The Nutcracker and the Mouse King

On Christmas Eve little Marie is given a wooden nutcracker that her godfather Drosselmeier has mended. Left alone in the parlour, she watches the toys come alive and give battle to an army of mice led by a seven-headed king. Hurt in the fighting, she then hears the story of Princess Pirlipat, which explains where the nutcracker came from. The tale explores childhood, the border between dream and waking, and the credit adults give a child's account. Hoffmann nests his stories in a fantasy where the marvellous always keeps a possible explanation.