Page 47 - Nuts to You - The Nutcracker Retold

you thought the Princess would give in, just to stop the squeaky, scratchy sound.
Suddenly, Franz spied a golden nut tied on top of the Mouse Queen’s scepter. It had to be the Magic Nut that Uncle Drosselmeir sought!
And suddenly, many things happened at once.
Putting her hands over her ears, Princess Pirlipat let go of Franz and screamed, “Stop! Stop it! I’ll do anything if you just stop!”
Franz sprang across the room, onto the chair and clamped his mighty jaws over Krakatuk, chomping down with every last ounce of his strength. But the Nut was too big and too hard and his teeth slipped off and onto the rod of the scepter.
Drosselmeir dashed into the room to save Franz. Too late, he was too late.
The Mouse Queen slammed her scepter down hard on the floor with Franz still hanging on! A loud bang, a flashing light – followed by a cloud of smoke!
As the smoke cleared, a toy Nutcracker rolled to the feet of Princess Pirlipat.
For a moment, silence ruled supreme.
Everyone was in shock. Drosselmeir because Franz had NOT been able to crack the Nut. The Mouse Queen because she had turned Franz into a Nutcracker. Princess Pirlipat because the boy she adored was now an ugly toy.
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