, the Bird alarmingly retorted.

"Huh, indeed?" she asked as she flew up towards Alice's face and landing on her nose.  It was a sudden gesture that made Alice seize up for a moment.  This bird had to be no bigger than Alice's eyeball relative to her new size.  If Alice dared to, she could easily entrap this bird within one of her fists if she was quick enough and felt like showing her new size off.  However, she preferred the diplomatic approach where and when possible.

"Then just what are you?" asked the Bird, continuing her line of questioning.

"I'm just a little girl!" responded Alice, moving her head slightly.  The movement was enough to jostle the Bird off of her newfound perch that was Alice's nose.  Floating in the air once again, the Bird responded.

"Little?  Hah!  Little?!"  she asked, the sarcasm in her voice making itself apparent.  From her perspective, the Bird did have a point after all.  She proceeded with a boisterous laughing fit at what Alice described herself as.

"Well I am!" responded Alice, suddenly realizing that statement was not exactly true at the moment.  With a mix of shock and embarrasment, she soon corrected that statement as she stared down towards the ground through the leaves and bushes below.

"I mean...I was." she muttered.  Looking far down, she wiggled her right foot to make sure it was still attached to her.  Though so far away from her perched position, the limb was in fact still part of the young lady.  Another testament to just how large Alice had become now from her prior size just moments ago.

Continuing her line of questioning, the Bird landed on Alice's nose once more.  She leaned her face in really close, staring into one of Alice's giant eyes as she continued inquiring as to what exactly Alice was, with her reflection mirroring her as she came within inches of the giant, baby blue iris and pupil.

"And I suppose you don't eat eggs either?" asked the Bird with a hint of distrust in her voice.

"Yes I do, but-" said Alice earnestly.  She tried to explain herself further, yet that was all the Bird needed to hear.

"I knew it, I knew it!" declared the bird, her assumptions now verifired.

"Serpent!" she cried, "Serpeeeeeeeeeent!" she bellowed as she darted around Alice's head.  The young girl ducked briefly among the leaves as she tried to protect herself from the Bird.  The sight was somewhat comical, as a being of gigantic proportions was being cowed and intimidated by another creature which was several times smaller than her.  It was practically the equivalent of a horse being intimidated by a mouse in terms of size.

"Oh for goodness sake!" cried Alice as frustration vocally erupted from her.  Here she was trying to politely explain her situation to this bird which was flying and floating around her making accusations as to what she was.  She tried to be civil up to this point, yet the Bird was apparently set in her assumptions as to what Alice exactly was and what her intentions were.  As the old saying goes, 'Even the Buddha's patience has limits,' and Alice was reaching the limits of hers.

Lifting her arms up, she noticed the mushroom pieces in her hands once more.  Oddly enough, they appeared to remain relatively the same size prior to Alice's sudden shooting up in height.  Where they once were oversized to the point of being boxing gloves at three inches in height, they now comfortably fit in the palm of her hands.  Should they not have been much smaller relative to her now giant stature?  The oddity of it boggled the mind, yet Alice reminded herself once more that this world was highly illogical in many ways.  She was after all conversing with a talking bird after all, and prior to that a talking caterpillar.  Surely if she told this to the first human she made contact with, they would think her outright mad.

As she looked at the mushroom piece in her left hand, Alice recalled what the Caterpillar told her before taking flight:

"And the other side will..." she said, eyeing piece as she flipped it over in her hand, examining it for any differences from the one in her right hand.  The mushroom piece looked just the same as the other one.

Pondering if she should put the other mushroom piece to the test, Alice instead tried for something else.  If one bite from the mushroom made her this large, what would another bite from the same piece do?  How much bigger would she become?  The temptation was simply too much for her curious mind to resist.

Placing the mushroom piece in her left hand into her left apron pocket, she eyed the remaining mushroom piece in her right hand, with a small bite mark emanating from where she chomped into it.  She brought it to her lips, preparing to take another nibble from it.

Meanwhile, atop Alice's head, the Bird was gathering up her eggs which rested in the nest.  The idea was somewhat comical, given that she intended to somehow haul all the eggs off to a safer location while flying.  Perhaps she was not completely in her right frame of mind, given the scare she had just been given only a few short moments ago.

"The very idea," the Bird muttered to herself, "spend all my time laying eggs for serpents like her."  The Bird proceeded with gathering her eggs one by one, trying to stack them the best she could like a Jenga tower cradled in her arm-like wings.  Again, the absurdity of it was somewhat comical.  How exactly was she going to actually fly off with those eggs?  Such was the wackiness of this strange world Alice had stumbled into.

Taking the smallest of bites, Alice pulled the mushroom piece back.  It briefly stretched perhaps a foot or so before breaking off from the piece she had pinned behind her pearly white teeth.  After a moment of chewing, Alice swallowed the bit and awaited what came next.  Seconds later, with eyes wide opened, Alice felt that familiar sensation return.  More growth was at hand.

With no warning, Alice shot upwards like a rocket.  Whereas the first growth episode came in spurts as she ascended through the trees, this spurt was one long, continuous episode with no hiccup-like interruptions.  Ever onward and upwards, her head began to rise far above the treetops.  Soon enough, her chest was above the treeline, then her waistline, then her knees.  As she rose higher and higher, the forest looked less intimidating and more novel, resembling grass more than mighty wooden pillars covered in vibrant green foliage.

While Alice spurted ever onwards and upward, the Bird was suddenly jostled by the instant increase in elevation.  Dropping her eggs into her nest, she fell down in said nest as her surroundings changed suddenly.  Whereas once she was just a few feet above the treeline seconds ago, she now saw the forest descend lower and lower at a rapid pace.  It was as if the sea of green that was her home was now becoming a sort of new floor, so to speak.  Panicking once more, the Bird gathered her eggs around as she huddled into the center of her nest, waiting for the spike in movement to cease, assuming it ever would.

Eventually, Alice's second growth spurt did come to and end.  When it was over, the young lady had transformed from a giant to an outright titan.  Before the spurt, her head and neck were above the treetops.  When her second wave of growth had settled down, the treeline was now level with her ankles.  Only her feet were now hidden beneath the sea of greenery.  If she were to guess, she was now several hundreds of feet in height, probably a solid five hundred feet or more, though without people and buildings to compare her size to, it was a rough guess to say the least.

When the growth spurt had settled, the Bird got her bearings once more.  Peering over the nest, she saw that she was now far above the treeline compared to her last position.  Looking down below, she gasped at just how far she ascended.  She could see the forest for miles and miles.  It was as if the entired canopy of trees and brush were like a veritable ocean of green.  Looking upwards, the clouds in the sky seemed so much closer.  In fact, the air felt just a tad bit thinner to her, along with being more brisk and chilly given the change in elevation.

Alice herself was in awe of how much she had elevated in stature.  From the perspective of those below, she probably appeared as some sort of goddess come to life.  How momentous that just a few minutes ago, she was small enough that her pet cat Dinah would have looked at her as if she were some sort of mouse or toy to play with; now she towered over all she saw, probably bigger than Big Ben.  The rate at which she alternated in size was a lot to take in both mentally and emotionally.

"Goodness," thundered Alice's voice, even though she was speaking at normal volume relative to her, "I wonder if I'll ever get the hang of this."

She was still alarmed at just how big she had become.  It seemed that the mushroom appeared to enlarge her at a rate of several times her size, whatever that size was previously.  If she were a few inches tall, she became tens of feet tall after consumption.  If she were tens of feet tall, she became hundreds of feet tall after consumption.  What gave such a small mushroom the power to alter the size of something so drastically?  Just another mystery to add on to the list of wonders in this 'Wonderland' which Alice seemed to find herself in.

Reaching upwards to the top of her head, Alice gingerly felt her way through the golden locks of hair, probing the center of her head.  Soon enough, she could make out the feeling of straw which composed the Bird's nest.  As delicately as she could, Alice curled her gargantuan fingers around it.  Delicately enclosing it in her fist, she brought the nest down to just below her head.  Upon leveling it with her neck, she uncurled her fingers, revealing the Bird's nest, with both her and her eggs still nestled with it.

The Bird was frantically panicking as she saw a colossal hand descend from above her, trapping her and her nest enclosed within.  Everything went pitch black for several seconds before her being jostled about as she could feel herself moving downwards from what she could tell.  After a moment in darkness, she was greeted by sunlight once more as she readjusted her bearings.  She was greeted by the supposed serpent which she rested atop the head of just minutes before.

Now this 'serpent' was several magnitudes larger.  Before, her eyes were larger than the Bird's entire body.  Now, the Bird wagered the serpent's very pupil was large enough for the Bird to pass through in terms of surface area.  Whereas she had enough space to land on this creature's nose prior to this little spurt in size, she probably could perch herself on one of the creature's eyelashes if she so desired.  It was a reminder of just how large this being now was prior to a few seconds ago.  It was the kind of realization that would make one instinctively gulp in fear and caution at such an occurrence.

Whereas the Bird would be panicking frantically as she was prior, she simply stared in awe before her captor now.  Knowing that she was at the mercy of colossal creature before her, she only stared in awe of the she-giant, knowing that if she wanted to, this 'serpent' could crush both her and her eggs at a moment's notice, and there was absolutely nothing the Bird could do to make that otherwise.  She awaited her fate as she lay nestled in the giant's palm.

"Now," spoke Alice, before lowering her voice to a whisper once she registered the Bird's reaction at how loud her voice sounded, "will you please hear me out?" she continued at a far lower volume.

The Bird only nodded her head in agreement, doing everything she could to appease the giant before her.  The last thing she wanted to do was aggravate this giant that stood before her.  For both the sake of her and her eggs, the Bird was prepared to do whatever the giant commanded of her, if for nothing else than to at least spare her eggs if not herself.  While it was certainly a gamble, she hoped this giant would be benevolent enough to spare her children-to-be if not herself.  Of course, it was all a gamble in the end.  The giant could simply crush her, then crush her babies in their eggs, and there would be absolutely nothing the Bird could do to make that otherwise.

"Now please," Alice pleaded, "listen to me.  I am not a serpent.  I'm just a little...I'm just a young girl.  I don't mean you any harm whatsoever.  I'm simply trying to find my way.  I've been following a white rabbit, and I've been a little lost, so to speak."

The Bird stared up at the colossal face, taking in every word that was said.  She merely nodded her head, trying to be as agreeable as possible and do everything in her power to not upset the behemoth before her.  The only thing on her mind was doing whatever she could to not upset this newfound giant and not incur her potential wrath, both for the Bird's sake and for her eggs' sake.

Alice stared before the Bird, who sat perfectly still in her palm.  By her new size, the wagered the bird was no larger than a typical horsefly...scratch that, no larger than a gnat relative to her newly increased size.  She was doing everything in her power to not appear menacing or intimidating, which for a being of her size was practically impossible to perform by this point.  Even so, she would still try to be as diplomatic and appeasing as she could, even though the size disparity was clearly in her favor.

"Please know," Alice continued, "I mean you absolutely no harm whatsoever.  I'm simply trying to find my way through this place.  I was on the trail of a white rabbit, and I got myself stuck and stopped along the way.  I'm just trying to continue where I left off."

The Bird simply nodded once more in response.  Mustering up some courage, she responded to the giant.

"Uhh...yes, of course.  Please...feel free to go wherever you please." she spoke with caution, hoping she didn't say anything that would offend or aggravate the giant in any way whatsoever.

Alice was pleased to know that the Bird would stop pestering her at this point.  Though it was somewhat difficult to make out what she was saying at this point.  Before, she could understand what the Bird was saying prior to her last growth spurt, but at this point her voice was of a much higher pitch than before.  It proved to be rather difficult to make out what she said with perfect understanding and clarity compared to her previous size.  Leaning in towards her hand, Alice tilted her head to try and better hear the Bird from this point on.

"I'm terribly sorry," said Alice, "but I'm having a bit of difficulty hearing you.  If possible, could you please speak up a bit?" she requested.

The Bird responded to Alice's request with great haste, trying to stay on the giant girl's good side while she was (literally) within her grasp.

"Yes!" she hollered, "By all means do as you see fit!  If possible, could you please set me down among the trees?!"  The Bird figured that at this point, she would have to practically scream in order for this giant girl to understand what she was saying.

"The trees?" asked Alice, turning her head to look directly at the Bird laying squarely in the center of her palm.  Even with the Bird so up close, Alice had to squint her eyes to get an accurate view of the tiny avian creature residing within the massive expanse of her hand.

"Yes!  The trees, if you please!" shouted the Bird, hoping the giant would both hear and honor her request.

"Very well," said Alice in response.  She then proceeded to lower her fist down towards the forest, bringining the Bird and her nest closer and closer towards the treetops.  It was something of a rollercoaster ride for the Bird as she rapidly descended downwards by several hundred feet towards the sea of green.  She felt her stomach flip over itself as she neared the horizon full of lush green leaves and wayward branches.  While she descended, she held her eggs close to her, protectively holding them against her body while she neared ever closer and closer towards the forest.

Eventually bringing her hand to a stop, Alice held her palm wide open to try and help the Bird settle back into the forest where she resided prior the young girl's growth episode.  Bringing her other hand down towards her fist, she ever so slightly pinched the Bird's nest between her thumb and index finger and proceeded to carry it like a crane hauling cargo towards the treetops of the forest.  The experience was exhilarating to say the least from the Bird's perspective as she was carried by a set of fingers holding her nest in a pincer-like fashion as she descended further down towards the top of the forest.

Once the Bird's nest was settled back among the leaves and branches of the forest, she looked back up towards the girl she called a serpent just moments prior.  She was absolutely massive compared to previously.  Whereas she was huge prior to the last growth spurt, at this point she was down right colossal now.  The Bird was cast completely in this young lady's shadow now.  If she so desired, this girl could simply bring one of her feet up ever so slightly and then proceed to stomp the Bird and her eggs into oblivion, and that would be the end of that.  The thought of such a thing terrified the Bird and made her instinctively swallow in nervousness as she contemplated the chances of such a thing happening.

Bent down, with her hands on her knees, Alice leaned in towards the Bird, being mindful to keep her voice low so as to not blow over the tiny creature from the sound and wind exhaled from her voice as she spoke.

"Again, I'm terribly sorry about what happened earlier.  I was simply trying to find my way about this place, and I figured it would be easier if I was bigger than if I was smaller." said Alice.  The Bird simply nodded in agreement before speaking.

"It's alright, j- just be on you way!  Go wherever you wish!" she hollered, trying to get this she-giant to leave as quickly as possible, for both her sake and the sake of her eggs.

Glad that the Bird was no longer being hostile towards her, Alice's face broke out in a smile as she was relieved the situation had been more or less resolved.  Standing straight up once more, she prepared to take her leave as she bid her farewells to the Bird.

"Alright then," said Alice, "best be on my way then.  Take care now and I hope your eggs turn out all well and good.  Goodbye then, little birdie."

Alice gently waved her large hand from side to side briefly before turning around and making her way off towards some new place.  Raising one of her feet, she proceeded to vacate herself from the area.  As her foot landed, it created a colossal tremor that caused all the trees in the area to vibrate and shake vigorously for several seconds.  The Bird herself felt the vibrations resonated in her very core as this monumental young woman made her way off into the distance.

In a matter of seconds, Alice created a good amound of distance between her and the Bird, flattening chunks of forest underneath her feet as she walked.  Placing the other piece of mushroom in the right pocket of her apron, Alice continued onward with her journey.  She figured if need be, she could partake of the other mushroom piece and shrink herself somewhat to better navigate the area.  Both pieces of mushroom would serve a purpose for the young lady at this point.  Though she mush admit she appreciated the benefits of being big over being small.  With her increased size, there was little chance of anything harming her at this point in her journey.  And if she felt the need to, she could simply shrink herself down if the situation required it.  For now though, she would remain at her current size, content with the benefits that being a titan afforded her.

Hopefully she could pick up on the White Rabbit's trail and find out where exactly he was headed.  With her increased size, catching up with him would be beyond easy.  It was just a matter of spotting him through the forest.  If she couldn't find him soon enough, Alice would use the shrinking piece of mushroom to help in locating him.

'If it comes to that, I'll cross that bridge when I get there.' thought Alice to herself as she resumed her search for the White Rabbit.

As the titanic young lady continued onwards through the forest that now resembled a field of grass from her perspective, she came to the blunt realization that one thing was undoubtedly for certain:

Nobody was going to harass or intimidate her from this point on.