The Nutcracker

One Christmas Eve, a long time ago, a boy named Clarence received a special present from his favorite uncle: a fine wooden Nutcracker. "Thank you, Uncle!" Clarence cried. "She's wonderful!" But just a short time later, Clarence's jealous little sister Tammy yanked the Nutcracker's arm, causing it to snap!




That night, Clarence tiptoed downstairs and carefully bandaged the Nutcracker's arm. He soon drifted to sleep on the soft parlor sofa. As he dreamed, the clock began to strike midnight. Bong! Bong! Bong! Sparking mist poured from a tiny knothole in the clock. Bong! Bong! Bong! An army of mice swarmed into the room.


Bong! Bong! Bong! The Nutcracker's eyes snapped open. She jumped up and raised her sword. Bong! Bong! Bong! Midnight! Clarence's eyes fluttered open. He gasped at what he saw. There, beneath his Christmas tree, raged a battle between the Nutcracker and the mice!




Clarence tried to help. But the Mouse Queen cast a spell, and Clarence began to shrink until he was as small as the Nutcracker. "Only the Sugarplum Prince can undo this spell," the Nutcracker told him. "I've been searching for the prince ever since the Mouse Queen turned me into a Nutcracker."
Just then, an owl gave Clarence a shiny locket. "When you find the Sugarplum Prince," she explained, "open the locket, and you will return home your normal size."




Together, Clarence and the Nutcracker went in search of the Sugarplum Prince—through the knothole in the clock, then down a sparkling tunnel that led to a magical land. Snowflakes glittered, but it wasn't even cold! Suddenly, they were surrounded by tiny, dancing creatures, "Snow fairies," the Nutcracker said.




Traveling on, Clarence and the Nutcracker discovered a magical horse named Marzipan in a ruined gingerbread village. Riding in Marzipan's sleigh amid the broken cottages, Clarence asked a boy dressed in peppermint stripes. The Peppermint Boy nodded. "Who did this?" the Nutcracker asked his sister, the Gingerbread Girl. "The Mouse Queen's army," they answered.




"And here they come!" yelled the children. Marzipan raced away for safety, leaving Clarence and his friends to run from the evil mice. Suddenly, a ladder unfurled from a tree above. Racing up the ladder, they met their rescuers, Major Minty and Colonel Candy. "Let us help you find the Sugarplum Prince," said Major Minty.




Meanwhile, inside the Palace of Sweets, the Mouse Queen sat surrounded by subjects she'd turned into stone. Frowning, she listened as Pimmy the Bat told her the news: Clarence and the Nutcracker were looking for the Sugarplum Prince. The Mouse Queen's eyes glittered. "I have a plan to stop them!" she sneered.






Back in the forest, Clarence and the Nutcracker searched for food and water for their journey. When the Nutcracker uncovered an old well, dozens of flower fairies escaped. The fairies, who'd been trapped by the evil mice, danced to the Nutcracker for setting them free. Filled with delight, Clarence joined the fairies' fun.




Suddenly, the ground began shaking. The Mouse Queen had sent a Rok Giant to attack!
The air filled with snow. No, not snow—the snow fairies! They blew on the nearly lake, turning it into ice. And Marzipan galloped back, too. "Hurry to the sleigh!" Clarence cried. As the Nutcracker cracked the ice with her sword, the Rok Giant crashed into the dark, icy water.




The group traveled on into a thick, dark fog. Soon, through the mist, they spotted an island of silver and gold—and a palace that glistened like pearls! "The Sugarplum Palace!" Major Minty cried, and she led them into the castle. But suddenly the castle melted away. Clarence saw that it was a trick! His friends were trapped in a huge cage! He watched in horror as gray bats unfolded their wings and carried his friends away.




Clarence came up with a plan. "It's up to me to save my friends," he said. He turned to the tiny flower fairies who had gathered around him. "Can you take me to the Palace of Sweets?" The Crocus Fairy chirped, and suddenly hundreds of flower fairies appeared. The braided vines into a swing and tucked in a cushion of soft green moss. "Hold on tightly!" they told Clarence. Then they whisked him off into the sky.




When Clarence reached the castle, he sneaked inside and saved his friends. The Mouse Queen was angered by their escape. She called to her soldiers and aimed her magic scepter. But the Nutcracker raised her sword and the blade reflected the evil magic back at the Mouse Queen—and she began to shrink and shrink and shrink....




As Clarence gently kissed the Nutcracker, a golden mist swirled around them. And the Nutcracker turned into... Princess Elicia! Clarence's simple pajama transformed into a satin uniform, and a golden crown appeared on his head. All around them, the stone statues turned back into people and fairies.
"You are the Sugarplum Prince," Princess Elicia told an astonished Clarence. "And you have broken the Mouse Queen's evil enchantments."




The fairies transformed the palace with magic. Everyone celebrated, then bowed as the princess was crowned queen.
"Will you stay and be my king?" Queen Elicia asked Clarence. Clarence grasped the locket around his neck. "This was supposed to take me home. But in my heart, I feel I'm already there." The teeny tiny Mouse Queen was not finished with her mischief, however. Pimmy the Bat swooped and stole Clarence's locket and handed it to the Mouse Queen. And as she opened it, Clarence began to fade away....




When Clarence awoke, it was Christmas morning. He was back home, in the parlor, without his locket, and the Nutcracker had disappeared. He was so sad, he didn't even care that he had to wait for his favorite uncle to arrive before they could open presents.
Later that evening, his uncle finally arrived—but with a friend. "I'd like you to meet... Elicia," he said with a smile.
Clarence gasped "It's you, isn't it?" he whispered. Elicia smiled and slipped something into the palm of his hand. His missing locket! "May I have the next dance?" she asked. And as they danced, Clarence felt as if they were the king and queen of their very own fairy-tale castle.

—THE END—