In Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, the Duchess’s baby turns into a pig.
Alice encounters the baby in the Duchess’s chaotic kitchen, where the Cook is throwing kitchenware and clouds of pepper make everyone sneeze. The Duchess treats the child harshly, singing a mock lullaby that suggests punishment is normal. Concerned for the baby’s safety, Alice carries it away from the house.
Once outside, Alice notices that the child’s face and features are changing. The baby twists and squirms until it becomes a pig, which immediately runs off into the woods. Carroll does not provide a scientific or magical explanation for the transformation; it is presented as one of Wonderland’s abrupt, dreamlike events.
Alice responds with practical acceptance, deciding that although the baby was not an attractive child, it makes a good-looking pig. Readers sometimes confuse this scene with the Duchess’s Cheshire Cat, but the cat remains a cat throughout and is a separate character.