Page 165 - Nuts to You - The Nutcracker Retold

Reggie, Ratties and a Right Cross
We must remember that Franz was locked inside a curio cabinet, and the curio cabinet being of strong, German construction, was not that easy to break out of, as Franz was trying to do. Nor was it that easy to break into, as Reggie was attempting to do.
Which is why Reggie had taken his frustrations out on Clara.
What Franz had – that Reggie didn’t have – was a heart of gold. And a wooden head. For although Clara’s calls had broken the spell and returned him to normal size, the spell was only partially broken, and had left Franz still trapped inside the wooden head of a Nutcracker – which came in quite handy when trying to break out of a particularly well- made piece of cabinetry. Franz simply needed to use his head, which he did – over and over again, banging it against the cabinet door and first denting, then splintering the wood and finally, tearing the frame from its hinges.
Such a ruckus broke through even Reggie’s sadistic enjoyment of drawing his first blood. Reggie turned, more
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