Page 50 - Nuts to You - The Nutcracker Retold

The Long Way Home
Even though Drosselmeir was running at top speed, he felt he was going nowhere fast. It was exceedingly dark inside the clock and he didn’t remember it being so deep. But, he thought with a sigh, “That’s how things are when you’re running for your life. Everything happens in slow motion.” And Drosselmeir felt sure that he was running for his life, and was absolutely sure he was running for poor Franz’s life, as well.
Now, have you ever noticed that when you’re trying your hardest to fix what you’ve done wrong, make up for a mean moment or whatever it was that you screwed up, your brain goes into overdrive. And there you are, trying to think straight on how best to make amends – and all that comes into your mind is how you’ve made a mess of things?
Well, that happens to adults, too. And at that moment, even as Drosselmeir was running, scared stiff that he’d feel Krakatuk crack him on the noggin and he’d turn into a – what would a clock-making magician turn into? A top hat and white rabbit? A wand and gloves? Even while he was running away and trying to think how to save Franz,
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