Page 184 - Nuts to You - The Nutcracker Retold

So, yes, poor Godfather Drosselmeir was ruing the day he’d every agreed to be a mouse-catcher and twice guessing what he should have, would have, could have done.
It was that kind of internal battle.
But there is another battle, a terribly awesome different sort of fight, the type where you must take a stand for good, and against evil, a time to go mano a mano to protect those who are in danger.
And it was barreling full-speed and hot-as-hate into the woods, straight toward the unsuspecting Sweeties and Drosselmeir.
For, yes – indeed-y, the Mouse Queen had chased the poor Ratties completely into the woods, and had left a trail of metal windup mice behind, as she whacked first one, and then another, with Krakatuk. And each missed whack had sent out a flash of ice-cold white lightning, until the woods were in danger of never thawing.
The remaining Ratties swung around trees and dove through snowdrifts. They slid down hills and tripped and fell, then got up and ran for their lives – only to be snared by bushes that slowed them down to a crawl. All in all, they were scared out of their wits and screaming at the top of their lungs.
And it was those screams that saved the Sweeties.
No sooner had Drosselmeir heard the screams than he shoved the Sweeties aside – as the Ratties pummeled down the path, trampling any and all before them. Sad to say, that
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