THE HISTORY OF A NUT-CRACKER. 53

warriors descended from the cupboard and took part in the
battle. They were certainly fresh, but very inexperienced,
troops: the gingerbread men especially were very awkward,
and, hitting right and left, did as much injury to friends as
to enemies. ‘The sugar warriors stood firm; but they were
of such different natures—emperors, knights, Tyrolese pea-
sants, gardeners, cupids, monkeys, lions, and crocodiles—that
they could not combine their movements,.and. were strong

 

only as a mass. Their arrival, however,- produced some
good; for scarcely had the mice tasted the gmgerbread men
and the sugar warriors, when they left’ the leaden soldiers,.
whom they found very hard to bite,-and turned also from
the punches, harlequins, beadles, and. cooks, who were only
stuffed with bran, to fall-upon the unfortunate reserve, which
in a moment was surrounded by thousands of mice, and, after:
an heroic defence, devoured arms and baggage.

Nut-cracker attempted to profit by that moment'‘to rally:
his army; but the terrible spectacle of the destruction of the:
reserve had struck terror to the bravest hearts. Captain
Puppet was as pale as death; Harlequin’s clothes were in

Nest rags; a'mouse had Faria into

Punch’s hump, and, like the youthful

‘Spartan’s fox, began to devour his en-

trails; and not only was the colonel

of the hussars a prisoner with a large

portion of his troops, but the mice had
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