"It was getting very late, not so very far from midnight, indeed,

before the children could tear themselves away from all these Yuletide

fascinations, and Godpapa Drosselmeier had been gone a considerable

time. They remained riveted beside the glass cupboard, although their

mother several times reminded them that it was long after bedtime.

'Yes,' said Fritz, 'I know well enough that these poor fellows (meaning

his hussars) are tired enough, and awfully anxious to turn in for the

night, though as long as I'm here, not a man-jack of them dares to nod

his head.' With which he went off. But Marie earnestly begged for just

a little while longer, saying she had such a number of things to see

to, and promising that as soon as ever she had got them all settled she

would go to bed at once. Marie was a very good and reasonable child,

and therefore her mother allowed her to remain for a little longer with

her toys; but lest she should be too much occupied with her new doll

and the other playthings so as to forget to put out the candles which

were lighted all round on the wall sconces, she herself put all of them

out, leaving merely the lamp which hung from the ceiling to give a soft

and pleasant light. 'Come soon to your bed, Marie, or you'll never be

up in time in the morning,' cried her mother as she went away into the

bedroom.

"As soon as Marie was alone, she set rapidly to work to do the thing

which was chiefly at her heart to accomplish, and which, though she

scarcely knew why, she somehow did not like to set about in her

mother's presence. She had been holding Nutcracker, wrapped in the

handkerchief, carefully in her arms all this time, and she now laid him

softly down on the table, gently unrolled the handkerchief, and

examined his wounds.

"Nutcracker was very pale, but at the same time he was smiling with a

melancholy and pathetic kindliness which went straight to Marie's

heart.

"Oh, my darling little Nutcracker!' said she, very softly, 'don't you

be vexed because brother Fritz has hurt you so: he didn't mean it, you

know; he's only a little bit hardened with his soldiering and that, but

he's a good, nice boy, I can assure you: and I'll take the greatest

care of you, and nurse you, till you're quite, quite better and happy

again. And your teeth shall be put in again for you, and your shoulder

set right; Godpapa Drosselmeier will see to that; he knows how to do

things of the kind----'

"Marie could not finish what she was going to say, because at the

mention of Godpapa Drosselmeier, friend Nutcracker made a most

horrible, ugly face. A sort of green sparkle of much sharpness seemed

to dart out of his eyes. This was only for an instant, however; and

just as Marie was going to be terribly frightened, she found that she

was looking at the very same nice, kindly face, with the pathetic smile

which she had seen before, and she saw plainly that it was nothing but

some draught of air making the lamp flicker that had seemed to produce

the change.

"'Well!' she said, 'I certainly am a silly girl to be so easily

frightened, and think that a wooden doll could make faces at me! But

I'm too fond, really, of Nutcracker, because he's so funny, and so kind

and nice; and so he must be taken the greatest care of, and properly

nursed till he's quite well.'

"With which she took him in her arms again, approached the cupboard,

and kneeling down beside it, said to her new doll:

"I'm going to ask a favour of you, Miss Clara--that you will give up

your bed to this poor sick, wounded Nutcracker, and make yourself as

comfortable as you can on the sofa here. Remember that you're quite

well and strong yourself, or you wouldn't have such fat, red cheeks,

and that there are very few dolls indeed who have as comfortable a sofa

as this to lie upon.'

"Miss Clara, in her Christmas full dress, looked very grand and

disdainful, and said not so much as 'Muck!'

"Very well,' said Marie, 'why should I make such a fuss, and stand on

any ceremony?'--took the bed and moved it forward; laid Nutcracker

carefully and tenderly down on it; wrapped another pretty ribbon, taken

from her own dress, about his hurt shoulder, and drew the bed-clothes

up to his nose.

"But he shan't stay with that nasty Clara,' she said, and moved

the bed, with Nutcracker in it, up to the upper shelf, so that

it was placed near the village in which Fritz's hussars had their

cantonments. She closed the cupboard, and was moving away to go to bed,

when--listen, children! there begun a low soft rustling and rattling,

and a sort of whispering noise, all round, in all directions, from all

quarters of the room--behind the stove, under the chairs, behind the

cupboards. The clock on the wall 'warned' louder and louder, but could

not strike. Marie looked at it, and saw that the big gilt owl which was

on the top of it had drooped its wings so that they covered the whole

of the clock, and had stretched its cat-like head, with the crooked

beak, a long way forward. And the 'warning' kept growing louder and

louder, with distinct words: 'Clocks, clockies, stop ticking. No sound,

but cautious "warning." Mousey king's ears are fine. Prr-prr. Only sing

"poom, poom"; sing the olden song of doom! prr-prr; poom, poom. Bells

go chime! Soon rings out the fated time!' And then came 'Poom! poom!'

quite hoarsely and smothered, twelve times.

"Marie grew terribly frightened, and was going to rush away as best she

could, when she noticed that Godpapa Drosselmeier was up on the top of

the clock instead of the owl, with his yellow coat-tails hanging down

on both sides, like wings. But she manned herself, and called out in a

loud voice of anguish:

"Godpapa! godpapa! what are you up there for? Come down to me, and

don't frighten me so terribly, you naughty, naughty Godpapa

Drosselmeier!'

"But then there begun a sort of wild kickering and queaking,

everywhere, all about, and presently there was a sound as of running

and trotting, as of thousands of little feet behind the walls, and

thousands of little lights began to glitter out between the chinks of

the woodwork. But they were not lights; no, no! little glittering eyes;

and Marie became aware that, everywhere, mice were peeping and

squeezing themselves out through every chink. Presently they were

trotting and galloping in all directions over the room; orderly bodies,

continually increasing, of mice, forming themselves into regular troops

and squadrons, in good order, just as Fritz's soldiers did when

man[oe]uvres were going on. As Marie was not afraid of mice (as many

children are), she could not help being amused by this, and her first

alarm had nearly left her, when suddenly there came such a sharp and

terrible piping noise that the blood ran cold in her veins. Ah! what

did she see then? Well, truly, kind reader, I know that your heart is

in the right place, just as much as my friend Field Marshal Fritz's is,

itself, but if you had seen what now came before Marie's eyes, you

would have made a clean pair of heels of it; nay, I consider that you

would have plumped into your bed, and drawn the blankets further over

your head than necessity demanded.

"But poor Marie hadn't it in her power to do any such thing, because,

right at her feet, as if impelled by some subterranean power, sand, and

lime, and broken stone came bursting up, and then seven mouse-heads,

with seven shining crowns upon them, rose through the floor, hissing

and piping in a most horrible way. Quickly the body of the mouse which

had those seven crowned heads forced its way up through the floor, and

this enormous creature shouted, with its seven heads, aloud to the

assembled multitude, squeaking to them with all the seven mouths in

full chorus; and then the entire army set itself in motion, and went

trot, trot, right up to the cupboard--and, in fact, to Marie, who was

standing beside it.

"Marie's heart had been beating so with terror that she had thought it

must jump out of her breast, and she must die. But now it seemed to her

as if the blood in her veins stood still. Half fainting, she leant

backwards, and then there was a 'klirr, klirr, prr,' and the pane of

the cupboard, which she had broken with her elbow, fell in shivers to

the floor. She felt, for a moment, a sharp, stinging pain in her arm,

but still, this seemed to make her heart lighter; she heard no more of

the queaking and piping. Everything was quiet; and though she didn't

dare to look, she thought the noise of the glass breaking had

frightened the mice back to their holes.

"But what came to pass then? Right behind Marie a movement seemed to

commence in the cupboard, and small, faint voices began to be heard,

saying:

'Come, awake, measures take;

Out to the fight, out to the fight;

Shield the right, shield the right;

Aim and away, this is the night.'

And harmonica-bells began ringing as prettily as you please.

"Oh! that's my little peal of bells!' cried Marie, and went nearer and

looked in. Then she saw that there was bright light in the cupboard,

and everything busily in motion there; dolls and little figures of

various kinds all running about together, and struggling with their

little arms. At this point, Nutcracker rose from his bed, cast off the

bedclothes, and sprung with both feet on to the floor (of the shelf),

crying out at the top of his voice:

'Knack, knack, knack,

Stupid mousey pack,

All their skulls we'll crack.

Mousey pack, knack, knack,

Mousey pack, crick and crack,

Cowardly lot of schnack!'

"And with this he drew his little sword, waved it in the air, and

cried:

"'Ye, my trusty vassals, brethren and friends, are ye ready to stand by

me in this great battle?'

"Immediately three scaramouches, one pantaloon, four chimney-sweeps,

two zither-players, and a drummer cried, in eager accents:

"'Yes, your highness; we will stand by you in loyal duty; we will

follow you to the death, the victory, and the fray!' And they

precipitated themselves after Nutcracker (who, in the excitement of the

moment, had dared that perilous leap) to the bottom shelf. Now _they_

might well dare this perilous leap, for not only had they got plenty of

clothes on, of cloth and silk, but besides, there was not much in their

insides except cotton and sawdust, so that they plumped down like

little wool-sacks. But as for poor Nutcracker, he would certainly have

broken his arms and legs; for, bethink you, it was nearly two feet from

where he had stood to the shelf below, and his body was as fragile as

if he had been made of elm-wood. Yes, Nutcracker would have broken his

arms and legs, had not Miss Clara started up, at the moment of his

spring, from her sofa, and received the hero, drawn sword and all, in

her tender arms.

"'Oh! you dear, good Clara!' cried Marie, 'how I did misunderstand you.

I believe you were quite willing to let dear Nutcracker have your bed.'

"But Miss Clara now cried, as she pressed the young hero gently to her

silken breast:

"'Oh, my lord! go not into this battle and danger, sick and wounded

as you are. See how your trusty vassals, clowns and pantaloon,

chimney-sweeps, zithermen and drummer, are already arrayed below; and

the puzzle-figures, in my shelf here, are in motion, and preparing for

the fray! Deign, then, oh my lord, to rest in these arms of mine, and

contemplate your victory from a safe coign of vantage.'

"Thus spoke Clara. But Nutcracker behaved so impatiently, and kicked so

with his legs, that Clara was obliged to put him down on the shelf in a

hurry. However, he at once sank gracefully on one knee, and expressed

himself as follows:

"'Oh, lady! the kind protection and aid which you have afforded me,

will ever be present to my heart, in battle and in victory!'

"On this, Clara bowed herself so as to be able to take hold of him by

his arms, raised him gently up, quickly loosed her girdle, which was

ornamented with many spangles, and would have placed it about his

shoulders. But the little man drew himself swiftly two steps back, laid

his hand upon his heart, and said, with much solemnity:

"Oh, lady! do not bestow this mark of your favour upon me; for----' He

hesitated, gave a deep sigh, took the ribbon, with which Marie had

bound him, from his shoulders, pressed it to his lips, put it on as a

cognizance for the fight, and, waving his glittering sword, sprang,

like a bird, over the ledge of the cupboard down to the floor.

"You will observe, kind reader, that Nutcracker, even before he really

came to life, had felt and understood all Marie's goodness and regard,

and that it was because of his gratitude and devotion to her, that he

would not take, or wear even, a ribbon of Miss Clara's, although it was

exceedingly pretty and charming. This good, true-hearted Nutcracker

preferred Marie's much commoner and more unpretending token.

"But what is going to happen, further, now? At the moment when

Nutcracker sprang down, the queaking and piping commenced again worse

than ever. Alas! under the big table, the hordes of the mouse army had

taken up a position, densely massed, under the command of the terrible

mouse with the seven heads. So what is to be the result?

"THE BATTLE.

"Beat the _Generale_, trusty vassal-drummer!' cried Nutcracker, very

loud; and immediately the drummer began to roll his drum in the most

splendid style, so that the windows of the glass cupboard rattled and

resounded. Then there began a cracking and a clattering inside, and

Marie saw all the lids of the boxes in which Fritz's army was quartered

bursting open, and the soldiers all came out and jumped down to the

bottom shelf, where they formed up in good order. Nutcracker hurried up

and down the ranks, speaking words of encouragement.

"'There's not a dog of a trumpeter taking the trouble to sound a call!'

he cried in a fury. Then he turned to the pantaloon (who was looking

decidedly pale), and, wobbling his long chin a good deal, said, in a

tone of solemnity:

"'I know how brave and experienced you are, General! What is essential

here, is a rapid comprehension of the situation, and immediate

utilization of the passing moment. I entrust you with the command of

the cavalry and artillery. You can do without a horse; your own legs

are long, and you can gallop on them as fast as is necessary. Do your

duty!'

"Immediately Pantaloon put his long, lean fingers to his month, and

gave such a piercing crow that it rang as if a hundred little trumpets

had been sounding lustily. Then there began a tramping and a neighing

in the cupboard; and Fritz's dragoons and cuirassiers--but above all,

the new glittering hussars--marched out, and thru came to a halt, drawn

up on the floor. They then marched past Nutcracker by regiments, with

_guidons_ flying and bands playing; after which they wheeled into line,

and formed up at right angles to the line of march. Upon this, Fritz's

artillery came rattling up, and formed action front in advance of the

halted cavalry. Then it went 'boom-boom!' and Marie saw the sugar-plums

doing terrible execution amongst the thickly-massed mouse-battalions,

which were powdered quite white by them, and greatly put to shame.

But a battery of heavy guns, which had taken up a strong position

on mamma's footstool, was what did the greatest execution; and

'poom-poom-poom!' kept up a murderous fire of gingerbread nuts into

the enemy's ranks with most destructive effect, mowing the mice down in

great numbers. The enemy, however, was not materially checked in his

advance, and had even possessed himself of one or two of the heavy

guns, when there came 'prr-prr-prr!' and Marie could scarcely see what

was happening, for smoke and dust; but this much is certain, that every

corps engaged fought with the utmost bravery and determination, and it

was for a long time doubtful which side would gain the day. The mice

kept on developing fresh bodies of their forces, as they were advanced

to the scene of action; their little silver balls--like pills in

size--which they delivered with great precision (their musketry

practice being specially fine) took effect even inside the glass

cupboard. Clara and Gertrude ran up and down in utter despair, wringing

their hands, and loudly lamenting.

"Must I--the very loveliest doll in all the world--perish miserably in

the very flower of my youth?' cried Miss Clara.

"'Oh! was it for this,' wept Gertrude, 'that I have taken such pains to

_conserver_ myself all these years? Must I be shot here in my own

drawing-room after all?"

"On this, they fell into each other's arms, and howled so terribly that

you could hear them above all the din of the battle. For you have no

idea of the hurly-burly that went on now, dear auditor! It went

prr-prr-poof, piff-schnetterdeng--schnetterdeng--boom-booroom--boom-

booroom--boom all confusedly and higgledy-piggledy; and the

mouse-king and the mice squeaked and screamed; and then again

Nutcracker's powerful voice was heard shouting words of command, and

issuing important orders, and he was seen striding along amongst his

battalions in the thick of the fire.

'Pantaloon had made several most brilliant cavalry charges, and covered

himself with glory. But Fritz's hussars were subjected--by the mice--to

a heavy fire of very evil-smelling shot, which made horrid spots on

their red tunics; this caused them to hesitate, and hang rather back

for a time. Pantaloon made them take ground to the left, in _echelon_,

and, in the excitement of the moment, he, with his dragoons and

cuirassiers, executed a somewhat analogous movement. That is to say,

they brought up the right shoulder, wheeled to the left, and marched

home to their quarters. This had the effect of bringing the battery of

artillery on the footstool into imminent danger, and it was not long

before a large body of exceedingly ugly mice delivered such a vigorous

assault on this position that the whole of the footstool, with the guns

and gunners, fell into the enemy's hands. Nutcracker seemed much

disconcerted, and ordered his right wing to commence a retrograde

movement. A soldier of your experience, my dear Fritz, knows well that

such a movement is almost tantamount to a regular retreat, and you

grieve, with me, in anticipation, for the disaster which threatens the

army of Marie's beloved little Nutcracker. But turn your glance in the

other direction, and look at this left wing of Nutcracker's, where all

is still going well, and you will see that there is yet much hope for

the commander-in-chief and his cause.

"During the hottest part of the engagement masses of mouse-cavalry had

been quietly debouching from under the chest of drawers, and had

subsequently made a most determined advance upon the left wing of

Nutcracker's force, uttering loud and horrible queakings. But what a

reception they met with! Very slowly, as the nature the _terrain_

necessitated (for the ledge at the bottom of the cupboard had

to be passed), the regiment of motto-figures, commanded by two

Chinese Emperors, advanced, and formed square. These fine,

brilliantly-uniformed troops, consisting of gardeners, Tyrolese,

Tungooses, hairdressers, harlequins, Cupids, lions, tigers, unicorns,

and monkeys, fought with the utmost courage, coolness, and steady

endurance. This _bataillon d'elite_ would have wrested the victory from

the enemy had not one of his cavalry captains, pushing forward in a

rash and foolhardy manner, made a charge upon one of the Chinese

Emperors, and bitten off his head. This Chinese Emperor, in his fall,

knocked over and smothered a couple of Tungooses and a unicorn, and

this created a gap, through which the enemy effected a rush, which

resulted in the whole battalion being bitten to death. But the

enemy gained little advantage by this; for as soon as one of the

mouse-cavalry soldiers bit one of these brave adversaries to death, he

found that there was a small piece of printed paper sticking in his

throat, of which he died in a moment. Still, this was of small

advantage to Nutcracker's army, which, having once commenced a

retrograde movement, went on retreating farther and farther, suffering

greater and greater loss. So that the unfortunate Nutcracker found

himself driven back close to the front of the cupboard, with a very

small remnant of his army.

"'Bring up the reserves! Pantaloon! Scaramouch! Drummer! where the

devil have you got to?' shouted Nutcracker, who was still reckoning on

reinforcements from the cupboard. And there did, in fact, advance a

small contingent of brown gingerbread men and women, with gilt faces,

hats, and helmets; but they laid about them so clumsily that they

never hit any of the enemy, and soon knocked off the cap of their

commander-in-chief, Nutcracker, himself. And the enemy's chasseurs soon

bit their legs off, so that they tumbled topsy-turvy, and killed

several of Nutcracker's companions-in-arms into the bargain.

"Nutcracker was now hard pressed, and closely hemmed in by the enemy,

and in a position of extreme peril, He tried to jump the bottom ledge

of the cupboard, but his legs were not long enough. Clara and Gertrude

had fainted; so they could give him no assistance. Hussars and heavy

dragoons came charging up at him, and he shouted in wild despair:

"'A horse! a horse! My kingdom for a horse!'

"At this moment two of the enemy's riflemen seized him by his wooden

cloak, and the king of the mice went rushing up to him, squeaking in

triumph out of all his seven throats.

"Marie could contain herself no longer. 'Oh! my poor Nutcracker!' she

sobbed, took her left shoe off, without very distinctly knowing what

she was about, and threw it as hard as she could into the thick of the

enemy, straight at their king.

"Instantly everything vanished and disappeared. All was silence.

Nothing to be seen. But Marie felt a more stinging pain than before in

her left arm, and fell on the floor insensible.

"THE INVALID.

"When Marie awoke from a death-like sleep she was lying in her little

bed; and the sun was shining brightly in at the window, which was all

covered with frost-flowers. There was a stranger gentleman sitting

beside her, whom she recognized as Dr. Wendelstern. 'She's awake,' he

said softly, and her mother came and looked at her very scrutinizingly

and anxiously.

"'Oh, mother!' whispered Marie, 'are all those horrid mice gone away,

and is Nutcracker quite safe?'

"'Don't talk such nonsense, Marie,' answered her mother. 'What have the

mice to do with Nutcracker? You're a very naughty girl, and have caused

us all a great deal of anxiety. See what comes of children not doing as

they're told! You were playing with your toys so late last night that

you fell asleep. I don't know whether or not some mouse jumped out and

frightened you, though there are no mice here, generally. But, at all

events, you broke a pane of the glass cupboard with your elbow, and cut

your arm so bally that Dr. Wendelstern (who has just taken a number of

pieces of the glass out of your arm) thinks that if it had been only a

little higher up you might have had a stiff arm for life, or even have

bled to death. Thank Heaven, I awoke about twelve o'clock and missed

you; and I found you lying insensible in front of the glass cupboard,

bleeding frightfully, with a number of Fritz's lead soldiers scattered

round you, and other toys, broken motto-figures, and gingerbread men;

and Nutcracker was lying on your bleeding arm, with your left shoe not

far off.'

"Oh, mother, mother,' said Marie, 'these were the remains of the

tremendous battle between the toys and the mice; and what frightened me

so terribly was that the mice were going to take Nutcracker (who was

the commander-in-chief of the toy army) a prisoner. Then I threw my

shoe in among the mice, and after that I know nothing more that

happened.'

"Dr. Wendelstern gave a significant look at the mother, who said very

gently to Marie:

"'Never mind, dear, keep yourself quiet. The mice are all gone away,

and Nutcracker's in the cupboard, quite safe and sound.'

"Here Marie's father came in, and had a long consultation with Dr.

Wendelstern. Then he felt Marie's pulse, and she heard them talking

about 'wound-fever.' She had to stay in bed, and take medicine, for

some days, although she didn't feel at all ill, except that her arm was

rather stiff and painful. She knew Nutcracker had got safe out of the

battle, and she seemed to remember, as if in a dream, that he had said,

quite distinctly, in a very melancholy tone:

"'Marie! dearest lady! I am most deeply indebted to you. But it is in

your power to do even more for me still.'

"She thought and thought what this could possibly be; but in vain; she

couldn't make it out. She wasn't able to play on account of her arm;

and when she tried to read, or look through the picture-books,

everything wavered before her eyes so strangely that she was obliged to

stop. So that the days seemed very long to her, and she could scarcely

pass the time till evening, when her mother came and sat at her

bedside, telling and reading her all sorts of nice stories. She had

just finished telling her the story of Prince Fakardin, when the door

opened and in came Godpapa Drosselmeier, saying:

"'I've come to see with my own eyes how Marie's getting on.'

"When Marie saw Godpapa Drosselmeier in his little yellow coat, the

scene of the night when Nutcracker lost the battle with the mice came

so vividly back to her that she couldn't help crying out:

"'Oh! Godpapa Drosselmeier, how nasty you were! I saw you quite well

when you were sitting on the clock, covering it all over with your

wings, to prevent it from striking and frightening the mice. I heard

you quite well when you called the mouse-king. Why didn't you help

Nutcracker? Why didn't you help _me_, you nasty godpapa? It's nobody's

fault but yours that I'm lying here with a bad arm.'

"Her mother, in much alarm, asked what she meant. But Drosselmeier

began making extraordinary faces, and said, in a snarling voice, like a

sort of chant in monotone:

"'Pendulums could only rattle--couldn't tick, ne'er a click; all the

clockies stopped their ticking: no more clicking; then they all struck

loud "cling-clang." Dollies! Don't your heads downhang! Hink and hank,

and honk and hank. Doll-girls! don't your heads downhang! Cling and

ring! The battle's over--Nutcracker all safe in clover. Comes the owl,

on downy wing--Scares away the mouses' king. Pak and pik and pik and

pook--clocks, bim-boom--grr-grr. Pendulums must click again. Tick and

tack, grr and brr, prr and purr.'

"Marie fixed wide eyes of terror upon Godpapa Drosselmeier, because he

was looking quite different, and far more horrid, than usual, and was

jerking his right arm backwards and forwards as if he were some puppet

moved by a handle. She was beginning to grow terribly frightened at him

when her mother came in, and Fritz (who had arrived in the meantime)

laughed heartily, crying, 'Why, godpapa, you _are_ going on funnily!

You're just like my old Jumping Jack that I threw away last month.'

"But the mother looked very grave, and said, 'This is a most

extraordinary way of going on, Mr. Drosselmeier. What can you mean by

it?'

"'My goodness!' said Drosselmeier, laughing, 'did you never hear my

nice Watchmaker's Song? I always sing it to little invalids like

Marie.' Then he hastened to sit down beside Marie's bed, and said

to her, 'Don't be vexed with me because I didn't gouge out all the

mouse-king's fourteen eyes. That couldn't be managed exactly; but, to

make up for it, here's something which I know will please you greatly.'

"He dived into one of his pockets, and what he slowly, slowly brought

out of it was--Nutcracker! whose teeth he had put in again quite

firmly, and set his broken jaw completely to rights. Marie shouted for

joy, and her mother laughed and said, 'Now you see for yourself how

nice Godpapa Drosselmeier is to Nutcracker.'

"'But you must admit, Marie,' said her godpapa, 'that Nutcracker is far

from being what you might call a handsome fellow, and you can't say he

has a pretty face. If you like I'll tell you how it was that the

ugliness came into his family, and has been handed down in it from one

generation to another. Did ever you hear about the Princess Pirlipat,

the witch Mouseyrinks, and the clever Clockmaker?'

"I say, Godpapa Drosselmeier,' interrupted Fritz at this juncture,

'you've put Nutcracker's teeth in again all right, and his jaw isn't

wobbly as it was; but what's become of his sword? Why haven't you given

him a sword?'

"Oh,' cried Drosselmeier, annoyed, 'you must always be bothering and

finding fault with something or other, boy. What have I to do with

Nutcracker's sword? I've put his mouth to rights for him; he must look

out for a sword for himself.'

"Yes, yes,' said Fritz, 'so he must, of course, if he's a right sort of

fellow.'

"'So tell me, Marie,' continued Drosselmeier, 'if you know the story of

Princess Pirlipat?'

"'Oh no,' said Marie. 'Tell it me, please--do tell it me!'

"'I hope it won't be as strange and terrible as your stories generally

are,' said her mother.

"'Oh no, nothing of the kind,' said Drosselmeier. 'On the contrary,

it's quite a funny story which I'm going to have the honour of telling

this time.'

"'Go on then--do tell it to us,' cried the children; and Drosselmeier

commenced as follows:--

"THE STORY OF THE HARD NUT.

"Pirlipat's mother was a king's wife, so that, of course, she was a

queen; and Pirlipat herself was a princess by birth as soon as ever she

was born. The king was quite beside himself with joy over his beautiful

little daughter as she lay in her cradle, and he danced round and round

upon one leg, crying again and again,

"'"Hurrah! hurrah! hip, hip, hurrah! Did anybody ever see anything so

lovely as my little Pirlipat?"

"'And all the ministers of state, and the generals, the presidents, and

the officers of the staff, danced about on one leg, as the king did,

and cried as loud as they could, "No, no--never!"

"Indeed, there was no denying that a lovelier baby than Princess

Pirlipat was never born since the world began. Her little face looked

as if it were woven of the most delicate white and rose-coloured silk;

her eyes were of sparkling azure, and her hair all in little curls like

threads of gold. Moreover, she had come into the world with two rows of

little pearly teeth, with which, two hours after her birth, she bit the

Lord High Chancellor in the fingers, when he was making a careful

examination of her features, so that he cried, "Oh! Gemini!" quite

loud.

"'There are persons who assert that "Oh Lord" was the expression he

employed, and opinions are still considerably divided on this point. At

all events, she bit him in the fingers; and the realm learned, with

much gratification, that both intelligence and discrimination dwelt

within her angelical little frame.

"'All was joy and gladness, as I have said, save that the queen was

very anxious and uneasy, nobody could tell why. One remarkable

circumstance was, that she had Pirlipat's cradle most scrupulously

guarded. Not only were there lifeguardsmen always at the doors of

the nursery, but--over and above the two head nurses close to the

cradle--there had always to be six other nurses all round the room at

night. And what seemed rather a funny thing, which nobody could

understand, was that each of these six nurses had always to have a cat

in her lap, and to keep on stroking it all night long, so that it might

never stop purring.

"'It is impossible that you, my reader, should know the reason of all

these precautions; but I do, and shall proceed to tell you at once.

"'Once upon a time, many great kings and very grand princes were

assembled at Pirlipat's father's court, and very great doings were

toward. Tournaments, theatricals, and state balls were going on on the

grandest scale, and the king, to show that he had no lack of gold and

silver, made up his mind to make a good hole in the crown revenues

for once, and launch out regardless of expense. Wherefore (having

previously ascertained, privately, from the state head master

cook that the court astronomer had indicated a propitious hour for

pork-butching), he resolved to give a grand pudding-and-sausage

banquet. He jumped into a state carriage, and personally invited all

the kings and the princes--to a basin of soup, merely--that he might

enjoy their astonishment at the magnificence of the entertainment. Then

he said to the queen, very graciously:

"'"My darling, _you_ know exactly how I like my puddings and sausages!"

"The queen quite understood what this meant. It meant that she should

undertake the important duty of making the puddings and the sausages

herself, which was a thing she had done on one or two previous

occasions. So the chancellor of the exchequer was ordered to issue out

of store the great golden sausage-kettle, and the silver _casseroles_.

A great fire of sandal-wood was kindled, the queen put on her damask

kitchen apron, and soon the most delicious aroma of pudding-broth rose

steaming out of the kettle. This sweet smell penetrated into the very

council chamber. The king could not control himself.

"'"Excuse me for a few minutes, my lords and gentlemen," he cried,

rushed to the kitchen, embraced the queen, stirred in the kettle a

little with his golden sceptre, and then went back, easier in his mind,

to the council chamber.

"'The important juncture had now arrived when the fat had to be

cut up into little square pieces, and browned on silver spits. The

ladies-in-waiting retired, because the queen, from motives of love and

duty to her royal consort, thought it proper to perform this important

task in solitude. But when the fat began to brown, a delicate little

whispering voice made itself audible, saying, "Give me some of that,

sister! I want some of it, too; I am a queen as well as yourself; give

me some."

"'The queen knew well who was speaking. It was Dame Mouseyrinks, who

had been established in the palace for many years. She claimed

relationship to the royal family, and she was queen of the realm of

Mousolia herself, and lived with a considerable retinue of her own

under the kitchen hearth. The queen was a kind-hearted, benevolent

woman; and, although she didn't exactly care to recognize Dame

Mouseyrinks as a sister and a queen, she was willing, at this festive

season, to spare her the tit-bits she had a mind to. So she said, "Come

out, then, Dame Mouseyrinks; of course you shall taste my browned fat."

"'So Dame Mouseyrinks came running out as fast as she could, held up

her pretty little paws, and took morsel after morsel of the browned fat

as the queen held them out to her. But then all Dame Mouseyrink's

uncles, and her cousins, and her aunts, came jumping out too; and her

seven sons (who were terrible ne'er-do-weels) into the bargain; and

they all set-to at the browned fat, and the queen was too frightened to

keep them at bay. Most fortunately the mistress of the robes came in,

and drove these importunate visitors away, so that a little of the

browned fat was left; and this, when the court mathematician (an

ex-senior wrangler of his university) was called in (which he had to

be, on purpose), it was found possible, by means of skilfully devised

apparatus provided with special micrometer screws, and so forth, to

apportion and distribute amongst the whole of the sausages, &c., under

construction.

"'The kettledrums and the trumpets summoned all the great princes and

potentates to the feast. They assembled in their robes of state; some

of them on white palfreys, some in crystal coaches. The king received

them with much gracious ceremony, and took his seat at the head of the

table, with his crown on, and his sceptre in his hand. Even during the

serving of the white pudding course, it was observed that he turned

pale, and raised his eyes to heaven; sighs heaved his bosom; some

terrible inward pain was clearly raging within him. But when the

black-puddings were handed round, he fell back in his seat, loudly

sobbing and groaning.

"'Every one rose from the table, and the court physician tried in vain

to feel his pulse. Ultimately, after the administration of most

powerful remedies--burnt feathers, and the like--his majesty seemed to

recover his senses to some extent, and stammered, scarce audibly, the

words: "Too little fat!"

"'The queen cast herself down at his feet in despair, and cried, in a

voice broken by sobs, "Oh, my poor unfortunate royal consort! Ah, what

tortures you are doomed to endure! But see the culprit here at your

feet! Punish her severely! Alas! Dame Mouseyrinks, her uncles, her

seven sons, her cousins and her aunts, came and ate up nearly all the

fat--and----

"Here the queen fell back insensible.

"'But the king jumped up, all anger, and cried in a terrible voice,

"Mistress of the robes, what is the meaning of this?"

"The mistress of the robes told all she knew, and the king resolved to

take revenge on Dame Mouseyrinks and her family for eating up the fat

which ought to have been in the sausages. The privy council was

summoned, and it was resolved that Dame Mouseyrinks should be tried for

her life, and all her property confiscated. But as his majesty was of

opinion that she might go on consuming the fat, which was his

appanage, the whole matter was referred to the court Clockmaker and

Arcanist--whose name was the same as mine--Christian Elias

Drosselmeier, and he undertook to expel Dame Mouseyrinks and all her

relations from the palace precincts forever, by means of a certain

politico-diplomatic procedure. He invented certain ingenious little

machines, into which pieces of browned fat were inserted; and he placed

these machines down all about the dwelling of Dame Mouseyrinks. Now she

herself was much too knowing not to see through Drosselmeier's

artifice; but all her remonstrances and warnings to her relations were

unavailing. Enticed by the fragrant odour of the browned fat, all her

seven sons, and a great many of her uncles, her cousins and her aunts,

walked into Drosselmeier's little machines, and were immediately taken

prisoners by the fall of a small grating; after which they met with a

shameful death in the kitchen.

"Dame Mouseyrinks left this scene of horror with her small following.

Rage and despair filled her breast. The court rejoiced greatly; the

queen was very anxious, because she knew Dame Mouseyrinks' character,

and knew well that she would never allow the death of her sons and

other relatives to go unavenged. And, in fact, one day when the queen

was cooking a _fricassee_ of sheep's lights for the king (a dish to

which he was exceedingly partial), Dame Mouseyrinks suddenly made her

appearance, and said: "My sons and my uncles, my cousins and my aunts,

are now no more. Have a care, lady, lest the queen of the mice bites

your little princess in two! Have a care!"

"With which she vanished, and was no more seen. But the queen was so

frightened that she dropped the _fricassee_ into the fire; so this was

the second time Dame Mouseyrinks spoiled one of the king's favourite

dishes, at which he was very irate.

"'But this is enough for to-night; we'll go on with the rest of it

another time.'

"Sorely as Marie--who had ideas of her own about this story--begged

Godpapa Drosselmeier to go on with it, he would not be persuaded, but

jumped up, saying, 'Too much at a time wouldn't be good for you; the

rest to-morrow.'

"Just as Drosselmeier was going out of the door, Fritz said: I say,

Godpapa Drosselmeier, was it really you who invented mousetraps?'

"'How can you ask such silly questions?' cried his mother. But

Drosselmeier laughed oddly, and said: 'Well, you know I'm a clever

clockmaker. Mousetraps had to be invented some time or other.'

"And now you know, children,' said Godpapa Drosselmeier the next

evening, 'why it was the queen took such precautions about her little

Pirlipat. Had she not always the fear before her eyes of Dame

Mouseyrinks coming back and carrying out her threat of biting the

princess to death? Drosselmeier's ingenious machines were of no avail

against the clever, crafty Dame Mouseyrinks, and nobody save the court

astronomer, who was also state astrologer and reader of the stars, knew

that the family of the Cat Purr had the power to keep her at bay. This

was the reason why each of the lady nurses was obliged to keep one of

the sons of that family (each of whom was given the honorary rank and

title of "privy councillor of legation") in her lap, and render his

onerous duty less irksome by gently scratching his back.

"One night, just after midnight, one of the chief nurses stationed

close to the cradle, woke suddenly from a profound sleep. Everything

lay buried in slumber. Not a purr to be heard--deep, deathlike silence,

so that the death-watch ticking in the wainscot sounded quite loud.

What were the feelings of this principal nurse when she saw, close

beside her, a great, hideous mouse, standing on its hind legs, with its

horrid head laid on the princess's face! She sprang up with a scream of

terror. Everybody awoke; but then Dame Mouseyrinks (for she was the

great big mouse in Pirlipat's cradle) ran quickly away into the corner

of the room. The privy councillors of legation dashed after her, but

too late! She was off and away through a chink in the floor. The noise

awoke Pirlipat, who cried terribly. "Heaven be thanked, she is still

alive!" cried all the nurses; but what was their horror when they

looked at Pirlipat, and saw what the beautiful, delicate little thing

had turned into. An enormous bloated head (instead of the pretty little

golden-haired one), at the top of a diminutive, crumpled-up body, and

green, wooden-looking eyes staring, where the lovely azure-blue pair

had been, whilst her mouth had stretched across from the one ear to the

other.

"'Of course the queen nearly died of weeping and loud lamentation, and

the walls of the king's study had all to be hung with padded arras,

because he kept on banging his head against them, crying:

"'"Oh! wretched king that I am! Oh, wretched king that I am!"

"'Of course he might have seen, then, that it would have been much

better to eat his puddings with no fat in them at all, and let Dame

Mouseyrinks and her folk stay on under the hearthstone. But Pirlipat's

royal father thought not of that. What he did was to lay all the blame

on the court Clockmaker and Arcanist, Christian Elias Drosselmeier, of

Nuernberg. Wherefore he promulgated a sapient edict to the effect

that said Drosselmeier should, within the space of four weeks,

restore Princess Pirlipat to her pristine condition,--or, at least,

indicate an unmistakable and reliable process whereby that might be

accomplished,--or else suffer a shameful death by the axe of the common

headsman.

"'Drosselmeier was not a little alarmed; but he soon began to place

confidence in his art, and in his luck; so he proceeded to execute the

first operation which seemed to him to be expedient. He took Princess

Pirlipat very carefully to pieces, screwed off her hands and her feet,

and examined her interior structure. Unfortunately, he found that the

bigger she got the more deformed she would be, so that he didn't see

what was to be done at all. He put her carefully together again,

and sank down beside her cradle--which he wasn't allowed to go away

from--in the deepest dejection.

"'The fourth week had come, and Wednesday of the fourth week, when the

king came in, with eyes gleaming with anger, made threatening gestures

with his sceptre, and cried:

"'"Christian Elias Drosselmeier, restore the princess, or prepare for

death!"

"'Drosselmeier began to weep bitterly. The little princess kept on

cracking nuts, an occupation which seemed to afford her much quiet

satisfaction. For the first time the Arcanist was struck by Pirlipat's

remarkable appetite for nuts, and the circumstance that she had been

born with teeth. And the fact had been that immediately after her

transformation she had begun to cry, and she had gone on crying till by

chance she got hold of a nut. She at once cracked it, and ate the

kernel, after which she was quite quiet. From that time her nurses

found that nothing would do but to go on giving her nuts.

"'"Oh, holy instinct of nature--eternal, mysterious, inscrutable

Interdependence of Things!'" cried Drosselmeier, "thou pointest out to

me the door of the secret. I will knock, and it shall be opened unto

me."

"'He at once begged for an interview with the Court Astronomer, and was

conducted to him closely guarded. They embraced, with many tears, for

they were great friends, and then retired into a private closet, where

they referred to many books treating of sympathies, antipathies, and

other mysterious subjects. Night came on. The Court Astronomer

consulted the stars, and, with the assistance of Drosselmeier (himself

an adept in astrology), drew the princess's horoscope. This was an

exceedingly difficult operation, for the lines kept getting more and

more entangled and confused for ever so long. But at last--oh what

joy!--it lay plain before them that all the princess had to do to be

delivered from the enchantment which made her so hideous, and get back

her former beauty, was to eat the sweet kernel of the nut Crackatook.

"'Now this nut Crackatook had a shell so hard that you might have fired

a forty-eight pounder at it without producing the slightest effect on

it. Moreover, it was essential that this nut should be cracked, in the

princess's presence, by the teeth of a man whose beard had never known

a razor, and who had never had on boots. This man had to hand the

kernel to her with his eyes closed, and he might not open them till he

had made seven steps backwards without a stumble.

"'Drosselmeier and the astronomer had been at work on this problem

uninterruptedly for three days and three nights; and on the Saturday

the king was sitting at dinner, when Drosselmeier--who was to have been

beheaded on the Sunday morning--burst joyfully in to announce that he

had found out what had to be done to restore Princess Pirlipat to her

pristine beauty. The king embraced him in a burst of rapture, and

promised him a diamond sword, four decorations, and two Sunday suits.

"'"Set to work immediately after dinner," the monarch cried: adding,

kindly, "Take care, dear Arcanist, that the young unshaven gentleman in

shoes, with the nut Crackatook all ready in his hand, is on the spot;

and be sure that he touches no liquor beforehand, so that he mayn't

trip up when he makes his seven backward steps like a crab. He can get

as drunk as a lord afterwards, if he likes."

"'Drosselmeier was dismayed at this utterance of the king's, and

stammered out, not without trembling and hesitation, that, though the

remedy was discovered, both the nut Crackatook and the young gentleman

who was to crack it had still to be searched for, and that it was

matter of doubt whether they ever would be got hold of at all. The

king, greatly incensed, whirled his sceptre round his crowned head, and

shouted, in the voice of a lion:

"'"Very well, then you must be beheaded!"

"'It was exceedingly fortunate for the wretched Drosselmeier that the

king had thoroughly enjoyed his dinner that day, and was consequently

in an admirable temper, and disposed to listen to the sensible advice

which the queen, who was very sorry for Drosselmeier, did not spare to

give him. Drosselmeier took heart, and represented that he really had

fulfilled the conditions, and discovered the necessary measures, and

had gained his life, consequently. The king said this was all bosh and

nonsense; but at length, after two or three glasses of liqueurs,

decreed that Drosselmeier and the astronomer should start off

immediately, and not come back without the nut Crackatook in their

pockets. The man who was to crack it (by the queen's suggestion) might

be heard of by means of advertisements in the local and foreign

newspapers and gazettes.'

"Godpapa Drosselmeier interrupted his story at this point, and promised

to finish it on the following evening.

"Next evening, as soon as the lights were brought, Godpapa Drosselmeier

duly arrived, and went on with his story as follows:--

"'Drosselmeier and the court astronomer had been journeying for fifteen

long years without finding the slightest trace of the nut Crackatook. I

might go on for more than four weeks telling you where all they had

been, and what extraordinary things they had seen. I shall not do so,

however, but merely mention that Drosselmeier, in his profound

discouragement, at last began to feel a most powerful longing to see

his dear native town of Nuernberg once again. And he was more powerfully

moved by this longing than usual one day, when he happened to be

smoking a pipe of kanaster with his friend in the middle of a great

forest in Asia, and he cried:

"'"Oh, Nuernberg, Nuernberg! dear native town--he who still knows thee

not, place of renown--though far he has travelled, and great cities

seen--as London, and Paris, and Peterwardeen--knoweth not what it is

happy to be--still must his longing heart languish for thee--for thee,

O Nuernberg, exquisite town--where the houses have windows both upstairs

and down!"

"'As Drosselmeier lamented thus dolefully, the astronomer, seized with

compassionate sympathy, began to weep and howl so terribly that he was

heard throughout the length and breadth of Asia. But he collected

himself again, wiped the tears from his eyes, and said:

"'"After all, dearest colleague, why should we sit and weep and howl

here? Why not come to Nuernberg? Does it matter a brass farthing, after

all, where and how we search for this horrible nut Crackatook?"

"'"That's true, too," answered Drosselmeier, consoled. They both got up

immediately, knocked the ashes out of their pipes, started off, and

travelled straight on without stopping, from that forest right in the

centre of Asia till they came to Nuernberg. As soon as they got there,

Drosselmeier went straight to his cousin the toy maker and doll-carver,

and gilder and varnisher, whom he had not seen for a great many long

years. To him he told all the tale of Princess Pirlipat, Dame

Mouseyrinks, and the nut Crackatook, so that he clapped his hands

repeatedly, and cried in amazement:

"'"Dear me, cousin, these things are really wonderful--very wonderful,

indeed!"

"'Drosselmeier told him, further, some of the adventures he had met

with on his long journey--how he had spent two years at the court of

the King of Dates; how the Prince of Almonds had expelled him with

ignominy from his territory; how he had applied in vain to the Natural

History Society at Squirreltown--in short, how he had been everywhere

utterly unsuccessful in discovering the faintest trace of the nut

Crackatook. During this narrative, Christoph Zacharias had kept

frequently snapping his fingers, twisting himself round on one foot,

smacking with his tongue, etc.; then he cried:

"'"Ee--aye--oh!--that really would be the very deuce and all."

"'At last he threw his hat and wig in the air, warmly embraced his

cousin, and cried:

"'"Cousin, cousin, you're a made man--a made man you are--for either I

am much deceived, or I have got the nut Crackatook myself!"

"'He immediately produced a little cardboard box, out of which he took

a gilded nut of medium size.

"'"Look there!" he said, showing this nut to his cousin; "the state of

matters as regards this nut is this. Several years ago, at Christmas

time, a stranger man came here with a sack of nuts, which he offered

for sale. Just in front of my shop he got into a quarrel, and put the

sack down the better to defend himself from the nut-sellers of the

place, who attacked him. Just then a heavily-loaded waggon drove over

the sack, and all the nuts were smashed but one. The stranger man, with

an odd smile, offered to sell me this nut for a twenty-kreuzer piece of

the year 1796. This struck me as strange. I found just such a coin in

my pocket, so I bought the nut, and I gilt it over, though I didn't

know why I took the trouble quite, or should have given so much for

it."

"'All question as to its being really the long-sought nut Crackatook

was dispelled when the Court Astronomer carefully scraped away the

gilding, and found the word "Crackatook" graven on the shell in Chinese

characters.

"The joy of the exiles was great, as you may imagine; and the cousin

was even happier, for Drosselmeier assured him that _he_ was a made man

too, as he was sure of a good pension, and all the gold leaf he would

want for the rest of his life for his gilding, free, gratis, for

nothing.

"'The Arcanist and the Astronomer had both got on their nightcaps, and

were going to turn into bed, when the astronomer said:

"'"I tell you what it is, dear colleague, one piece of good fortune

never comes alone. I feel convinced that we've not only found

the nut, but the young gentleman who is to crack it, and hand the

beauty-restoring kernel to the princess, into the bargain. I mean none

other than your cousin's son here, and I don't intend to close an eye

this night till I've drawn that youngster's horoscope."

"'With which he threw away his nightcap, and at once set to work to

consult the stars. The cousin's son was a nice-looking, well-grown

young fellow, had never been shaved, and had never worn boots. True, he

had been a Jumping Jack for a Christmas or two in his earlier days, but

there was scarcely any trace of this discoverable about him, his

appearance had been so altered by his father's care. He had appeared

last Christmas in a beautiful red coat with gold trimmings, a sword by

his side, his hat under his arm, and a fine wig with a pigtail. Thus

apparelled, he stood in his father's shop exceeding lovely to behold,

and from his native _galanterie_ he occupied himself in cracking nuts

for the young ladies, who called him "the handsome nutcracker."

"'Next morning the Astronomer fell, with much emotion, into the

Arcanist's arms, crying:

"'"This is the very man!--we have got him!--he is found! Only, dearest

colleague, two things we must keep carefully in view. In the first

place, we must construct a most substantial pigtail for this precious

nephew of yours, which shall be connected with his lower jaw in such

sort that it shall be capable of communicating a very powerful pull to

it. And next, when we get back to the Residenz, we must carefully

conceal the fact that we have brought the young gentleman who is to

shiver the nut back with us. He must not make his appearance for a

considerable time after us. I read in the horoscope that if two or

three others bite at the nut unsuccessfully to begin with, the king

will promise the man who breaks it,--and, as a consequence, restores

the princess her good looks,--the princess's hand and the succession to

the crown."

"The doll-maker cousin was immensely delighted with the idea of his

son's marrying Princess Pirlipat, and being a prince and king, so he

gave him wholly over to the envoys to do what they liked with him. The

pigtail which Drosselmeier attached to him proved to be a very powerful

and efficient instrument, as he exemplified by cracking the hardest of

peach-stones with the utmost ease.

"'Drosselmeier and the Astronomer, having at once sent the news to the

Residenz of the discovery of the nut Crackatook, the necessary

advertisements were at once put in the newspapers, and, by the time

that our travellers got there, several nice young gentlemen, among whom

there were princes even, had arrived, having sufficient confidence in

their teeth to try to disenchant the princess. The ambassadors were

horrified when they saw poor Pirlipat again. The diminutive body with

tiny hands and feet was not big enough to support the great shapeless

head. The hideousness of the face was enhanced by a beard like white

cotton, which had grown about the mouth and chin. Everything had turned

out as the court astronomer had read it in the horoscope. One milksop

in shoes after another bit his teeth and his jaws into agonies over the

nut, without doing the princess the slightest good in the world. And

then, when he was carried out on the verge of insensibility by the

dentists who were in attendance on purpose, he would sigh:

"'"Ah dear, that was a hard nut."

"'Now when the king, in the anguish of his soul, had promised to him

who should disenchant the princess his daughter and the kingdom, the

charming, gentle young Drosselmeier made his appearance, and begged to

be allowed to make an attempt. None of the previous ones had pleased

the princess so much. She pressed her little hands to her heart and

sighed:

"'"Ah, I hope it will be he who will crack the nut, and be my husband."

"'When he had politely saluted the king, the queen, and the Princess

Pirlipat, he received the nut Crackatook from the hands of the Clerk of

the Closet, put it between his teeth, made a strong effort with his

head, and--crack--crack--the shell was shattered into a number of

pieces. He neatly cleared the kernel from the pieces of husk which were

sticking to it, and, making a leg, presented it courteously to the

princess, after which he closed his eyes and began his backward steps.

The princess swallowed the kernel, and--oh marvel!--the monstrosity

vanished, and in its place there stood a wonderfully beautiful lady,

with a face which seemed woven of delicate lily-white and rose-red

silk, eyes of sparkling azure, and hair all in little curls like

threads of gold.

"'Trumpets and kettledrums mingled in the loud rejoicings of the

populace. The king and all his court danced about on one leg, as they

had done at Pirlipat's birth, and the queen had to be treated with Eau

de Cologne, having fallen into a fainting fit from joy and delight. All

this tremendous tumult interfered not a little with young

Drosselmeier's self-possession, for he still had to make his seven

backward steps. But he collected himself as best he could, and was just

stretching out his right foot to make his seventh step, when up came

Dame Mouseyrinks through the floor, making a horrible weaking and

squeaking, so that Drosselmeier, as he was putting his foot down, trod

upon her, and stumbled so that he almost fell. Oh misery!--all in an

instant he was transmogrified, just as the princess had been before:

his body all shrivelled up, and could scarcely support the great

shapeless head with enormous projecting eyes, and the wide gaping

mouth. In the place where his pigtail used to be a scanty wooden cloak

hung down, controlling the movements of his nether jaw.

"'The clockmaker and the astronomer were wild with terror and

consternation, but they saw that Dame Mouseyrinks was wallowing in her

gore on the floor. Her wickedness had not escaped punishment, for young

Drosselmeier had squashed her so in the throat with the sharp point of

his shoe that she was mortally hurt.

"'But as Dame Mouseyrinks lay in her death agony she queaked and

cheeped in a lamentable style, and cried:

"'"Oh, Crackatook, thou nut so hard!--Oh, fate, which none may

disregard!--Hee hee, pee pee, woe's me, I cry!--since I through that

hard nut must die.--But, brave young Nutcracker, I see--you soon must

follow after me.--My sweet young son, with sevenfold crown--will soon

bring Master Cracker down.--His mother's death he will repay--so,

Nutcracker, beware that day!--Oh, life most sweet, I feebly cry,--I

leave you now, for I must die. Queak!"

"'With this cry died Dame Mouseyrinks, and her body was carried out by

the Court Stovelighter. Meantime nobody had been troubling themselves

about young Drosselmeier. But the princess reminded the king of his

promise, and he at once directed that the young hero should be

conducted to his presence. But when the poor wretch came forward in his

transmogrified condition the princess put both her hands to her face,

and cried:

"'"Oh please take away that horrid Nutcracker!"

"'So that the Lord Chamberlain seized him immediately by his little

shoulders, and shied him out at the door. The king, furious at the idea

of a nutcracker being brought before him as a son-in-law, laid all the

blame upon the clockmaker and the astronomer, and ordered them both to

be banished for ever.

"'The horoscope which the astronomer had drawn in Nuernberg had said

nothing about this; but that didn't hinder him from taking some fresh

observations. And the stars told him that young Drosselmeier would

conduct himself so admirably in his new condition that he would yet be

a prince and a king, in spite of his transmogrification; but also that

his deformity would only disappear after the son of Dame Mouseyrinks,

the seven-headed king of the mice (whom she had born after the death of

her original seven sons) should perish by his hand, and a lady should

fall in love with him notwithstanding his deformity.

"'That is the story of the hard nut, children, and now you know why

people so often use the expression "that was a hard nut," and why

Nutcrackers are so ugly.'

"Thus did Godpapa Drosselmeier finish his tale. Marie thought the

Princess Pirlipat was a nasty ungrateful thing. Fritz, on the other

hand, was of opinion that if Nutcracker had been a proper sort of

fellow he would soon have settled the mouse king's hash, and got his

good looks back again.

"UNCLE AND NEPHEW.

"Should any of my respected readers or listeners ever have happened to

be cut by glass they will know what an exceedingly nasty thing it is,

and how long it takes to get well. Marie was obliged to stay in bed a

whole week, because she felt so terribly giddy whenever she tried

to stand up; but at last she was quite well again, and able to

jump about as of old. Things in the glass cupboard looked very fine

indeed--everything new and shiny, trees and flowers and houses--toys of

every kind. Above all, Marie found her dear Nutcracker again, smiling

at her in the second shelf, with his teeth all sound and right. As she

looked at this pet of hers with much fondness, it suddenly struck her

that all Godpapa Drosselmeier's story had been about Nutcracker, and

his family feud with Dame Mouseyrinks and her people. And now she knew

that her Nutcracker was none other than young Mr. Drosselmeier, of

Nuernberg, Godpapa Drosselmeier's delightful nephew, unfortunately under

the spells of Dame Mouseyrinks. For whilst the story was being told,

Marie couldn't doubt for a moment that the clever clockmaker at

Pirlipat's father's court was Godpapa Drosselmeier himself.

"But why didn't your uncle help you? Why didn't he help you?' Marie

cried, sorrowfully, as she felt more and more clearly every moment that

in the battle, which she had witnessed, the question in dispute had

been no less a matter than Nutcracker's crown and kingdom. Wern't all

the other toys his subjects? And wasn't it clear that the astronomer's

prophecy that he was to be rightful King of Toyland had come true?'

"Whilst the clever Marie was weighing all these things in her mind, she

kept expecting that Nutcracker and his vassals would give some

indications of being alive, and make some movements as she looked at

them. This, however, was by no means the case. Everything in the

cupboard kept quite motionless and still. Marie thought this was

the effect of Dame Mouseyrinks's enchantments, and those of her

seven-headed son, which still were keeping up their power.

"'But,' she said, 'though you're not able to move, or to say the least

little word to me, dear Mr. Drosselmeier, I know you understand me, and

see how very well I wish you. Always reckon on my assistance when you

require it. At all events, I will ask your uncle to aid you with all

has great skill and talents, whenever there may be an opportunity.'

"Nutcracker still kept quiet and motionless. But Marie fancied that a

gentle sigh came breathing through the glass cupboard, which made its

panes ring in a wonderful, though all but imperceptible, manner--whilst

something like a little bell-toned voice seemed to sing:

"Marie fine, angel mine! I will be thine, if thou wilt be mine!'

"Although a sort of cold shiver ran through her at this, still it

caused her the keenest pleasure.

"Twilight came on. Marie's father came in with Godpapa Drosselmeier,

and presently Louise set out the tea-table, and the family took their

places round it, talking in the pleasantest and merriest manner about

all sorts of things. Marie had taken her little stool, and sat down at

her godpapa's feet in silence. When everybody happened to cease talking

at the same time, Marie looked her godpapa full in the face with her

great blue eyes, and said:

"'I know now, godpapa, that my Nutcracker is your nephew, young Mr.

Drosselmeier from Nuernberg. The prophecy has come true: he is a king

and a prince, just as your friend the astronomer said he would be. But

you know as well as I do that he is at war with Dame Mouseyrinks's

son--that horrid king of the mice. Why don't you help him?'

"Marie told the whole story of the battle, as she had witnessed it, and

was frequently interrupted by the loud laughter of her mother and

sister; but Fritz and Drosselmeier listened quite gravely.

"'Where in the name of goodness has the child got her head filled with

all that nonsense?' cried her father.

"'She has such a lively imagination, you see,' said her mother; 'she

dreamt it all when she was feverish with her arm.'

"'It is all nonsense,' cried Fritz, 'and it isn't true! my red hussars

are not such cowards as all that. If they were, do you suppose I should

command them?'

"But godpapa smiled strangely, and took little Marie on his knee,

speaking more gently to her than ever he had been known to do before.

"'More is given to you, Marie dear,' he said, 'than to me, or the

others. You are a born princess, like Pirlipat, and reign in a bright

beautiful country. But you still have much to suffer, if you mean to

befriend poor transformed Nutcracker; for the king of the mice lies in

wait for him at every turn. But I cannot help him; you, and you only,

can do that. So be faithful and true.'

"Neither Marie nor any of the others knew what Godpapa Drosselmeier

meant by these words. But they struck Dr. Stahlbaum--the father--as

being so strange that he felt Drosselmeier's pulse, and said:

"'There seems a good deal of congestion about the head, my dear sir.

I'll just write you a little prescription.'

"But Marie's mother shook her head meditatively, and said:

"'I have a strong idea what Mr. Drosselmeier means, though I can't

exactly put it in words.'

"VICTORY.

"It was not very long before Marie was awakened one bright moonlight

night by a curious noise, which came from one of the corners of her

room. There was a sound as of small stones being thrown, and rolled

here and there; and between whiles came a horrid cheeping and

squeaking.

"'Oh, dear me! here come these abominable mice again!' cried Marie, in

terror, and she would have awakened her mother. But the noise suddenly

ceased; and she could not move a muscle--for she saw the king of the

mice working himself out through a hole in the wall; and at last he

came into the room, ran about in it, and got on to the little table at

her bed-head with a great jump.

"Hee-hehee!' he cried; 'give me your sweetmeats! out with your cakes,

marchpane and sugar-stick, gingerbread cakes! Don't pause to argue! If

yield them you won't, I'll chew up Nutcracker! See if I don't!'

"As he cried out these terrible words he gnashed and chattered his

teeth most frightfully, and then made off again through the hole in the

wall. This frightened Marie so that she was quite pale in the morning,

and so upset that she scarcely could utter a word. A hundred times she

felt impelled to tell her mother or her sister, or at all events her

brother, what had happened. But she thought, 'of course none of them

would believe me. They would only laugh at me.'

"But she saw well enough that to succour Nutcracker she would have to

sacrifice all her sweet things; so she laid out all she had of them at

the bottom of the cupboard next evening.

"'I can't make out how the mice have got into the sitting-room,' said

her mother. 'This is something quite new. There never were any there

before. See, Marie, they've eaten up all your sweetmeats.'

"And so it was: the epicure mouse king hadn't found the marchpane

altogether to his taste, but had gnawed all round the edges of it, so

that what he had left of it had to be thrown into the ash-pit. Marie

never minded about her sweetmeats, being delighted to think that she

had saved Nutcracker by means of them. But what were her feelings when

next night there came a queaking again close by her ear. Alas! The king

of the mice was there again, with his eyes glaring worse than the night

before.

"Give me your sugar toys,' he cried; give them you must, or else I'll

chew Nutcracker up into dust!'

"Then he was gone again.

"Marie was very sorry. She had as beautiful a collection of sugar-toys

as ever a little girl could boast of. Not only had she a charming

little shepherd, with his shepherd looking after a flock of milk-white

sheep, with a nice dog jumping about them, but two postmen with letters

in their hands, and four couples of prettily dressed young gentlemen

and most beautifully dressed young ladies, swinging in a Russian swing.

Then there were two or three dancers, and behind them Farmer

Feldkuemmel and the Maid of Orleans. Marie didn't much care about

_them_; but back in the corner there was a little baby with red cheeks,

and this was Marie's darling. The tears came to her eyes.

"'Ah!' she cried, turning to Nutcracker, 'I really will do all I can to

help you. But it's very hard.'

"Nutcracker looked at her so piteously that she determined to sacrifice

everything--for she remembered the mouse king with all his seven mouths

wide open to swallow the poor young fellow; so that night she set down

all her sugar figures in front of the cupboard, as she had the

sweetmeats the night before. She kissed the shepherd, the shepherdess,

and the lambs; and at last she brought her best beloved of all, the

little red-cheeked baby from its corner, but did put it a little

further back than the rest. Farmer Feldkuemmel and the Maid of Orleans

had to stand in the front rank of all.

"'This is really getting too bad,' said Marie's mother the next

morning; 'some nasty mouse or other must have made a hole in the glass

cupboard, for poor Marie's sugar figures are all eaten and gnawed.'

Marie really could not restrain her tears. But she was soon able to

smile again; for she thought, 'What does it matter? Nutcracker is

safe.'

"In the evening Marie's mother was telling her father and Godpapa

Drosselmeier about the mischief which some mouse was doing in the

children's cupboard, and her father said:

"'It's a regular nuisance! What a pity it is that we can't get rid of

it. It's destroying all the poor child's things.'

"Fritz intervened, and remarked:

"The baker downstairs has a fine grey Councillor-of-Legation; I'll go

and get hold of him, and he'll soon put a stop to it, and bite the

mouse's head off, even if it's Dame Mouseyrinks herself, or her son,

the king of the mice.'

"'Oh, yes!' said his mother, laughing, 'and jump up on to the chairs

and tables, knock down the cups and glasses, and do ever so much

mischief besides.'

"'No, no!' answered Fritz; 'the baker's Councillor-of-Legation's a very

clever fellow. I wish I could walk about on the edge of the roof, as he

does.'

"'Don't let us have a nasty cat in the house in the night-time,' said

Louise, who hated cats.

"Fritz is quite right though,' said the mother; 'unless we set a trap.

Haven't we got such a thing in the house?'

"Godpapa Drosselmeier's the man to get us one,' said Fritz; 'it was he

who invented them, you know.' Everybody laughed. And when the mother

said they did not possess such a thing, Drosselmeier said he had

plenty; and he actually sent a very fine one round that day. When the

cook was browning the fat, Marie--with her head full of the marvels of

her godpapa's tale--called out to her:

"Ah, take care, Queen! Remember Dame Mouseyrinks and her people.' But

Fritz drew his sword, and cried, 'Let them come if they dare! I'll give

an account of them.' But everything about the hearth remained quiet and

undisturbed. As Drosselmeier was fixing the browned fat on a fine

thread, and setting the trap gently down in the glass cupboard, Fritz

cried:

"'Now, Godpapa Clockmaker, mind that the mouse king doesn't play you

some trick!'

"Ah, how did it fare with Marie that night? Something as cold as ice

went tripping about on her arm, and something rough and nasty laid

itself on her cheek, and cheeped and queaked in her ear. The horrible

mouse king came and sat on her shoulder, foamed a blood-red foam out of

all his seven mouths, and chattering and grinding his teeth, he hissed

into Marie's ear:

"'Hiss, hiss!--keep away--don't go in there--ware of that house--don't

you be caught--death to the mouse--hand out your picture-books--none of

your scornful looks!--Give me your dresses--also your laces--or, if you

don't, leave you I won't--Nutcracker I'll bite--drag him out of your

sight--his last hour is near--so tremble for fear!--Fee, fa, fo,

fum--his last hour is come!--Hee hee, pee pee--queak--queak!'

"Marie was overwhelmed with anguish and sorrow, and was looking quite

pale and upset when her mother said to her next morning:

"'This horrid mouse hasn't been caught. But never mind, dear, we'll

catch the nasty thing yet, never fear. If the traps won't do, Fritz

shall fetch the grey Councillor of Legation.'

"As soon as Marie was alone, she went up to the glass cupboard, and

said to Nutcracker, in a voice broken by sobs:

"'Ah, my dear, good Mr. Drosselmeier, what can I do for you, poor

unfortunate girl that I am! Even if I give that horrid king of the mice

all my picture-books, and my new dress which the Child Christ gave me

at Christmas as well, he's sure to go on asking for more; so I soon

shan't have anything more left, and he'll want to eat me! Oh, poor

thing that I am! What shall I do? What shall I do?'

"As she was thus crying and lamenting, she noticed that a great spot of

blood had been left, since the eventful night of the battle, upon

Nutcracker's neck. Since she had known that he was really young Mr.

Drosselmeier, her godpapa's nephew, she had given up carrying him in

her arms, and petting and kissing him; indeed, she felt a delicacy

about touching him at all. But now she took him carefully out of his

shelf, and began to wipe off this blood-spot with her handkerchief.

What were her feelings when she found that Nutcracker was growing

warmer and warmer in her hand, and beginning to move! She put him back

into the cupboard as fast as she could. His mouth began to wobble

backwards and forwards, and he began to whisper, with much difficulty:

"'Ah, dearest Miss Stahlbaum--most precious of friends! How deeply I am

indebted to you for everything--for _everything_! But don't, don't

sacrifice any of your picture-books or pretty dresses for me. Get me a

sword--a sword is what I want. If you get me that, I'll manage the

rest--though--he may----'

"There Nutcracker's speech died away, and his eyes, which had been

expressing the most sympathetic grief, grew staring and lifeless again.

"Marie felt no fear; she jumped for joy, rather, now that she knew how

to help Nutcracker without further painful sacrifices. But where on

earth was she to get hold of a sword for him? She resolved to take

counsel with Fritz; and that evening, when their father and mother had

gone out, and they two were sitting beside the glass cupboard, she told

him what had passed between her and Nutcracker with the king of the

mice, and what it was that was required to rescue Nutcracker.

"The thing which chiefly exercised Fritz's mind was Marie's statement

as to the unexemplary conduct of his red hussars in the great battle.

He asked her once more, most seriously, to assure him if it really was

the truth; and when she had repeated her statement, on her word of

honour, he advanced to the cupboard, and made his hussars a most

affecting address; and, as a punishment for their behaviour, he

solemnly took their plumes one by one out of their busbies, and

prohibited them from sounding the march of the hussars of the guard for

the space of a twelvemonth. When he had performed this duty, he turned

to Marie, and said:

"As far as the sword is concerned, I have it in my power to assist

Nutcracker. I placed an old Colonel of Cuirassiers on retirement on a

pension, no longer ago than yesterday, so that he has no further

occasion for his sabre, which is sharp.'

"This Colonel was settled, on his pension, in the back corner of the

third shelf. He was fetched out from thence, and his sabre--still a

bright and handsome silver weapon--taken off, and girt about

Nutcracker.

"Next night Marie could not close an eye for anxiety. About

midnight she fancied she heard a strange stirring and noise in the

sitting-room--a rustling and a clanging--and all at once came a shrill

'Queak!'

"'The king of the mice! The king of the mice!' she cried, and jumped

out of bed, all terror. Everything was silent; but soon there came a

gentle tapping at the door of her room, and a soft voice made itself

heard, saying:

"Please to open your door, dearest Miss Stahlbaum! Don't be in the

least degree alarmed; good, happy news!'

"It was Drosselmeier's voice--young Drosselmeier's, I mean. She threw

on her dressing-gown, and opened the door as quickly as possible. There

stood Nutcracker, with his sword, all covered with blood, in his right

hand, and a little wax taper in his left. When he saw Marie he knelt

down on one knee, and said:

"'It was you, and you only, dearest lady, who inspired me with knightly

valour, and steeled me with strength to do battle with the insolent

caitiff who dared to insult you. The treacherous king of the mice lies

vanquished and writhing in his gore! Deign, lady, to accept these

tokens of victory from the hand of him who is, till death, your true

and faithful knight.'

"With this Nutcracker took from his left arm the seven crowns of the

mouse king, which he had ranged upon it, and handed them to Marie, who

received them with the keenest pleasure. Nutcracker rose, and continued

as follows:

"Oh! my best beloved Miss Stahlbaum, if you would only take the trouble

to follow me for a few steps, what glorious and beautiful things I

could show you, at this supreme moment when I have overcome my

hereditary foe! Do--do come with me, dearest lady!'

"TOYLAND.

"I feel quite convinced, children, that none of you would have

hesitated for a moment to go with good, kind Nutcracker, who had always

shown himself to be such a charming person, and Marie was all the more

disposed to do as he asked her, because she knew what her just claims

on his gratitude were, and was sure that he would keep his word, and

show her all sorts of beautiful things. So she said:

"'I will go with you, dear Mr. Drosselmeier; but it mustn't be very

far, and it won't do to be very long, because, you know, I haven't had

any sleep yet.'

"'Then we will go by the shortest route,' said Nutcracker, 'although it

is, perhaps, rather the most difficult.'

"He went on in front, followed by Marie, till he stopped before the big

old wardrobe. Marie was surprised to see that, though it was generally

shut, the doors of it were now wide open, so that she could see her

father's travelling cloak of fox-fur hanging in the front. Nutcracker

clambered deftly up this cloak, by the edgings and trimmings of it, so

as to get hold of the big tassel which was fastened at the back of it

by a thick cord. He gave this tassel a tug, and a pretty little ladder

of cedar-wood let itself quickly down through one of the arm-holes of

the cloak.

"'Now, Miss Stahlbaum, step up that ladder, if you will be so kind,'

said Nutcracker. Marie did so. But as soon as she had got up through

the arm-hole, and begun to look out at the neck, all at once a dazzling

light came streaming on to her, and she found herself standing on a

lovely, sweet-scented meadow, from which millions of sparks were

streaming upward, like the glitter of beautiful gems.

"This is Candy Mead, where we are now,' said Nutcracker. 'But we'll go

in at that gate there.'

"Marie looked up and saw a beautiful gateway on the meadow, only a few

steps off. It seemed to be made of white, brown, and raisin-coloured

marble; but when she came close to it she saw it was all of baked

sugar-almonds and raisins, which--as Nutcracker said when they were

going through it--was the reason it was called 'Almond and Raisin

Gate.' There was a gallery running round the upper part of it,

apparently made of barley-sugar, and in this gallery six monkeys,

dressed in red doublets, were playing on brass instruments in the most

delightful manner ever heard; so that it was all that Marie could do to

notice that she was walking along upon a beautiful variegated marble

pavement, which, however, was really a mosaic of lozenges of all

colours. Presently the sweetest of odours came breathing round her,

streaming from a beautiful little wood on both sides of the way. There

was such a glittering and sparkling among the dark foliage, that one

could see all the gold and silver fruits hanging on the many-tinted

stems, and these stems and branches were all ornamented and dressed up

in ribbons and bunches of flowers, like brides and bridegrooms, and

festive wedding guests. And as the orange perfume came wafted, as if on

the wings of gentle zephyrs, there was a soughing among the leaves and

branches, and all the goldleaf and tinsel rustled and tinkled like

beautiful music, to which the sparkling lights could not help dancing.

"'Oh, how charming this is!' cried Marie, enraptured.

"'This is Christmas Wood, dearest Miss Stahlbaum,' said Nutcracker,

"Ah!' said Marie, 'if I could only stay here for a little! Oh, it is so

lovely!'

"Nutcracker clapped his little hands, and immediately there appeared a

number of little shepherds and shepherdesses, and hunters and

huntresses, so white and delicate that you would have thought they were

made of pure sugar, whom Marie had not noticed before, although they

had been walking about in the wood: and they brought a beautiful gold

reclining chair, laid down a white satin cushion in it, and politely

invited Marie to take a seat. As soon as she did so, the shepherds and

shepherdesses danced a pretty ballet, to which the hunters and

huntresses played the music on their horns, and then they all

disappeared amongst the thickets.

"I must really apologize for the poor style in which this dance was

executed, dearest Miss Stahlbaum,' said Nutcracker. 'These people all

belong to our Wire Ballet Troupe, and can only do the same thing over

and over again. Had we not better go on a little farther?'

"'Oh, I'm sure it was all most delightful, and I enjoyed it immensely!'

said Marie, as she stood up and followed Nutcracker, who was going on

leading the way. They went by the side of a gently rippling brook,

which seemed to be what was giving out all the perfume which filled the

wood.

"'This is Orange Brook,' said Nutcracker; 'but, except for its sweet

scent, it is nothing like as fine a water as the River Lemonade, a

beautiful broad stream, which falls--as this one does also--into the

Almond-milk Sea.'

"And, indeed, Marie soon heard a louder plashing and rushing, and came

in sight of the River Lemonade, which went rolling along in swelling

waves of a yellowish colour, between banks covered with a herbage and

underwood which shone like green carbuncles. A remarkable freshness and

coolness, strengthening heart and breast, exhaled from this fine river.

Not far from it a dark yellow stream crept sluggishly along, giving out

a most delicious odour; and on its banks sat numbers of pretty

children, angling for little fat fishes, which they ate as soon as they

caught them. These fish were very much like filberts, Marie saw when

she came closer. A short distance farther, on the banks of this stream,

stood a nice little village. The houses of this village, and the

church, the parsonage, the barns, and so forth, were all dark brown

with gilt roofs, and many of the walls looked as if they were plastered

over with lemon-peel and shelled almonds.

"'That is Gingerthorpe on the Honey River,' said Nutcracker. 'It is

famed for the good looks of its inhabitants; but they are very

short-tempered people, because they suffer so much from tooth-ache. So

we won't go there at present.'

"At this moment Marie caught sight of a little town where the houses

were all sorts of colours and quite transparent, exceedingly pretty to

look at. Nutcracker went on towards this town, and Marie heard a noise

of bustle and merriment, and saw some thousands of nice little folks

unloading a number of waggons which were drawn up in the market-place.

What they were unloading from the waggons looked like packages of

coloured paper, and tablets of chocolate.

"'This is Bonbonville,' Nutcracker said. 'An embassy has just arrived

from Paperland and the King of Chocolate. These poor Bonbonville people

have been vexatiously threatened lately by the Fly-Admiral's forces, so

they are covering their houses over with their presents from Paperland,

and constructing fortifications with the fine pieces of workmanship

which the Chocolate-King has sent them. But oh! dearest Miss Stahlbaum,

we are not going to restrict ourselves to seeing the small towns and

villages of this country. Let us be off to the metropolis.'

"He stepped quickly onwards, and Marie followed him, all expectation.

Soon a beautiful rosy vapour began to rise, suffusing everything with a

soft splendour. She saw that this was reflected from a rose-red,

shining water, which went plashing and rushing away in front of them in

wavelets of roseate silver. And on this delightful water, which kept

broadening and broadening out wider and wider, like a great lake, the

loveliest swans were floating, white as silver, with collars of gold.

And, as if vieing with each other, they were singing the most beautiful

songs, at which little fish, glittering like diamonds, danced up and

down in the rosy ripples.

"'Oh!' cried Marie, in the greatest delight, 'this must be the lake

which Godpapa Drosselmeier was once going to make for me, and I am the

girl who is to play with the swans.'

"Nutcracker gave a sneering sort of laugh, such as she had never seen

in him before, and said:

"'My uncle could never make a thing of this kind. You would be much

more likely to do it yourself. But don't let us bother about that.

Rather let us go sailing over the water, Lake Rosa here, to the

metropolis.'

"THE METROPOLIS.

"Nutcracker clapped his little hands again, and the waves of Lake Rosa

began to sound louder and to plash higher, and Marie became aware of a

sort of car approaching from the distance, made wholly of glittering

precious stones of every colour, and drawn by two dolphins with scales

of gold. Twelve of the dearest little negro boys, with head-dresses and

doublets made of humming-birds' feathers woven together, jumped to

land, and carried first Marie and then Nutcracker, gently gliding

above the water, into the car, which immediately began to move along

over the lake of its own accord. Ah! how beautiful it was when Marie

went onward thus over the waters in the shell-shaped car, with the

rose-perfume breathing around her, and the rosy waves plashing. The two

golden-scaled dolphins lifted their nostrils, and sent streams of

crystal high in the air; and as these fell down in glittering,

sparkling rainbows, there was a sound as of two delicate, silvery

voices, singing, 'Who comes over the rosy sea?--Fairy is she.

Bim-bim--fishes; sim-sim--swans; sfa-sfa--golden birds; tratrah, rosy

waves, wake you, and sing, sparkle and ring, sprinkle and kling--this

is the fairy we languish to see--coming at last to us over the sea.

Rosy waves dash--bright dolphins play--merrily, merrily on!'

"But the twelve little black boys at the back of the car seemed to take

some umbrage at this song of the water-jets; for they shook the

sunshades they were holding so that the palm leaves they were made of

clattered and rattled together; and as they shook them they stamped an

odd sort of rhythm with their feet, and sang:

"'Klapp and klipp, and klipp and klapp, and up and down.'

"'Negroes are merry, amusing fellows,' said Nutcracker, a little put

out; 'but they'll set the whole lake into a state of regular mutiny on

my hands!' And in fact there did begin a confused, and confusing, noise

of strange voices which seemed to be floating both in the water and in

the air. However, Marie paid no attention to it, but went on looking

into the perfumed rosy waves, from each of which a pretty girl's face

smiled back to her.

"Oh! look at Princess Pirlipat,' she cried, clapping her hands with

gladness, 'smiling at me so charmingly down there! Do look at her, Mr.

Drosselmeier.'

"But Nutcracker sighed, almost sorrowfully, and said:

"'That is not Princess Pirlipat, dearest Miss Stahlbaum, it is only

yourself; always your own lovely face smiling up from the rosy waves.'

At this Marie drew her head quickly back, closed her eyes as tightly as

she could, and was terribly ashamed. But just then the twelve negroes

lifted her out of the car and set her on shore. She found herself in a

small thicket or grove, almost more beautiful even than Christmas Wood,

everything glittered and sparkled so in it. And the fruit on the trees

was extraordinarily wonderful and beautiful, and not only of very

curious colours, but with the most delicious perfume.

"'Ah!' said Nutcracker, 'here we are in Comfit Grove, and yonder lies

the metropolis.'

"How shall I set about describing all the wonderful and beautiful

sights which Marie now saw, or give any idea of the splendour and

magnificence of the city which lay stretched out before her on a

flowery plain? Not only did the walls and towers of it shine in the

brightest and most gorgeous colours, but the shapes and appearance of

the buildings were like nothing to be seen on earth. Instead of roofs

the houses had on beautiful twining crowns, and the towers were

garlanded with beautiful leaf-work, sculptured and carved into

exquisite, intricate designs. As they passed in at the gateway, which

looked as if it was made entirely of macaroons and sugared fruits,

silver soldiers presented arms, and a little man in a brocade

dressing-gown threw himself upon Nutcracker's neck, crying:

"'Welcome, dearest prince! welcome to Sweetmeatburgh!'

"Marie wondered not a little to see such a very grand personage

recognise young Mr. Drosselmeier as a prince. But she heard such a

number of small delicate voices making such a loud clamouring and

talking, and such a laughing and chattering going on, and such a

singing and playing, that she couldn't give her attention to anything

else, but asked Drosselmeier what was the meaning of it all.

"'Oh, it is nothing out of the common, dearest Miss Stahlbaum,' he

answered. 'Sweetmeatburgh is a large, populous city, full of mirth and

entertainment. This is only the usual thing that is always going on

here every day. Please to come on a little farther.'

"After a few paces more they were in the great marketplace, which

presented the most magnificent appearance. All the houses which were

round it were of filagreed sugar-work, with galleries towering above

galleries; and in the centre stood a lofty cake covered with sugar, by

way of obelisk, with fountains round it spouting orgeade, lemonade, and

other delicious beverages into the air. The runnels at the sides of the

footways were full of creams, which you might have ladled up with a

spoon if you had chosen. But prettier than all this were the delightful

little people who were crowding about everywhere by the thousand,

shouting, laughing, playing, and singing, in short, producing all that

jubilant uproar which Marie had heard from the distance. There were

beautifully dressed ladies and gentlemen, Greeks and Armenians,

Tyrolese and Jews, officers and soldiers, clergymen, shepherds,

jack-puddings, in short, people of every conceivable kind to be found

in the world.

"The tumult grew greater towards one of the corners; the people

streamed asunder. For the Great Mogul happened to be passing along

there in his palanquin, attended by three-and-ninety grandees of the

realm, and seven hundred slaves. But it chanced that the Fishermen's

Guild, about five hundred strong, were keeping a festival at the

opposite corner of the place; and it was rather an unfortunate

coincidence that the Grand Turk took it in his head just at this

particular moment to go out for a ride, and crossed the square with

three thousand Janissaries. And, as if this were not enough, the grand

procession of the Interrupted Sacrifice came along at the same time,

marching up towards the obelisk with a full orchestra playing, and the

chorus singing:

"'Hail! all hail to the glorious sun!'

"So there was a thronging and a shoving, a driving and a squeaking; and

soon lamentations arose, and cries of pain, for one of the fishermen

had knocked a Brahmin's head off in the throng, and the Great Mogul had

been very nearly run down by a jack-pudding. The din grew wilder and

wilder. People were beginning to shove one another, and even to come to

fisticuffs; when the man in the brocade dressing-gown who had welcomed

Nutcracker as prince at the gate, clambered up to the top of the

obelisk, and, after a very clear-tinkling bell had rung thrice,

shouted, very loudly, three several times:

"Pastrycook! pastrycook! pastrycook!'

"Instantly the tumult subsided. Everybody tried to save his bacon as

quickly as he could; and, after the entangled processions had been got

disentangled, the dirt properly brushed off the Great Mogul, and the

Brahmin's head stuck 011 again all right, the merry noise went on just

the same as before.

"'Tell me why that gentleman called out "Pastrycook," Mr. Drosselmeier,

please,' said Marie.

"'Ah! dearest Miss Stahlbaum,' said Nutcracker, 'in this place

"Pastrycook" means a certain unknown and very terrible Power, which, it

is believed, can do with people just what it chooses. It represents the

Fate, or Destiny, which rules these happy little people, and they stand

in such awe and terror of it that the mere mention of its name quells

the wildest tumult in a moment, as the burgomaster has just shown.

Nobody thinks further of earthly matters, cuffs in the ribs, broken

heads, or the like. Every one retires within himself, and says:

"'"What is man? and what his ultimate destiny?"'

"Marie could not forbear a cry of admiration and utmost astonishment as

she now found herself all of a sudden before a castle, shining in

roseate radiance, with a hundred beautiful towers. Here and there at

intervals upon its walls were rich bouquets of violets, narcissus,

tulips, carnations, whose dark, glowing colours heightened the dazzling

whiteness, inclining to rose-colour, of the walls. The great dome of

the central building, as well as the pyramidal roofs of the towers,

were set all over with thousands of sparkling gold and silver stars.

"'Aha!' said Nutcracker, 'here we are at Marchpane Castle at last!'

"Marie was sunk and absorbed in contemplation of this magic palace. But

the fact did not escape her that the roof was wanting to one of the

principal towers, and that little men, up upon a scaffold made of

sticks of cinnamon, were busy putting it on again. But before she had

had time to ask Nutcracker about this, he said:

"This beautiful castle was a short time since threatened with

tremendous havoc, if not with total destruction. Sweet-tooth the giant

happened to be passing by, and he bit off the top of that tower there,

and was beginning to gnaw at the great dome. But the Sweetmeatburgh

people brought him a whole quarter of the town by way of tribute, and a

considerable slice of Comfit Grove into the bargain. This stopped his

mouth, and he went on his way.'

"At this moment soft, beautiful music was heard, and out came twelve

little pages with lighted clove-sticks, which they held in their little

hands by way of torches. Each of their heads was a pearl, their bodies

were emeralds and rubies, and their feet were beautifully-worked pure

gold. After them came four ladies about the size of Marie's Miss Clara,

but so gloriously and brilliantly attired that Marie saw in a moment

that they could be nothing but princesses of the blood royal. They

embraced Nutcracker most tenderly, and shed tears of gladness, saying:

"'Oh, dearest prince! beloved brother!'

"Nutcracker seemed deeply affected. He wiped away his tears, which

flowed thick and fast, and then he took Marie by the hand and said,

with much pathos and solemnity:

"This is Miss Marie Stahlbaum, the daughter of a most worthy medical

man, and the preserver of my life. Had she not thrown her slipper just

in the nick of time--had she not procured me the pensioned Colonel's

sword--I should have been lying in my cold grave at this moment, bitten

to death by the accursed king of the mice. I ask you to tell me

candidly, can Princess Pirlipat, princess though she be, compare for a

moment with Miss Stahlbaum here in beauty, in goodness, in virtues of

every kind? My answer is, emphatically "No."'

"All the ladies cried 'No;' and they fell upon Marie's neck with sobs

and tears, and cried:

"Ah! noble preserver of our beloved royal brother! Excellent Miss

Stahlbaum!'

"They now conducted Marie and Nutcracker into the castle, to a hall

whose walls were composed of sparkling crystal. But what delighted

Marie most of all was the furniture. There were the most darling little

chairs, bureaus, writing-tables, and so forth, standing about

everywhere, all made of cedar or Brazil-wood, covered with golden

flowers. The princesses made Marie and Nutcracker sit down, and said

that they would themselves prepare a banquet. So they went and brought

quantities of little cups and dishes of the finest Japanese porcelain,

and spoons, knives and forks, graters and stew-pans, and other kitchen

utensils of gold and silver. Then they fetched the most delightful

fruits and sugar things--such as Marie had never seen the like of--and

began to squeeze the fruit in the daintiest way with their little

hands, and to grate the spices and rub down the sugar-almonds; in

short, they set to work so skilfully that Marie could see very well how

accomplished they were in kitchen matters, and what a magnificent

banquet there was going to be. Knowing her own skill in this line, she

wished, in her secret heart, that she might be allowed to go and help

the princesses, and have a finger in all these pies herself. And the

prettiest of Nutcracker's sisters, just as if she had read the wishes

of Marie's heart, handed her a little gold mortar, saying:

"'Sweet friend, dear preserver of my brother, would you mind just

pounding a little of this sugar-candy?'

"Now as Marie went on pounding in the mortar with good will and

the utmost enjoyment--and the sound of it was like a lovely

song--Nutcracker began to relate, with much minuteness and prolixity,

all that had happened on the occasion of the terrible engagement

between his forces and the army of the king of the mice; how he had had

the worst of it on account of the bad behaviour of his troops; how the

horrible mouse king had all but bitten him to death, so that Marie had

had to sacrifice a number of his subjects who were in her service,

etc., etc.

"During all this it seemed to Marie as if what Nutcracker was

saying--and even the sound of her own mortar--kept growing more and

more indistinct, and going farther and farther away. Presently she saw

a silver mistiness rising up all about, like clouds, in which the

princesses, the pages, Nutcracker, and she herself were floating. And a

curious singing and a buzzing and humming began, which seemed to die

away in the distance; and then she seemed to be going up--up--up, as if

on waves constantly rising and swelling higher and higher, higher and

higher, higher and higher.

"CONCLUSION.

"And then came a 'prr-poof,' and Marie fell down from some

inconceivable height.

"That was a crash and a tumble!

"However, she opened her eyes, and, lo and behold, there she was in her

own bed! It was broad daylight, and her mother was standing at her

bedside, saying:

"'Well, what a sleep you have had! Breakfast has been ready for ever so

long.'

"Of course, dear audience, you see how it was. Marie, confounded and

amazed by all the wonderful things she had seen, had fallen asleep at

last in Marchpane Castle, and the negroes or the pages, or perhaps the

princesses themselves, had carried her home and put her to bed.

"'Oh, mother darling,' said Marie, what a number of places young Mr.

Drosselmeier has taken me to in the night, and what beautiful things I

have seen!' And she gave very much the same faithful account of it all

as I have done to you.

"Her mother listened, looking at her with much astonishment, and, when

she had finished, said:

"'You have had a long, beautiful dream, Marie; but now you must put it

all out of your head.'

"Marie firmly maintained that she had not been dreaming at all; so her

mother took her to the glass cupboard, lifted out Nutcracker from his

usual position on the third shelf, and said:

"'You silly girl, how can you believe that this wooden figure can have

life and motion?'

"'Ah, mother,' answered Marie, 'I know perfectly well that Nutcracker

is young Mr. Drosselmeier from Nuernberg, Godpapa Drosselmeier's

nephew.'

"Her father and mother both burst out into ringing laughter.

"'It's all very well your laughing at poor Nutcracker, father,' cried

Mary, almost weeping; 'but he spoke very highly of _you_; for when we

arrived at Marchpane Castle, and he was introducing me to his sisters,

the princesses, he said you were a most worthy medical man.'

The laughter grew louder, and Louise, and even Fritz, joined in it.

Marie ran into the next room, took the mouse king's seven crowns from

her little box, and handed them to her mother, saying:

"Look there, then, dear mother; those are the mouse king's seven crowns

which young Mr. Drosselmeier gave me last night as a proof that he had

got the victory.'

"Her mother gazed in amazement at the little crowns, which were made of

some very brilliant, wholly unknown metal, and worked more beautifully

than any human hands could have worked them. Dr. Stahlbaum could not

cease looking at them with admiration and astonishment either, and both

the father and the mother enjoined Marie most earnestly to tell them

where she really had got them from. But she could only repeat what she

had said before; and when her father scolded her, and accused her of

untruthfulness, she began to cry bitterly, and said:

"'Oh, dear me; what can I tell you except the truth, poor unfortunate

girl that I am!'

"At this moment the door opened, and Godpapa Drosselmeier came in,

crying:

'"Hullo! hullo! what's all this? My little Marie crying? What's all

this? what's all this?'

"Dr. Stahlbaum told him all about it, and showed him the crowns. As

soon as he had looked at them, however, he cried out:

"'Stuff and nonsense! stuff and nonsense! These are the crowns I used

to wear on my watch-chain. I gave them as a present to Marie on her

second birthday. Do you mean to tell me you don't remember?'

"None of them _did_ remember anything of the kind. But Marie, seeing

that her father and mother's faces were clear of clouds again, ran up

to her godpapa, crying:

"'You know all about the affair, Godpapa Drosselmeier; tell it to them

then. Let them know from your own lips that my Nutcracker is your

nephew, young Mr. Drosselmeier from Nuernberg, and that it was he who

gave me the crowns.' But Drosselmeier made a very angry face, and

muttered, 'Stupid stuff and nonsense!' upon which Marie's father took

her in front of him, and said, with much earnestness:

"'Now just look here, Mario; let there be an end of all this foolish

trash and absurd nonsense for once and for all; I'm not going to allow

any more of it; and if ever I hear you say again that that idiotic,

misshapen Nutcracker is your godpapa's nephew, I shall shy, not only

Nutcracker, but all your other playthings--Miss Clara not excepted--out

of the window.'

"Of course poor Marie dared not utter another word concerning that

which her whole mind was full of, for you may well suppose that it was

impossible for anyone who had seen all that she had seen to forget it.

And I regret to say that even Fritz himself at once turned his back on

his sister whenever she wanted to talk to him about the wondrous realm

in which she had been so happy. Indeed, he is said to have frequently

murmured, 'Stupid goose!' between his teeth, though I can scarcely

think this compatible with his proved kindness of heart. This much,

however, is matter of certainty, that, as he no longer believed what

his sister said, he now, on a public parade, formally recanted what he

had said to his red hussars, and, in the place of the plumes he had

deprived them of, gave them much taller and finer ones of goose quills,

and allowed them to sound the march of the hussars of the guard as

before.

"Marie did not dare to say anything more of her adventures. But the

memories of that fairy realm haunted her with a sweet intoxication, and

the music of that delightful, happy country still rang sweetly in her

ears. Whenever she allowed her thoughts to dwell on all those glories

she saw them again, and so it came about that, instead of playing as

she used to do, she sat quiet and meditative, absorbed within herself.

Everybody found fault with her for being this sort of little dreamer.

"It chanced one day that Godpapa Drosselmeier was repairing one of the

clocks in the house, and Marie was sitting beside the glass cupboard,

sunk in her dreams and gazing at Nutcracker. All at once she said, as

if involuntarily:

"Ah, dear Mr. Drosselmeier, if you really were alive, _I_ shouldn't be

like Princess Pirlipat, and despise you because you had had to give up

being a nice handsome gentleman for my sake!'

"'Stupid stuff and nonsense!' cried Godpapa Drosselmeier.

"But, as he spoke, there came such a tremendous bang and shock that

Marie fell from her chair insensible.

"When she came back to her senses her mother was busied about her and

said:

"How could you go and tumble off your chair in that way, a big girl

like you? Here is Godpapa Drosselmeier's nephew come from Nuernberg. See

how good you can be.'

"Marie looked up. Her godpapa had got on his yellow coat and his glass

wig, and was smiling in the highest good-humour. By the hand he was

holding a very small but very handsome young gentleman. His little face

was red and white; he had on a beautiful red coat trimmed with gold

lace, white silk stockings and shoes, with a lovely bouquet of flowers

in his shirt frill. He was beautifully frizzed and powdered, and had a

magnificent queue hanging down his back. The little sword at his side

seemed to be made entirely of jewels, it sparkled and shone so, and the

little hat under his arm was woven of flocks of silk. He gave proof of

the fineness of his manners in that he had brought for Marie a quantity

of the most delightful toys--above all, the very same figures as those

which the mouse king had eaten up--as well as a beautiful sabre for

Fritz. He cracked nuts at table for the whole party; the very hardest

did not withstand him. He placed them in his mouth with his left hand,

tugged at his pigtail with his right, and crack! they fell in pieces.

"Marie grew red as a rose at the sight of this charming young

gentleman; and she grew redder still when, after dinner, young

Drosselmeier asked her to go with him to the glass cupboard in the

sitting-room.

"'Play nicely together, children,' said Godpapa Drosselmeier; 'now that

my clocks are all nicely in order, I can have no possible objection.'

"But as soon as young Drosselmeier was alone with Marie, he went down

on one knee, and spake as follows:

"'Ah! my most dearly-beloved Miss Stahlbaum! 'see here at your feet the

fortunate Drosselmeier, whose life you saved here on this very spot.

You were kind enough to say, plainly and unmistakably, in so many

words, that you would not have despised me, as Princess Pirlipat did,

if I had been turned ugly for your sake. Immediately I ceased to

be a contemptible Nutcracker, and resumed my former not altogether

ill-looking person and form. Ah! most exquisite lady! bless me with

your precious hand; share with me my crown and kingdom, and reign with

me in Marchpane Castle, for there I now am king.'

"Marie raised him, and said gently:

"'Dear Mr. Drosselmeier, you are a kind, nice gentleman; and as you

reign over a delightful country of charming, funny, pretty people, I

accept your hand.'

"So then they were formally betrothed; and when a year and a day had

come and gone, they say he came and fetched her away in a golden coach,

drawn by silver horses. At the marriage there danced two-and-twenty

thousand of the most beautiful dolls and other figures, all glittering

in pearls and diamonds; and Marie is to this day the queen of a realm

where all kinds of sparkling Christmas Woods, and transparent Marchpane

Castles--in short, the most wonderful and beautiful things of every

kind--are to be seen--by those who have the eyes to see them.

"So this is the end of the tale of Nutcracker and the King of the

Mice."