h immediately began to move along
over the lake of its own accord. Ah! how beautiful it was when Marie
went onward thus over the waters in the shell-shaped car, with the
rose-perfume breathing around her, and the rosy waves plashing. The two
golden-scaled dolphins lifted their nostrils, and sent streams of
crystal high in the air; and as these fell down in glittering,
sparkling rainbows, there was a sound as of two delicate, silvery
voices, singing, 'Who comes over the rosy sea?--Fairy is she.
Bim-bim--fishes; sim-sim--swans; sfa-sfa--golden birds; tratrah, rosy
waves, wake you, and sing, sparkle and ring, sprinkle and kling--this
is the fairy we languish to see--coming at last to us over the sea.
Rosy waves dash--bright dolphins play--merrily, merrily on!'

"But the twelve little black boys at the back of the car seemed to take
some umbrage at this song of the water-jets; for they shook the
sunshades they were holding so that the palm leaves they were made of
clattered and rattled together; and as they shook them they stamped an
odd sort of rhythm with their feet, and sang:

"'Klapp and klipp, and klipp and klapp, and up and down.'

"'Negroes are merry, amusing fellows,' said Nutcracker, a little put
out; 'but they'll set the whole lake into a state of regular mutiny on
my hands!' And in fact there did begin a confused, and confusing, noise
of strange voices which seemed to be floating both in the water and in
the air. However, Marie paid no attention to it, but went on looking
into the perfumed rosy waves, from each of which a pretty girl's face
smiled back to her.

"Oh! look at Princess Pirlipat,' she cried, clapping her hands with
gladness, 'smiling at me so charmingly down there! Do look at her, Mr.
Drosselmeier.'

"But Nutcracker sighed, almost sorrowfully, and said:

"'That is not Princess Pirlipat, dearest Miss Stahlbaum, it is only
yourself; always your own lovely face smiling up from the rosy waves.'
At this Marie drew her head quickly back, closed her eyes as tightly as
she could, and was terribly ashamed. But just then the twelve negroes
lifted her out of the car and set her on shore. She found herself in a
small thicket or grove, almost more beautiful even than Christmas Wood,
everything glittered and sparkled so in it. And the fruit on the trees
was extraordinarily wonderful and beautiful, and not only of very
curious colours, but with the most delicious perfume.

"'Ah!' said Nutcracker, 'here we a