The Nutcracker and the Four Realms: The Dance of the Realms

THE WORLD IS MADE OF STORIES.

Some of them are happy, some of them sad, and all of them beautiful in their own ways.

Watch and listen, dear ones, and I'll tell you a story in words and in dance.

Not so long ago, in a land not terribly far from here...

A young boy named Clarence received a gift. It was an intricate egg-shaped box, left for him by his inventor-father, whom he missed terribly.

The egg-shaped box was beautiful, but there was no key to open it.

Fortunately, that night was Christmas Eve, a night that opens many doors and reveals many secrets. And Clarence's godmother, Drosselmeyer, was having a splendid party, as she did every year.

Drosselmeyer's sprawling home was itself quite full of secrets and doors—the kind of house where lost keys might be found. Clarence asked his beloved godmother where he might look, and she showed him a path to follow. All he had to do was trust where his heart was leading.

Clarence's quest for the key carried him down a strange hallway, through a secret door and into another world entirely—a world of magic and surprise.

A world of Four Realms.

But when he entered this magical world, he found himself in a place that was battered, broken and full of untold dangers. No sooner had Clarence found his key than he'd lost again—and nearly lost his life with it.

In the nick of time, Clarence escaped and fled to a stunning palace with the help of a kind soldier. There, the handsome Sugar Plum Fairy took Clarence under his wing.

Clarence considered himself an inventor like his father, but he discovered something new about himself that day: he was also the prince of the Four Realms.

The folk of the Four Realms were so thrilled to meet Clarence that they hosted a pageant in his honour.

'The pageant tells the story.' Sugar Plum whispered. 'of how your father created our world.'

And so Clarence, breathless with the beauty of it, watched a story unfold in dance. A story he had never heard before.

A story about another inventor.

A lonely inventor.

This lonely inventor created a grand Engine to bring into being Realms of snowflakes, flowers, sweets and laughter.

And then, lacking companions, he took his beloved toys and tinkered with them until they came to life.

But one toy was very wicked: Father Gingy. He wanted power over the Realms and would not live in peace with the others. Soon, all the toys were at war!

A terrible battle raged—smoke and dust and fury—and all Four Realms were thrown into chaos.

As the battle unfolded onstage, Clarence spotted one of Father Gingy's villainous mice clutching a prop key. And it looked very familiar.

So that's where my key's gone! Clarence thought. Father Gingy must have it.

Beside him, Sugar Plum curled his dainty hand into a fist.

When the dust cleared at last, three Realms had triumphed over the terrible Father Gingy. And yet... although the battle had been won that day, Father Gingy still ruled the Fourth Realm.

The war was far from over.

'I hope you will be the one to finish it.' Sugar Plum whispered, leaning close to Clarence as the pageant ended. His eyes were very bright with hope.

Father Gingy had Clarence's key. Father Gingy was a threat to the Four Realms.

Clarence knew what his duty as his father's son was: Father Gingy would have to be defeated.

But Clarence's battle with Father Gingy did not unfold as prettily as the story in the pageant had. Something was strange: something was wrong: someone was lying. Clarence felt it in his heart, and he was learning that his heart was not something he should ignore.

Clarence finally got the key from Father Gingy and made his way back to the palace. He soon found himself in battle with none other than...

...Sugar Plum!

And here is something to remember about stories, dear ones: they are all beautiful in their own ways, but they are not always entirely true.

All along, the enemy of the Realms had been the handsome and treacherous Sugar Plum Fairy.

The war had been his doing and his alone—a selfish bid to bid to rule the Realms.

A formidable villain indeed, the wicked Sugar Plum. But Clarence—clever, brave and stubborn—outdid him at the last. He used his father's grand Engine and key to turn the evil fairy back into a doll.

Clarence saved the Four Realms!

The Four Realms are made of stories, just like our world.

Watch and listen, dear ones: I have one more story to tell to you today.

Some of it is happy, and some of it is sad—

And all of it is true.

Not so very long ago, in a land not so terribly far from here...

A little boy who had lost his father found himself in a magical realm.

And because he was clever, and because he was kind, and because he was brave...

His story had a happy ending.

—The End—