assistance. Hussars and heavy
dragoons came charging up at him, and he shouted in wild despair:

"'A horse! a horse! My kingdom for a horse!'

"At this moment two of the enemy's riflemen seized him by his wooden
cloak, and the king of the mice went rushing up to him, squeaking in
triumph out of all his seven throats.

"Marie could contain herself no longer. 'Oh! my poor Nutcracker!' she
sobbed, took her left shoe off, without very distinctly knowing what
she was about, and threw it as hard as she could into the thick of the
enemy, straight at their king.

"Instantly everything vanished and disappeared. All was silence.
Nothing to be seen. But Marie felt a more stinging pain than before in
her left arm, and fell on the floor insensible.

"THE INVALID.

"When Marie awoke from a death-like sleep she was lying in her little
bed; and the sun was shining brightly in at the window, which was all
covered with frost-flowers. There was a stranger gentleman sitting
beside her, whom she recognized as Dr. Wendelstern. 'She's awake,' he
said softly, and her mother came and looked at her very scrutinizingly
and anxiously.

"'Oh, mother!' whispered Marie, 'are all those horrid mice gone away,
and is Nutcracker quite safe?'

"'Don't talk such nonsense, Marie,' answered her mother. 'What have the
mice to do with Nutcracker? You're a very naughty girl, and have caused
us all a great deal of anxiety. See what comes of children not doing as
they're told! You were playing with your toys so late last night that
you fell asleep. I don't know whether or not some mouse jumped out and
frightened you, though there are no mice here, generally. But, at all
events, you broke a pane of the glass cupboard with your elbow, and cut
your arm so bally that Dr. Wendelstern (who has just taken a number of
pieces of the glass out of your arm) thinks that if it had been only a
little higher up you might have had a stiff arm for life, or even have
bled to death. Thank Heaven, I awoke about twelve o'clock and missed
you; and I found you lying insensible in front of the glass cupboard,
bleeding frightfully, with a number of Fritz's lead soldiers scattered
round you, and other toys, broken motto-figures, and gingerbread men;
and Nutcracker was lying on your bleeding arm, with your left shoe not
far off.'

"Oh, mother, mother,' said Marie, 'these were the remains of the
tremendous battle between the toys and the mice; and w