se poor Marie dared not utter another word concerning that
which her whole mind was full of, for you may well suppose that it was
impossible for anyone who had seen all that she had seen to forget it.
And I regret to say that even Fritz himself at once turned his back on
his sister whenever she wanted to talk to him about the wondrous realm
in which she had been so happy. Indeed, he is said to have frequently
murmured, 'Stupid goose!' between his teeth, though I can scarcely
think this compatible with his proved kindness of heart. This much,
however, is matter of certainty, that, as he no longer believed what
his sister said, he now, on a public parade, formally recanted what he
had said to his red hussars, and, in the place of the plumes he had
deprived them of, gave them much taller and finer ones of goose quills,
and allowed them to sound the march of the hussars of the guard as
before.

"Marie did not dare to say anything more of her adventures. But the
memories of that fairy realm haunted her with a sweet intoxication, and
the music of that delightful, happy country still rang sweetly in her
ears. Whenever she allowed her thoughts to dwell on all those glories
she saw them again, and so it came about that, instead of playing as
she used to do, she sat quiet and meditative, absorbed within herself.
Everybody found fault with her for being this sort of little dreamer.

"It chanced one day that Godpapa Drosselmeier was repairing one of the
clocks in the house, and Marie was sitting beside the glass cupboard,
sunk in her dreams and gazing at Nutcracker. All at once she said, as
if involuntarily:

"Ah, dear Mr. Drosselmeier, if you really were alive, _I_ shouldn't be
like Princess Pirlipat, and despise you because you had had to give up
being a nice handsome gentleman for my sake!'

"'Stupid stuff and nonsense!' cried Godpapa Drosselmeier.

"But, as he spoke, there came such a tremendous bang and shock that
Marie fell from her chair insensible.

"When she came back to her senses her mother was busied about her and
said:

"How could you go and tumble off your chair in that way, a big girl
like you? Here is Godpapa Drosselmeier's nephew come from Nuernberg. See
how good you can be.'

"Marie looked up. Her godpapa had got on his yellow coat and his glass
wig, and was smiling in the highest good-humour. By the hand he was
holding a very small but very handsome young gentleman. His little face
was red and white; he