November 20, 2023 • 10 mins
"Nutcracker and Mouse King" is a classic German Christmas story written by E. T. A. Hoffmann, first published in 1816. The tale is known for its adaptation into the popular ballet "The Nutcracker" by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky.The story revolves around a young girl named Marie Stahlbaum, who receives a special wooden nutcracker doll as a Christmas gift from her godfather, Drosselmeyer. Marie's family is hosting a Christmas Eve party, and during the festivities, the nutcracker is broken by her brother Fritz. Later that night, Marie returns to the living room to check on her beloved nutcracker, and she finds herself drawn into a magical world of adventure.Marie discovers that her nutcracker has come to life, and he leads her into a fantastical realm inhabited by toys, where they must confront the nefarious Mouse King and his army of mice. With the help of the Nutcracker and other enchanting characters, including the Sugar Plum Fairy and the Snow Queen, Marie embarks on a journey to defeat the Mouse King and restore peace to the Land of Sweets.The story combines elements of fantasy, fairy tale, and Christmas magic, and it explores themes of bravery, transformation, and the power of imagination. E. T. A. Hoffmann's "Nutcracker and Mouse King" has been adapted and retold numerous times over the years, becoming a beloved holiday tradition for many, particularly through the ballet version choreographed by Marius Petipa and set to Tchaikovsky's iconic music.
This content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI
This content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI
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(00:00):
Chapter six of Nutcracker and Mouse Kingby E. T. A. Hoffmann.
This LibriVox recording is in the publicdomain. The Sickness. When Maria
woke out of her deep and deathlikeslumber, she found herself lying in her
own bed, with the sun shiningbright and sparkling through the ice covered windows
(00:25):
into the chamber. Close beside hersat a stranger whom she soon recognized.
However, as the surgeon Wendelsterne.He said softly, she is awake.
Her mother then came to the bedsideand gazed upon her with anxious and inquiring
looks. Ah, dear mother,lisped, little Maria, are all the
(00:50):
hateful mice gone? And is thegood Nutcracker safe? Do not talk such
foolish stuff, replied her mother.What have the mice to do with Nutcracker?
You naughty child? You have causedus a great deal of anxiety,
But so it always is when childrenare disobedient and do not mind their parents.
(01:11):
You played last night with your dollsuntil it was very late. You
became sleepy, probably, and astray mouse may have jumped out and frightened
you. At all events, youbroke a pane of glass with your elbow
and cut your arm so severely thatneighbor Wendelstern, who has just taken the
piece of glass out of the wound, declares that it came very near cutting
(01:34):
a vein, in which case youmight have had a stiff arm all your
life, or perhaps have bled todeath. It was fortunate that I woke
about midnight, and, not findingyou in your bed, got up and
went into the sitting room. Thereyou lay in a swoon upon the floor,
close by the glass case, theblood flowing in a stream. I
(01:56):
almost fainted away myself at the sightthere you lay, and scattered around were
many of Frederick's leaden soldiers, brokenchina figures, gingerbread men and women,
and other playthings. And not faroff your left shoe. Ah, dear
dear mother, exclaimed Maria, interruptingher. Those were the traces of that
(02:17):
dreadful battle between the puppets and themice. And what frightened me so was
the danger of poor Nutcracker when themice were going to take him prisoner.
Then I threw my shoe at themice, and after that I don't know
what happened. Surgeon Wendelstern, heremade a sign to the mother, and
she said very softly to Maria,well, never mind about it, my
(02:42):
dear child. The mice are allgone, and little Nutcrackers stand safe and
sound in the glass case. DoctorStaalbaum now entered the chamber and spoke for
a while with surgeon Wendelstern. Thenhe felt Maria's pulse, and she could
hear very plainly that he said somethingabout a fever. She was obliged to
(03:05):
remain in bed and take physic andso it continued for some days, although
except a slight pain in her arm, she felt quite well and comfortable.
She knew little Nutcracker had escaped safefrom the battle, and it seemed to
her that she sometimes heard his voice, quite plainly, as if in a
dream, saying mournfully, Maria,dearest lady, what thanks do I not
(03:31):
owe you? But you can dostill more for me. Maria tried to
think what it could be, butin vain nothing occurred to her. She
could not play very well on accountof the wound in her arm, and
when she tried to read a bookor look at her picture books, a
(03:51):
strange glare came across her eyes,so that she was obliged to desist.
The time during the day always seemedvery long to her, and she waited
impatiently for evening, as her motherthen usually seated herself by her bedside and
reared or related some pretty story toher. One evening, she had just
(04:14):
finished the wonderful history of Prince Fakardinwhen the door opened and Godfather Drosslmya entered,
saying, I must see now formyself how it goes with the sick
and wounded Maria. As soon asMaria saw Godfather Drosselmiyah in his brown coat,
the image of that night in whichNutcracker lost the battle against the mice
(04:38):
returned vividly to her mind, andshe cried out involuntarily, Oh, Godfather
Drosselmia, you have been very naughty. I saw you as you sat upon
the clock and covered it with yourwings so that it should not strike loud
to scare away the mice. Iheard how you called out to the mouse
(04:59):
came. Why did you not cometo help us, me and the poor
Nutcracker. It is all your fault, naughty Godfather Drosselmiah, that I must
lie here sick in bed. Hermother was quite frightened at this and said,
what is the matter with you,dear Maria. But Godfather Drosselmiah made
(05:24):
very strange faces and said, ina grating, monotonous tone, pendula must
whir where were this way? Thatway? Clock will strike? Tired of
ticking all the day? Softly whirrewhre were strike, cling, clang,
(05:48):
strike, clang, cling, bingand bang and bang and bing, twill
scare away the mouse king, thenowl in swift flight comes dead of night.
Pendulum us whir whir, clock willstrike, cling clang this way that
(06:15):
way? Tired of ticking all theday? Bing bang and mouse king scare
away? Were were pH Maria staredGodfather Josselmiah, for he did not look
(06:35):
at all as he usually did,but appeared much uglier, and he moved
his right arm backward and forward,like a puppet pulled by wires. She
would have been afraid of him ifher mother had not been present, and
if Fred had not slipped in inthe meanwhile and interrupted him with loud laughter.
(06:58):
Ha ha, godfather draws Maya,cried Fred, you are to day
too droll again. You act justlike my harlequin that I threw into the
lumber. Room long ago. Buttheir mother was very serious and said,
dear counselor, this is very strangesport. What do you really mean by
(07:18):
it? Gracious me, replied Jossimaiah, laughing, have you forgotten then,
my pretty Watchmaker's song? I alwayssing it to such patience as Maria.
With this, he drew his chairclose to her bed and said, do
not be angry that I did notpick out the mouse King's fourteen eyes.
(07:44):
That could not be. But insteadI have in store for you a very
agreeable surprise. The counselor, withthese words, put his hand in his
pocket, drew something out slowly,and behold it was Nutcracker, with his
lost teeth nicely fastened in and hislame chin well set and sound. Maria
(08:11):
cried aloud with joy, while hermother smiled and said, you see now,
Maria, that godfather Djossmiah meant wellby your little Nutcracker. But still
you must confess. Maria, saidthe counselor that Nutcracker's figure is none of
the finest, neither can his facebe called exactly handsome. How this ugliness
(08:35):
came to be hereditary in the family. I will now relate to you if
you will listen, or perhaps youknow already the story of the Princess peurly
Pat, and the lady Mouserings andthe skillful watchmaker. Look here, Godfather,
Josselmiah interrupted Fred. Nutcracker's teeth youhave fastened in very well, and
(08:58):
his chin is no longer lame.And but why has he no sword?
Why have you not put on hissword? Ah, replied the counselor,
angrily, you must always meddle andmake you rogue. What is Nutcracker's sword?
To me? I have cured hiswounds, and he may find a
sword for himself as he can.That's true, said Fred. He is
(09:22):
a brave fellow and will know howto get one. Tell me, then,
Maria, continued the counselor, haveyou heard the story of the Princess
purly Pat? I hope, dearcounselor, said the mother, that your
story will not be frightful, asthose that you narrate usually are, by
(09:43):
no means. Dearest Madam, repliedJosselmaiah. On the contrary, what I
have this time the honor to relate, is droll and merry. Begin Begin,
then, dear Godfather, cried thechildren, and the counselor began as
follow end of chapter six,
Chapter six of Nutcracker and Mouse Kingby E. T. A. Hoffmann.
This LibriVox recording is in the publicdomain. The Sickness. When Maria
woke out of her deep and deathlikeslumber, she found herself lying in her
own bed, with the sun shiningbright and sparkling through the ice covered windows
(00:25):
into the chamber. Close beside hersat a stranger whom she soon recognized.
However, as the surgeon Wendelsterne.He said softly, she is awake.
Her mother then came to the bedsideand gazed upon her with anxious and inquiring
looks. Ah, dear mother,lisped, little Maria, are all the
(00:50):
hateful mice gone? And is thegood Nutcracker safe? Do not talk such
foolish stuff, replied her mother.What have the mice to do with Nutcracker?
You naughty child? You have causedus a great deal of anxiety,
But so it always is when childrenare disobedient and do not mind their parents.
(01:11):
You played last night with your dollsuntil it was very late. You
became sleepy, probably, and astray mouse may have jumped out and frightened
you. At all events, youbroke a pane of glass with your elbow
and cut your arm so severely thatneighbor Wendelstern, who has just taken the
piece of glass out of the wound, declares that it came very near cutting
(01:34):
a vein, in which case youmight have had a stiff arm all your
life, or perhaps have bled todeath. It was fortunate that I woke
about midnight, and, not findingyou in your bed, got up and
went into the sitting room. Thereyou lay in a swoon upon the floor,
close by the glass case, theblood flowing in a stream. I
(01:56):
almost fainted away myself at the sightthere you lay, and scattered around were
many of Frederick's leaden soldiers, brokenchina figures, gingerbread men and women,
and other playthings. And not faroff your left shoe. Ah, dear
dear mother, exclaimed Maria, interruptingher. Those were the traces of that
(02:17):
dreadful battle between the puppets and themice. And what frightened me so was
the danger of poor Nutcracker when themice were going to take him prisoner.
Then I threw my shoe at themice, and after that I don't know
what happened. Surgeon Wendelstern, heremade a sign to the mother, and
she said very softly to Maria,well, never mind about it, my
(02:42):
dear child. The mice are allgone, and little Nutcrackers stand safe and
sound in the glass case. DoctorStaalbaum now entered the chamber and spoke for
a while with surgeon Wendelstern. Thenhe felt Maria's pulse, and she could
hear very plainly that he said somethingabout a fever. She was obliged to
(03:05):
remain in bed and take physic andso it continued for some days, although
except a slight pain in her arm, she felt quite well and comfortable.
She knew little Nutcracker had escaped safefrom the battle, and it seemed to
her that she sometimes heard his voice, quite plainly, as if in a
dream, saying mournfully, Maria,dearest lady, what thanks do I not
(03:31):
owe you? But you can dostill more for me. Maria tried to
think what it could be, butin vain nothing occurred to her. She
could not play very well on accountof the wound in her arm, and
when she tried to read a bookor look at her picture books, a
(03:51):
strange glare came across her eyes,so that she was obliged to desist.
The time during the day always seemedvery long to her, and she waited
impatiently for evening, as her motherthen usually seated herself by her bedside and
reared or related some pretty story toher. One evening, she had just
(04:14):
finished the wonderful history of Prince Fakardinwhen the door opened and Godfather Drosslmya entered,
saying, I must see now formyself how it goes with the sick
and wounded Maria. As soon asMaria saw Godfather Drosselmiyah in his brown coat,
the image of that night in whichNutcracker lost the battle against the mice
(04:38):
returned vividly to her mind, andshe cried out involuntarily, Oh, Godfather
Drosselmia, you have been very naughty. I saw you as you sat upon
the clock and covered it with yourwings so that it should not strike loud
to scare away the mice. Iheard how you called out to the mouse
(04:59):
came. Why did you not cometo help us, me and the poor
Nutcracker. It is all your fault, naughty Godfather Drosselmiah, that I must
lie here sick in bed. Hermother was quite frightened at this and said,
what is the matter with you,dear Maria. But Godfather Drosselmiah made
(05:24):
very strange faces and said, ina grating, monotonous tone, pendula must
whir where were this way? Thatway? Clock will strike? Tired of
ticking all the day? Softly whirrewhre were strike, cling, clang,
(05:48):
strike, clang, cling, bingand bang and bang and bing, twill
scare away the mouse king, thenowl in swift flight comes dead of night.
Pendulum us whir whir, clock willstrike, cling clang this way that
(06:15):
way? Tired of ticking all theday? Bing bang and mouse king scare
away? Were were pH Maria staredGodfather Josselmiah, for he did not look
(06:35):
at all as he usually did,but appeared much uglier, and he moved
his right arm backward and forward,like a puppet pulled by wires. She
would have been afraid of him ifher mother had not been present, and
if Fred had not slipped in inthe meanwhile and interrupted him with loud laughter.
(06:58):
Ha ha, godfather draws Maya,cried Fred, you are to day
too droll again. You act justlike my harlequin that I threw into the
lumber. Room long ago. Buttheir mother was very serious and said,
dear counselor, this is very strangesport. What do you really mean by
(07:18):
it? Gracious me, replied Jossimaiah, laughing, have you forgotten then,
my pretty Watchmaker's song? I alwayssing it to such patience as Maria.
With this, he drew his chairclose to her bed and said, do
not be angry that I did notpick out the mouse King's fourteen eyes.
(07:44):
That could not be. But insteadI have in store for you a very
agreeable surprise. The counselor, withthese words, put his hand in his
pocket, drew something out slowly,and behold it was Nutcracker, with his
lost teeth nicely fastened in and hislame chin well set and sound. Maria
(08:11):
cried aloud with joy, while hermother smiled and said, you see now,
Maria, that godfather Djossmiah meant wellby your little Nutcracker. But still
you must confess. Maria, saidthe counselor that Nutcracker's figure is none of
the finest, neither can his facebe called exactly handsome. How this ugliness
(08:35):
came to be hereditary in the family. I will now relate to you if
you will listen, or perhaps youknow already the story of the Princess peurly
Pat, and the lady Mouserings andthe skillful watchmaker. Look here, Godfather,
Josselmiah interrupted Fred. Nutcracker's teeth youhave fastened in very well, and
(08:58):
his chin is no longer lame.And but why has he no sword?
Why have you not put on hissword? Ah, replied the counselor,
angrily, you must always meddle andmake you rogue. What is Nutcracker's sword?
To me? I have cured hiswounds, and he may find a
sword for himself as he can.That's true, said Fred. He is
(09:22):
a brave fellow and will know howto get one. Tell me, then,
Maria, continued the counselor, haveyou heard the story of the Princess
purly Pat? I hope, dearcounselor, said the mother, that your
story will not be frightful, asthose that you narrate usually are, by
(09:43):
no means. Dearest Madam, repliedJosselmaiah. On the contrary, what I
have this time the honor to relate, is droll and merry. Begin Begin,
then, dear Godfather, cried thechildren, and the counselor began as
follow end of chapter six,
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