twelve o'clock
She began to hope so , and tried to go on with her lessons . But it was no use . Though she really gave her best attention to the long addition sums , and found that by so doing she managed them much better than before , she could not feel happy or at ease . Every few minutes she glanced up at the clock , as if expecting the cuckoo to come out , though she knew quite well there was no chance of his doing so till twelve o'clock , as it was only the hours , not the half hours and quarters , that he told . `` I wish it was twelve o'clock , '' she said to herself anxiously more than once . If only the clock had not been so very high up on the wall , she would have been tempted to climb up and open the little doors , and peep in to satisfy herself as to the cuckoo 's condition . But there was no possibility of this .