![]() ![]() In her dream it is a seven-headed Mouse King and she doesn’t awaken the next morning from a lovely dream, but with a physically injured arm. She is unworried by this odd occurrence of a doll showing signs of life, and falls asleep with her Nutcracker. In doing so she sees a flash of a human face on her wooden doll. In Hoffmann’s much more elaborate plot, Marie finds the Nutcracker herself and mends it with a bit of ribbon from her dress. At no point is Marie distressed by the fact that a wooden toy has become alive and her companion! When she wakens from her dream, back home, her Nutcracker is a cherished wooden doll once again. The Mouse King/Queen is quickly vanquished, Marie’s Nutcracker transforms into a Prince, who summarily escorts her into a magical dream world, first full of snow, then through the Kingdom of Sweets, populated by internationally based dancing sweets and ruled by the beautiful Sugar Plum Fairy and her Cavalier. Giant mice fight life-sized toy soldiers, led by her Nutcracker, who comes to life to protect her. When it meets a mishap thanks to Marie’s brother, the ballet version shows Drosselmeyer assisting in mending the doll, often imbuing it with innocent magical powers that take Marie into a wonderful dream. In the ballet, her slightly mysterious but entirely good-natured uncle, Drosselmeyer, attends the party and presents her with a special present, a Nutcracker. ![]()
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