Page 220 - Nuts to You - The Nutcracker Retold

bowing and sweeping and dancing an invitation to “Come, follow me,” as she gracefully revealed the wonderful row of bonbons laid out for a queen. After all, having been with the Mouse Queen for what seemed to be years, Pirlipat knew the Mouse Queen couldn’t go more than five minutes without a sugar fix.
And she was right.
The Mouse Queen spied the chocolates, her favorites! She quit piping, popped a truffle past the drool oozing and dripping from her lips, and let the sweetness melt on her tongue as she groaned in delight. Pirlipat danced a couple more steps back, revealing a delightful piece of fudge – and the Mouse Queen rushed to cram it into her mouth with the bonbon.
Pirlipat began to realize that, without the Pipe piping, she was no longer compelled to dance. If she could only keep the Mouse Queen’s mouth full, then maybe the spell would wear off and the Sweeties – and especially the Nutcracker – would wake up! So Pirlipat continued to dance – this time, in order to lure the Mouse Queen to another piece of chocolate, a piece covered in caramel. That ought to stick the Mouse Queen’s jaws together for quite a while!
Before the Mouse Queen could notice the Little Teas stretching and yawning behind her, Pirlipat spun around and let the Mouse Queen see the perfect piece of dark chocolate. The Mouse Queen pounced – which was sort of like a really, fat, slinky, undulation – from one place to another. For first her fat arms flung out and then the fat on the back of her arms rolled forward, followed by her belly, with all her hind-end bumping and blending around. It was almost as if she dove to the ground, and waves of fat flowed after.
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