Page 116 - Nuts to You - The Nutcracker Retold

A Miss is as Good as Her Man
Clara spent the entire dance slipping away from, rather than dancing with, the “Ratty Prince,” as she thought of him. She reconfigured Plan C: “Stay away from eligible bachelors,” to Plan D: “Stay FAR away from the Prince.” And so far, so good.
Her only problem lay in the party guests and her parents.
First it was her mother telling her that she was so lucky – a catch like the Prince doesn’t come along every day. And then it was the young mothers congratulating her and, to Clara’s mind, secretly happy that she, too, would soon be spending time changing diapers and chasing rug-rats – because, of course, that’s the type of kids she’d have if she ever married this creepy, crawly prince. Then, when the mothers were called away to tend to their bundles of joy, the girls engulfed Clara.
Good grief, the girls.
With visions of sugarplums and pink satin slippers, the girls all thought life with a Prince would be a life filled with
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