That I Can Hardly Hope For / 不敢奢望

　　Lewis Carroll was the English writer who wrote the famous novel Alice in Wonderland. He published his masterpiece in 1865. Hundreds of editions, including translations to over 125 different languages, have been sold ever since.

　　 At the very beginning  however, Lewis did not expect much of the book. In his daily entry of August 2, 1882,  he wrote that if he had sold the entire 2000 copy first printing of Alice in Wonderland, he would lose £200. By selling another 2000, he would make £200. If he sold additional copies, he would realize a bigger gain - "that I can hardly hope for," he added.

　　Before his death, in 1898, about 180,000 copies had been sold. He probably grinned like a Cheshire Cat while leaving this world.

　　劉易斯‧卡羅爾 ( Lewis Carroll ) 是著名小說《愛麗絲夢遊仙境》的作者。《愛》發行於1865年，至今已印製成過百種版本，並翻譯成超過125種語言。

　　可是，劉易斯最初似乎沒對作品寄予厚望。在1882年8月2日，他在日記寫道：《愛》初版2000本，要是全賣掉的話，他會虧蝕200英鎊；若再版2000本也賣光，可以賺200英鎊；再賣更多，才能多賺幾個錢　　「對此我不敢奢望」他補充。

　　只是，到劉易斯1898年去世時，《愛》已賣出近十八萬本。而他本人，大概也帶著列嘴貓的笑容與世長辭。