Twenty minutes past five
said Alice when they had finished . `` We wo n't be going home for a little while . '' The judge looked at his watch . `` Twenty minutes past five : we shall start at six . Well , I propose that each member of the company composes , within the space of ten minutes , four lines of verse descriptive of the scenery . I have brought pencils and paper ; and the best writer shall have my gold pencil-case to him or her self . '' There was a general exclamation , and each one declared it impossible to perform such a feat .