Page 219 - Nuts to You - The Nutcracker Retold

Trapped a Rat
When the Nutcracker fell under the spell and was fast asleep at Pirlipat-now-Coffee’s feet, Pirlipat wanted to join her friends and sleep, too. She wanted to never, ever, in a million years – to never, ever obey the Mouse Queen again. In desperation, she looked about for a way to help her friends.
That’s when she noticed the giant mousetrap.
And then she noticed the chocolates leading up to the spot where the trap would fall.
And Pirlipat, in that instance, became a princess-in-heart; as she determined she would sacrifice herself, rather than let the Mouse Queen thump any Sweetie. The problem was, that the Mouse Queen was still piping away. And so Pirlipat-now-Coffee was still dancing away. As the Mouse Queen waddled closer, Pirlipat knew she had to make sure the first thing the Mouse Queen saw were the chocolates.
Off she danced to the line of chocolates, so that as the Mouse Queen came out of the bushes, Pirlipat was there,
205