The Nutcracker and the Mouse King

On Christmas Eve, little Marie finds among the presents a wooden nutcracker, which she takes under her protection when her brother Fritz breaks three of its teeth. Left alone in the parlour, she sees the toys come to life and do battle with an army of mice led by a seven-headed king. Hurt in the fighting, she listens to the story of Princess Pirlipat, which explains where the little wooden soldier comes from. The tale explores childhood, the border between dreaming and waking, and how far we believe what a child tells us. Hoffmann nests one story inside another in a fantasy where the marvellous always keeps a possible explanation.