6 THE HISTORY OF A NUT-CRACKER.

Dame Mousey had disappeared by a crevice in the floor.
At the same moment Princess Pirlipata, who was awoke by
all that din, began to cry. Those sounds made the nurses lea:
with joy. ‘“ Thank God!” they said; ‘‘ since Princess Pirh-
pata cries she is not dead.” They then all ran towards the
cradle—but their despair was great indeed when they saw
what had happened to that delicate and charming creature !
In fact, instead of that face of softly-blended white and
red—that little head, with its golden hair—those mild blue
eyes, azure as the sky itself—instead of all these charms
the nurses beheld an enormous
and mis-shapen head upon a de-
formed and ugly body. Her
2 two sweet eyes had lost their
heavenly hue, and became gog-
gle, fixed, and haggard. Her
httle mouth had grown from ear
' to ear; and her chin was covered
with a beard like grizzly cotton.
All this would have suited old
Punch; but seemed very horrible
for a young princess.
At that moment the queen entered. The twelve nurses
threw themselves with their faces against the ground; while