Page 52 - Nuts to You - The Nutcracker Retold

When Things Go Wrong
Sometimes when things go wrong, we try to pretend that everything’s all right and maybe even that we planned it that way. Well, that’s exactly what little Reggie did at that moment, because instead of scoring the Nutcracker, he was empty-handed and looking at the inside of an empty clock. So even though Reggie wished he could disappear too, and even though at that very moment, he wanted to never, ever see his mother again – he turned around to face the growling, grumbling, glowering grimace of his mummy.
To put a good face on the very obvious fact that he did not, indeed, have the Nutcracker anymore, Reggie brushed his paws, first against each other and then on his legs, as if getting rid of something unpleasant.
“There,” he said in what he hoped was an obvious gloat, “I’ve gotten rid of both nephew and uncle in one fell swoop.”
Reggie was a little – actually, a lot – intimidated when the Mouse Queen bent over and stuck her snout in his face and
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