Nutcracker and Mouse-king . is kingdom to 84 NUTCRACKER AND MOUSE-KING. him who should effect the disenchantment, thehandsome young Drosselmeier stepped forward,and begged for j)ermission to begin the experi-ment. And no one had pleased the fancy ofPrincess Pirlipat as well as young Drosselmeier;she laid her little hand upon her heart, andsighed deeply, Ah, if this might be the onewho is to crack the nut Crackatuck, and becomemy husband! After young Drosselmeier hadgracefully saluted the king and queen, and thenthe Princess Pirlipat, he received the nut Crack-atuck from the hands of the master
Nutcracker and Mouse-king . is kingdom to 84 NUTCRACKER AND MOUSE-KING. him who should effect the disenchantment, thehandsome young Drosselmeier stepped forward,and begged for j)ermission to begin the experi-ment. And no one had pleased the fancy ofPrincess Pirlipat as well as young Drosselmeier;she laid her little hand upon her heart, andsighed deeply, Ah, if this might be the onewho is to crack the nut Crackatuck, and becomemy husband! After young Drosselmeier hadgracefully saluted the king and queen, and thenthe Princess Pirlipat, he received the nut Crack-atuck from the hands of the master of ceremo-nies, put it without hesitation between his teeth,pulled his queue very hard, and crack—crack—the shell broke into many pieces. He thennicely removed the little threads and brokenbits of shell that hung to the kernel, and reach-ed it with a low bow to the princess, after whichhe shut his eyes, and began to walk princess straightway swallowed the kernel,and behold! her ugly shape was gone, and in. THE DISENCHANTMENT OF THE PRINCESS NUTCRACKER AND MOUSE-KING. 85 its place appeared a most beautiful figure, witha face of roses and lilies, delicate white and red,eyes of living, sparkling azure, and locks curlingin bright golden ringlets. Drums and trumpets mingled their soundswith the loud rejoicings of the people. Theking and his whole court danced, as at Pirlipatsbirth, upon one leg; and the queen had to becarefully tended with Cologne water, becauseshe had fallen into a swoon from delight andrapture. Young Drosselmeier, who had still hisseven steps to perform, was a good deal discom-posed by the tumult, but he kept firm, andwas just stretching back his right foot for theseventh step, when Lady Mouserings rose squeak-ing and squealing out of the floor; down camehis foot upon her head, and he stumbled, so thathe hardly kept himself from falling. Alas! whata hard fate! As quick as thought, the youthwas changed to the former figure of the bod
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Keywords: ., bookauthorhoffmann, bookcentury1800, bookdecade1850, bookyear1853
