November 20, 2023 • 11 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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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Chapter eight of Nutcracker and mouse Kingby E. T. A. Hoffman.
This LibriVox recording is in the publicdomain. The story of the hard
nut continued you know now children,commenced Counselor Drosselmeier on the following evening.
Why the queen took such care inguarding the beautiful Princess Purlpat Was it not
(00:24):
to be feared that Lady Mouserings wouldexecute her threat that she would come again
and bite the little princess to death. Josselmeier's machines were not the least protection
against the wise and prudent Lady mouseRings. But the court astronomer, who
was at the same time private stargazerand fortune teller, to his majesty,
(00:47):
declared it to be his opinion thatthe family of Baron Purr would be able
to keep Lady Mauserings from the cradle. Most of that name were secretaries of
legation at court, with little todo, though always at hand for an
embassy to a foreign power. Butthey must now render themselves useful at home.
(01:08):
And thus it came that each ofthe waiting women must hold the son
of that family upon her lap,and by continual and attentive fondling lightened the
severe public duties which fell to theirlot. Late one night, the two
chief nurses who sat close by thecradle started up out of a deep sleep.
(01:33):
All around lay in quiet slumber,no purring, the stillness of the
grave. Even the death watch couldbe heard ticking. And what was the
terror of the two chief waiting womenas they just saw before them a large,
(01:53):
dreadful mouse which stood erect upon itshind feet and had laid its ugly
head close against the face of theprincess. With a cry of terror,
they jumped up, all awoke,But in a moment, Lady Mouse rings
for the great mouse. By pearlyPat's cradle was no one, but she
(02:15):
ran as fast as she could tothe corner of the chamber. The secretaries
of legation leaped after her, buttoo late she had disappeared through a hole
in the chamber floor. Little pearlyPat awoke at the noise and wept bitterly.
Thank Heaven, cried the nurse.She lives, she lives. But
(02:40):
how great was their terror when theylooked at Pearly Pat and saw what a
change had taken place in the sweetbeautiful child instead of the white and red
face with golden locks. A large, ill shaped head sat upon her thin,
shriveled body. Her azure blue eyeswere changed into green, staring ones,
(03:07):
and her little mouth had stretched itselffrom ear to ear. The queen
was brought to death's door by griefand sorrow, and it was found necessary
to hang the King's library with thickwadded tapestry. For again and again he
ran his head against the wall,crying out at every time in lamentable tones.
(03:31):
Ah me unhappy monarch. He mightnow have seen how much better it
would have been to eat his sausageswithout fat, and to leave Lady Mouserings
and her family at peace under thehearth. But Peurlypat's royal father did not
think about all this. He laidall the blame upon the court watchmaker and
(03:54):
mechanist, Christian Elias Drosselmeier of NewUremburg. He therefore wisely decreed that Drosslmaiah
should restore the Princess purly Pat toher former condition within four weeks, or
at least find out some certain andinfallible method of affecting this, otherwise he
(04:17):
should suffer a shameful death. Underthe axe of the executioner. Drosslmaia was
not a little terrified, but hehad great confidence in his skill and good
fortune, and began immediately the firstoperation, which he thought useful. He
took little Princess Purlpat apart with greatdexterity, unscrewed her little hands and feet,
(04:43):
and carefully examined her inward structure.But he found alas that the princess
would grow uglier as she grew bigger, and knew not what to do or
what to advise. He put theprincess carefully together again and sank down by
her crale in despair, for hewas not allowed to leave it. The
(05:05):
fourth week had commenced. Yes,Thursday had come. When the king looked
in with flashing eyes and shaking hisscepter at him, cried Christian Elias Drosslmiah
cure the princess, or thou mustdie. Josslmiah began to weep bitterly,
(05:27):
but the Princess Pearlpat lay as happyas the day and cracked nuts. Pearlpat's
uncommon appetite for nuts now occurred forthe first time to the mechanist, and
the fact likewise that she had comeinto the world with teeth in truth.
Immediately after her transformation, she hadscreamed continually until a nut accidentally came in
(05:54):
her way, which she immediately putinto her mouth, cracked it, ate
the colonel, and then became quitecomposed. Since that time, her nurses
found that nothing pleased her so wellas to be supplied with nuts. Oh,
sacred instinct of nature, eternal,inexplicable sympathy of existence, cried Christian
(06:19):
Elias DROSSELMEIERH thou pointest me to thegates of this mystery. I will knock
and they will open. He beggedstraightway for permission to speak with the Royal
Astronomer, and was led to hisapartment under a strong guard. They embraced
with many tears, for they hadbeen warm friends. Then retired into a
(06:44):
private cabinet and examined a great manybooks which treated of instinct of sympathies and
antipathies and other mysterious things. Nightcame on. The astronomer looked at the
stars, and, with the aidof Josselmia, who had great skill in
(07:04):
such matters, set up the horoscopeof Princess Pearlipat. It was a great
deal of trouble, for the linesgrew all the while more and more intricate.
But at last, what joy.At last it became clear that the
Princess Pearl Pat, in order tobe freed from the magic which had deformed
(07:27):
her and to regain her beauty,had nothing to do but to eat the
kernel of the nut crack attack.Now the nut crack atack had such a
hard shell that an eight and fortypounder might be wheeled over it without breaking
it. This hard nut must becracked with the teeth before the princess by
(07:50):
a man who had never been shavedand had never worn boots. The young
man must then hand her the kernelwith clare closed eyes, and must not
open them again until he had marchedseven steps backward without stumbling. Drosselmeier and
the astronomer had labored together without cessationfor three days and nights, and the
(08:16):
King was seated at dinner on Sundayafternoon, when the mechanist who was to
have been beheaded early Monday morning,rushed in with joy and transport and proclaimed
that he had found out a methodof restoring to the Princess Pearlipat her lost
beauty. The King embraced him withgreat kindness and promised him a diamond sword,
(08:41):
four orders of honor, and twonew Sunday suits. Immediately after dinner,
we will go to work, headded. And see to it,
dear mechanist, that the unshorn youngman in shoes is ready at hand with
the nut crack attack, and takecare that he drinks no wine beforehand,
(09:01):
for fear he should stumble as hegoes the seven steps backward like a crab.
Afterward he may drink like a fish. Drosselmia was very much discomposed at
these words, and, after muchstuttering and stammering, said that the method
was discovered, indeed, but thatthe nut crackertuck and the young man to
(09:26):
crack it were yet to be soughtafter, and that it was quite doubtful
whether nut or nutcracker would ever befound. The king, in great anger,
swung his scepter about his crowned headand roared with the voice of a
lion. Then off goes thy head. It was very fortunate for the unhappy
(09:50):
Drossalmiah that the king's dinner had beencooked better than usual this day, so
that he was in a pleasant humorand disposed to listen to reason, while
the good Queen, who was movedby the hard fate of the mechanist,
used her influence to soothe him.Drossemia then, after a while took courage
(10:13):
and represented to the Monarch that hehad performed his task in discovering the means
to restore the princess to her beauty, and thus, by the terms of
the royal decree, had secured hissafety. The King said that was all
trash, stupid stuff, and nonsense, but resolved at last that the watchmaker
(10:35):
should leave the court instantly, accompaniedby the Royal Astronomer, and never return
without the nut crack attack in hispocket. By the intercession of the Queen,
he consented that the nutcracker might besummoned by a notice in all the
home and foreign newspapers and journals.Here the counselor broke off again, and
(11:00):
I promised to narrate the rest onthe following evening. End of chapter eight
Chapter eight of Nutcracker and mouse Kingby E. T. A. Hoffman.
This LibriVox recording is in the publicdomain. The story of the hard
nut continued you know now children,commenced Counselor Drosselmeier on the following evening.
Why the queen took such care inguarding the beautiful Princess Purlpat Was it not
(00:24):
to be feared that Lady Mouserings wouldexecute her threat that she would come again
and bite the little princess to death. Josselmeier's machines were not the least protection
against the wise and prudent Lady mouseRings. But the court astronomer, who
was at the same time private stargazerand fortune teller, to his majesty,
(00:47):
declared it to be his opinion thatthe family of Baron Purr would be able
to keep Lady Mauserings from the cradle. Most of that name were secretaries of
legation at court, with little todo, though always at hand for an
embassy to a foreign power. Butthey must now render themselves useful at home.
(01:08):
And thus it came that each ofthe waiting women must hold the son
of that family upon her lap,and by continual and attentive fondling lightened the
severe public duties which fell to theirlot. Late one night, the two
chief nurses who sat close by thecradle started up out of a deep sleep.
(01:33):
All around lay in quiet slumber,no purring, the stillness of the
grave. Even the death watch couldbe heard ticking. And what was the
terror of the two chief waiting womenas they just saw before them a large,
(01:53):
dreadful mouse which stood erect upon itshind feet and had laid its ugly
head close against the face of theprincess. With a cry of terror,
they jumped up, all awoke,But in a moment, Lady Mouse rings
for the great mouse. By pearlyPat's cradle was no one, but she
(02:15):
ran as fast as she could tothe corner of the chamber. The secretaries
of legation leaped after her, buttoo late she had disappeared through a hole
in the chamber floor. Little pearlyPat awoke at the noise and wept bitterly.
Thank Heaven, cried the nurse.She lives, she lives. But
(02:40):
how great was their terror when theylooked at Pearly Pat and saw what a
change had taken place in the sweetbeautiful child instead of the white and red
face with golden locks. A large, ill shaped head sat upon her thin,
shriveled body. Her azure blue eyeswere changed into green, staring ones,
(03:07):
and her little mouth had stretched itselffrom ear to ear. The queen
was brought to death's door by griefand sorrow, and it was found necessary
to hang the King's library with thickwadded tapestry. For again and again he
ran his head against the wall,crying out at every time in lamentable tones.
(03:31):
Ah me unhappy monarch. He mightnow have seen how much better it
would have been to eat his sausageswithout fat, and to leave Lady Mouserings
and her family at peace under thehearth. But Peurlypat's royal father did not
think about all this. He laidall the blame upon the court watchmaker and
(03:54):
mechanist, Christian Elias Drosselmeier of NewUremburg. He therefore wisely decreed that Drosslmaiah
should restore the Princess purly Pat toher former condition within four weeks, or
at least find out some certain andinfallible method of affecting this, otherwise he
(04:17):
should suffer a shameful death. Underthe axe of the executioner. Drosslmaia was
not a little terrified, but hehad great confidence in his skill and good
fortune, and began immediately the firstoperation, which he thought useful. He
took little Princess Purlpat apart with greatdexterity, unscrewed her little hands and feet,
(04:43):
and carefully examined her inward structure.But he found alas that the princess
would grow uglier as she grew bigger, and knew not what to do or
what to advise. He put theprincess carefully together again and sank down by
her crale in despair, for hewas not allowed to leave it. The
(05:05):
fourth week had commenced. Yes,Thursday had come. When the king looked
in with flashing eyes and shaking hisscepter at him, cried Christian Elias Drosslmiah
cure the princess, or thou mustdie. Josslmiah began to weep bitterly,
(05:27):
but the Princess Pearlpat lay as happyas the day and cracked nuts. Pearlpat's
uncommon appetite for nuts now occurred forthe first time to the mechanist, and
the fact likewise that she had comeinto the world with teeth in truth.
Immediately after her transformation, she hadscreamed continually until a nut accidentally came in
(05:54):
her way, which she immediately putinto her mouth, cracked it, ate
the colonel, and then became quitecomposed. Since that time, her nurses
found that nothing pleased her so wellas to be supplied with nuts. Oh,
sacred instinct of nature, eternal,inexplicable sympathy of existence, cried Christian
(06:19):
Elias DROSSELMEIERH thou pointest me to thegates of this mystery. I will knock
and they will open. He beggedstraightway for permission to speak with the Royal
Astronomer, and was led to hisapartment under a strong guard. They embraced
with many tears, for they hadbeen warm friends. Then retired into a
(06:44):
private cabinet and examined a great manybooks which treated of instinct of sympathies and
antipathies and other mysterious things. Nightcame on. The astronomer looked at the
stars, and, with the aidof Josselmia, who had great skill in
(07:04):
such matters, set up the horoscopeof Princess Pearlipat. It was a great
deal of trouble, for the linesgrew all the while more and more intricate.
But at last, what joy.At last it became clear that the
Princess Pearl Pat, in order tobe freed from the magic which had deformed
(07:27):
her and to regain her beauty,had nothing to do but to eat the
kernel of the nut crack attack.Now the nut crack atack had such a
hard shell that an eight and fortypounder might be wheeled over it without breaking
it. This hard nut must becracked with the teeth before the princess by
(07:50):
a man who had never been shavedand had never worn boots. The young
man must then hand her the kernelwith clare closed eyes, and must not
open them again until he had marchedseven steps backward without stumbling. Drosselmeier and
the astronomer had labored together without cessationfor three days and nights, and the
(08:16):
King was seated at dinner on Sundayafternoon, when the mechanist who was to
have been beheaded early Monday morning,rushed in with joy and transport and proclaimed
that he had found out a methodof restoring to the Princess Pearlipat her lost
beauty. The King embraced him withgreat kindness and promised him a diamond sword,
(08:41):
four orders of honor, and twonew Sunday suits. Immediately after dinner,
we will go to work, headded. And see to it,
dear mechanist, that the unshorn youngman in shoes is ready at hand with
the nut crack attack, and takecare that he drinks no wine beforehand,
(09:01):
for fear he should stumble as hegoes the seven steps backward like a crab.
Afterward he may drink like a fish. Drosselmia was very much discomposed at
these words, and, after muchstuttering and stammering, said that the method
was discovered, indeed, but thatthe nut crackertuck and the young man to
(09:26):
crack it were yet to be soughtafter, and that it was quite doubtful
whether nut or nutcracker would ever befound. The king, in great anger,
swung his scepter about his crowned headand roared with the voice of a
lion. Then off goes thy head. It was very fortunate for the unhappy
(09:50):
Drossalmiah that the king's dinner had beencooked better than usual this day, so
that he was in a pleasant humorand disposed to listen to reason, while
the good Queen, who was movedby the hard fate of the mechanist,
used her influence to soothe him.Drossemia then, after a while took courage
(10:13):
and represented to the Monarch that hehad performed his task in discovering the means
to restore the princess to her beauty, and thus, by the terms of
the royal decree, had secured hissafety. The King said that was all
trash, stupid stuff, and nonsense, but resolved at last that the watchmaker
(10:35):
should leave the court instantly, accompaniedby the Royal Astronomer, and never return
without the nut crack attack in hispocket. By the intercession of the Queen,
he consented that the nutcracker might besummoned by a notice in all the
home and foreign newspapers and journals.Here the counselor broke off again, and
(11:00):
I promised to narrate the rest onthe following evening. End of chapter eight
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