Nutcracker and the mouse king

Mary noticed that through the night a great spot of blood had been left on Nutcracker`s neck. Ever since she knew that her Nutcracker was properly young Drosselmeier, the Counsellor`s nephew, she had given up carrying him in her arms, and cuddled and kissed him no more; indeed, out of a certain shyness she hardly liked to touch him; yet now she took him very carefully out of the cupboard, and began to rub the blood spot from his neck with her pocket-handkerchief.
But what was her amazement, when she all at once felt Nutcracker growing warm in her hands and beginning to move his limbs. Quickly she set him back in the cupboard, where his little mouth waggled shakingly up and down, and painfully he lisped out:
“Ah, most worthy Miss Stahlbaum, excellent friend, how can I thank you for all! Yes – no picture book, no Christmas frock shall you sacrifice for me; procure me only a sword – a sword, and I will answer for the rest, let him do his worst!”
Here Nutcracker`s speech died away, and his eyes, lately animated by an expression of inward grief, became again fixed and dull as glass.
Mary felt no horror; rather she skipped for joy, now knowing the means to save Nutcracker without further sore sacrifices. But wherever was she to get a sword for the small man?
She resolved to take Fred into council, and that evening, their parents having gone out, as these two sat together in the parlour by the glass cupboard, she told him all that had happened to her with Nutcracker and Mouse King, and what was now required for the former`s deliverance.
Nothing of all this made such impression on Fred as how, according to Mary`s report, his hussars had behaved themselves so badly in the battle. He just asked very seriously, whether things had really gone as she said; and when she assured him on her word that it was so, he went at once to the cupboard, addressed his hussars with a moving speech, then, as a punishment for their selfishness and cowardice, cut the cockades off their hats, one after another, and forbade them to play the Hussar-Guards` March for a year. His reprimand ended, he turned to Mary, saying:
“As for the sword, I can supply Nutcracker; for yesterday I pensioned off an old colonel of cuirassiers, who does not need his sword any more.”
The said colonel was enjoying the pension assigned him by Fred in a back corner of the top shelf. Thence being fetched down, his smart silver-mounted sword was taken off him and hung round the waist of Nutcracker.
That night Mary could not sleep for anxious dread. At midnight she thought she could hear in the parlour a strange stir, a clang, a confusion. All of a sudden it went squeak!
“The Mouse King, the Mouse King!” cried Mary, and sprang, startled, out of bed.
All was still, but soon there came a soft, soft tapping at the door, and a tiny voice made itself heard.
“Dearest Miss Stahlbaum, now you can be at ease – good, joyful news!” Mary, recognising the voice of young Drosselmeier, threw on her dress and hurriedly opened the door. Outside of it stood little Nutcracker, the dripping sword in his right hand, a wax-light in his left. As soon as he saw Mary, he knelt down on one knee, and spoke thus:
“You alone, my lady, are she who steeled my heart with courage, and gave my arm strength to combat the haughty foe that dared insult you! Conquered lies the traitorous Mouse King, and wallows in his blood. Scorn not, O lady, to receive the tokens of victory at the hands of your till-death-devoted knight!”
With this Nutcracker pulled off the seven golden crowns of the Mouse King, strung round his left arm, and handed them over to Mary, who received them with delight. Then, rising to his feet, he went on:
“Ah, my dearest Miss Stahlbaum, having now overpowered my enemy, what wonderful things could I not show you, if you would only have the kindness to follow me a little way. Please do, oh please do, dear young lady!”
CHAPTER XII
THE TOY-KINGDOM
None of you children, I believe, would have hesitated about following the noble good-hearted Nutcracker, who had no harm in his thoughts. Mary consented the more willingly, as she knew well what a great claim she had upon Nutcracker`s gratitude, and felt sure he would keep his word, and would show her some splendid things. So she answered:
“I will go with you, Herr Drosselmeier; but it must not be far or for long, as I have not slept nearly enough.”
“On that account,” replied Nutcracker, “I take the nearest way, though a somewhat difficult one.”
Forward he strode, and Mary after him, till he stopped before a great old clothes-press standing on the floor. To her astonishment, Mary perceived that the door of this usually locked-up press was open, so that she quite plainly saw her father`s fur travelling-cloak, which hung right in front. Nutcracker cleverly climbed up the braidings and trimmings of it, till he could catch hold of the big tassel dangling by a thick cord on the back of the fur. As soon as he had given this tassel a strong pull, through the sleeves of the cloak came down an elegant cedar-wood staircase.
“Will you please go up here, my dearest young lady?” said Nutcracker.
Mary did so, then scarcely had she mounted through the sleeves, scarcely got up to the collar, when a dazzling light streamed into her eyes, and all at once she found herself on a delightfully-scented meadow, from which rose millions of sparks like gleaming gems.
“We are now on Sugar-candy meadow,” said Nutcracker, “but will at once pass through that gate.”
Now, as Mary looked, she was aware of a beautiful gate, which rose on the meadow only a few steps before them. It seemed to be all built of white marble, dotted with brown and raisin-coloured patches; but, on coming nearer, Mary saw clearly that the whole mass consisted of almonds and raisins baked together in sugar, for which reason, Nutcracker informed her, the gate they were about to pass through was named the Almond and Raisin Gate. Common people vulgarly call it the Schoolboy-grub-gate.
In a covered passage leading out from this gate, apparently built of barley-sugar, six little monkeys dressed in red jackets were making the most beautiful music from cymbals and triangles that was ever heard, so that Mary scarcely noticed how she advanced on the marble flags, which were nothing else than an elegantly polished mosaic of sugar-plums. Soon rose about them a very sweet smell, given forth by a wonderful wood that opened out on both sides. In the shady glade was such a bright sparkling and glittering that it could be plainly seen how gold and silver fruit hung on the brightly-coloured stems, and how trunks and branches were all adorned with ribbons and nosegays, like the guests at a joyful wedding party. And when the scent of oranges stirred as a rising breeze, there was a whispering through leaves and twigs, and the tinsel rustled and rattled, so that it all sounded like merry music, to the tune of which the shining little lamps kept hopping and dancing.
Ah, how lovely it is here!” cried Mary, enraptured with pleasure.
“We are in Christmas-tree Wood, dear miss,” said Nutcracker.
“Oh!” went on Mary, “if I only might stay here a little – oh, it is so beautiful!”
Nutcracker clapped his little hands, and forthwith came up some small shepherds and shepherdesses, hunters and huntresses, who looked so frail and white that one could believe them made of pure sugar; but Mary, though they were wandering through the wood, had not yet noticed them. They brought out the dearest little arm-chair, all made of gold, laid a cushion of liquorice upon it, and very politely invited Mary to sit down. As soon as she had done so, the shepherds and shepherdesses performed a very graceful dance, for which the hunters blew a tune in quite correct style; and then they all disappeared into the underwood.
“You will excuse them, most worthy Miss Stahlbaum,” said Nutcracker; “you will excuse their dance going off so badly; but these people all work upon strings, and must always keep on doing the same thing; and if the hunters played so sleepily and flat, there are reasons also for that. The sugar-basket was indeed hanging over their heads in the Christmas-tree, but rather out of their reach. Shall we not now go on a little farther?”
“Ah, but it was all very pretty, and pleased me very much,” said Mary, as she got up and followed Nutcracker going on in front.
Their course lay along a sweet rippling purling brook, out of which seemed to rise the rich odours that filled the whole wood.
“It is the Orange-brook,” said Nutcracker, in answer to her inquiry, “yet, apart from its fine scent, it is nothing for size and beauty to the Lemonade River, that likewise falls into the Coconut-milk Sea.”
In fact, Mary soon caught a stronger sound of rushing and dashing, and came in sight of the broad Lemonade River, whose noble grey-tinted waves wound their way through a glowing greenwood lighted up with carbuncles. A singularly fresh, bracing coolness was exhaled by this splendid water. Not far off there rolled slowly by a dull yellow stream, that sent out an uncommonly sweet smell, on the banks of which sat all sorts of pretty little children, who were fishing for small thick fish, and ate them up as soon as caught. On coming nearer, Mary remarked that these fish looked like filberts.
Some little way up this stream lay a very nice village: houses, barns, church, parsonage, all dark brown, with smart gilded roofs, and many of the walls were coloured, as if citron-peel and almond kernels had been stuck in them.
“That,” said Nutcracker, “is Gingerbreadham, which lies on Honeyburn. Some very pretty people live there, but they are mostly in low spirits, because they suffer much from toothache, so we will keep away from it.”
Just then Mary perceived another little town, which consisted of nothing but gaily-tinted, transparent houses, and was most beautiful to look at.
Nutcracker went straight towards it; and now Mary heard a w…