52 THE HISTORY OF A NUT-CRACKER.

as this, Mary awoke in the morning with her heart full of
sorrow and her eyes full of tears. Her mother, moreover,
told her nothing new when she said that the trap had re-
mained empty, and that the king of the mice had suspected
the snare. Then, as the judge’s wife left the room to see
after the breakfast, Mary entered her papa’s room, and going
up to the cupboard, said, ‘‘ Alas, my dear good Mr. Drossel-
mayer, where will all this end? When I have given my
picture-books to the king of the mice to tear, and my pretty
little silk frock, which my guardian angel sent me, to rend
into pieces, he will not be content, but will every day be
asking me for more. And when | have nothing else left to
give him, he will perhaps eat me up in your place. Alas!
what can a poor little girl like me do for you, dear good Mr.
Drosselmayer ? what can I do?”

While Mary was weeping and lamenting in this manner,
she observed that the Nut-cracker had a drop of blood upon
his neck. From the day when she had discovered that her
favourite was the son of the toyman and the nephew of the
Doctor, she had left off carrying him in her arms, and had
neither kissed nor caressed him. Indeed, so great was her
timidity in this respect, that she had not even dared to touch
him with the tip of her finger. But at this moment, seeing
that he was hurt, and fearing lest his wound might be dan-

gerous, she took him gently out
of the cupboard, and began to
wipe away with her handkerchief
the drop of blood which was
-upon his neck. But how great
_ was her astonishment, when: she
. suddenly felt the Nut-cracker
‘ moving about in her hands! She
replaced him quickly upon the
shelf: his lips quivered from ear
to ear, which made his mouth seem larger still ; and, by dint
of trying to speak, he concluded by uttering the following