The first line in the poem on page nine talks about the crocodile polishing his tale in the nile river the reason it has to in the nile is because of the gold. The reason Alice follows the rabbit is because she wants to know why he is late , and she is very naive in her choices. The reason the story is shaped like that is because the mouse is telling a tale and that is why it is shaped like a "tail". The difference between a normal race and a caucus race is that in a caucus race the is no winner or loser and there is no start of finish and everybody gets prizes.