The Dodo proposes the Caucus-race to dry everyone after the pool of tears in *Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland*.
The scene occurs in Chapter 3, “A Caucus-Race and a Long Tale.” Alice and a group of birds and animals have become soaked after escaping the pool formed by her giant tears. The Dodo suggests that they run in a race with no fixed course, starting point, or finishing line, so that everyone can dry off.
The race is deliberately nonsensical: the participants run in various directions and eventually everyone is declared a winner. Alice gives out comfits as prizes, then awards the Dodo her thimble when he points out that she has not received anything herself.
The other creatures are not the proposer. The Lory, Eaglet, and Duck are members of the boating-party allusion behind the scene, while the Mouse tells the “long tale” that follows. In later film adaptations, especially Disney’s 1951 version, the Dodo’s role is expanded and made more theatrical.