Whenever the horse stopped -LRB- which it did very often -RRB- , he fell off in front ; and whenever it went on again -LRB- which it generally did rather suddenly -RRB- , he fell off behind . Otherwise he kept on pretty well , except that he had a habit of now and then falling off sideways ; and as he generally did this on the side on which Alice was walking , she soon found that it was the best plan not to walk QUITE close to the horse . ` I 'm afraid you 've not had much practice in riding , ' she ventured to say , as she was helping him up from his fifth tumble . The Knight looked very much surprised , and a little offended at the remark . ` What makes you say that ? ' he asked , as he scrambled back into the saddle , keeping hold of Alice 's hair with one hand , to save himself from falling over on the other side . ` Because people do n't fall off quite so often , when they 've had much practice . ' ` I 've had plenty of practice , ' the Knight said very gravely : ` plenty of practice ! ' Alice could think of nothing better to say than ` Indeed ? ' but she said it as heartily as she could . They went on a little way in silence after this , the Knight with his eyes shut , muttering to himself , and Alice watching anxiously for the next tumble . ` The great art of riding , ' the Knight suddenly began in a loud voice , waving his right arm as he spoke , ` is to keep -- ' Here the sentence ended as suddenly as it had begun , as the Knight fell heavily on the top of his head exactly in the path where Alice was walking . She was quite frightened this time , and said in an anxious tone , as she picked him up , ' I hope no bones are broken ? ' ` None to speak of , ' the Knight said , as if he did n't mind breaking two or three of them . ` The great art of riding , as I was saying , is -- to keep your balance properly . Like this , you know -- ' He let go the bridle , and stretched out both his arms to show Alice what he meant , and this time he fell flat on his back , right under the horse 's feet . ` Plenty of practice ! ' he went on repeating , all the time that Alice was getting him on his feet again . ` Plenty of practice ! ' ` It 's too ridiculous ! '
cried Alice , losing all her patience this XXXXX .
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