among whom
there were princes even, had arrived, having sufficient confidence in
their teeth to try to disenchant the princess. The ambassadors were
horrified when they saw poor Pirlipat again. The diminutive body with
tiny hands and feet was not big enough to support the great shapeless
head. The hideousness of the face was enhanced by a beard like white
cotton, which had grown about the mouth and chin. Everything had turned
out as the court astronomer had read it in the horoscope. One milksop
in shoes after another bit his teeth and his jaws into agonies over the
nut, without doing the princess the slightest good in the world. And
then, when he was carried out on the verge of insensibility by the
dentists who were in attendance on purpose, he would sigh:

"'"Ah dear, that was a hard nut."

"'Now when the king, in the anguish of his soul, had promised to him
who should disenchant the princess his daughter and the kingdom, the
charming, gentle young Drosselmeier made his appearance, and begged to
be allowed to make an attempt. None of the previous ones had pleased
the princess so much. She pressed her little hands to her heart and
sighed:

"'"Ah, I hope it will be he who will crack the nut, and be my husband."

"'When he had politely saluted the king, the queen, and the Princess
Pirlipat, he received the nut Crackatook from the hands of the Clerk of
the Closet, put it between his teeth, made a strong effort with his
head, and--crack--crack--the shell was shattered into a number of
pieces. He neatly cleared the kernel from the pieces of husk which were
sticking to it, and, making a leg, presented it courteously to the
princess, after which he closed his eyes and began his backward steps.
The princess swallowed the kernel, and--oh marvel!--the monstrosity
vanished, and in its place there stood a wonderfully beautiful lady,
with a face which seemed woven of delicate lily-white and rose-red
silk, eyes of sparkling azure, and hair all in little curls like
threads of gold.

"'Trumpets and kettledrums mingled in the loud rejoicings of the
populace. The king and all his court danced about on one leg, as they
had done at Pirlipat's birth, and the queen had to be treated with Eau
de Cologne, having fallen into a fainting fit from joy and delight. All
this tremendous tumult interfered not a little with young
Drosselmeier's self-possession, for he still had to make his seven
backward steps. But he collected himself as best h