The book tells of a girl named Alice who falls down a rabbit hole into a fantasy world populated by peculiar, anthropomorphic creatures. After falling down into the depths of the earth she finds herself in a corridor full of doors. At the end of the corridor there is a tiny door with a tiny key through which Alice can see a beautiful garden that she is desperate to enter. She then spots a bottle labeled DRINK ME (which she does), and begins to shrink until she is large enough to fit through the door. Unfortunately, she has left the key that fits the lock on a table, now well out of her reach. She then finds a cake labeled EAT ME (which, again, she does), and is restored to her normal size. Disconcerted by this frustrating series of events, Alice begins to cry, and caught unawares by a change in size not precipitated by food or drink, she shrinks and is washed away in her own tears.