Chapter 2

The procession was forthwith marshalled in due order; the Rat prisoners served as pioneers and guides; after these followed the cavalry, then the Prince with all his Court, and behind him the cannons and infantry. Now came rocking-horses, heavily laden with band-boxes, in which were towns, villages, theatres, fortresses, kitchens, and so forth, and all the furniture and cooking utensils; behind these followed the little baggage-waggons, and tin and wooden coaches crammed full of passengers; then people on foot, of all sorts, in every fashion of dress from the time of Adam to the present day. After all these came long droves of animals, large and small, out of all the Noah's-arks and menageries which had been in the waggon,--first the tame and then the wild animals, the latter accompanied by tin Bedouins and Circassians, who had to watch lest the little roaring beasts should devour each other or any other harmless beings. And all the while Harlequins, Scaramouches, and Pantaloons kept jumping and skipping about in the procession, and by their tricks and merriment kept all the people in good heart and humour on the long and arduous march.

Meanwhile a large fleet of magnetic ships, with tin swans, ducks, and fishes swimming around them, floated in state on the wonderful brook, along the bank of which the procession marched. Now let the Reader picture to himself this interminable multitude advancing in the beautiful green woods, all amidst lilies-of-the-valley, violets and buttercups, lettuce-leaves, nettles, and ferns, marching over hill and dale, in a sparkling sunshine, and with a blue sky overhead,--and withal the toil and efforts of the little wights, the creaking of wheels, the cracking of whips, the word of command resounding through the ranks, the music and singing when the path was smooth and easy, and the cries and shrieks upon the bad roads,--how pretty and animated and merry the whole scene must have been! No wonder indeed that, along the whole way which the procession journeyed, the birds came out of the trees and hedges, the beetles crept out of the flowers, even the worms and snails came out of their hiding-places, all full of curiosity to see the sight; and no wonder too that they were all impressed with great admiration for Prince Nutcracker, who ruled over such a splendid people, and even made long travels with them!

After long and arduous toil, and incredible efforts, the Colony arrived at the large Nutfield, of which we have before heard.

CHAPTER THE FOURTH.

NUTCRACKER IS BETROTHED TO THE PRINCESS OF ROOT-VALLEY, AND TAKES POSSESSION OF THE NUTFIELD.--THE BIRDS DEPART.--WHAT ILL COMES OF IT.--WEDDING AND PARTING.

Prince Nutcracker and his followers were received in the most friendly manner by the good King of Root-Valley. The Princess was in a sea of rapture at the brilliant appearance of the bright, varnished, wooden Prince, who in a formal and well-turned speech declared his love for her, together with his other wishes, in a pleasing and appropriate manner. The old King even was so moved by his words, that without more ado he gave him his daughter to wife, and the whole Nutfield as her dowry. And now, when the old man tenderly embraced his future son-in-law, all the people around shouted with joy, and all the thousands of little birds joined in the general jubilee, piping and singing, and clapping their wings, amidst shouts of "Long live Prince Nutcracker and his Bride!" Then it was arranged that the whole procession of the Puppet-people should take possession of their new land, the Nutfield, before the eyes of the assembled Rootmen, which immediately took place.

As often happens in life, that dear old friends are forgotten and put aside for new ones, so it fell out in this instance. The migrating Birds, who had formerly been treated with the greatest attention and respect, and who on this occasion testified their sympathy and joy at the union of the two Peoples, had in the course of this day to experience the mortification of seeing their old friends turn their backs upon them. The little Root-mannikins, in eager curiosity, pushed them back on all sides, and gave them pretty clearly to understand that they might take to flight, and remain away for ever.

Indignant at such treatment, the Birds rose all together upon the wing, like one, hovered an instant over the heads of the two Peoples with a loud noise, and then disappeared with rapid flight in the blue distance.

Oh horror and alarm! What happened then? The sudden flight of these thousands of Birds created such a rush of air, like a whirlwind, that scarcely a man of the newly-arrived guests could keep himself on his feet. Whole ranks of tin soldiers fell one upon another; the cardpaper heroes, actors, and huntsmen were swept far away over the fields; and even Prince Nutcracker himself, who was at that instant just going in a polite manner to kiss the hand of his beloved Princess, was so shaken that he staggered and fell, rolled down the molehill, and lay sprawling at the foot of it with open mouth.

An ill omen this for the power of the new Government! The great admiration which the Rootmen had hitherto felt for their new friends quickly turned into disdain at this catastrophe. The good King and the fair Princess alone did not allow themselves to be carried away by their astonishment; they instantly descended from their throne, and helped the fallen Prince to regain his legs. But Nutcracker broke out into bitter reproaches; he called the Birds, who had upset him, silly high-flying fools, who set themselves above the whole world, and overturned all rule and order. His anger was not to be softened, until his future father-in-law promised that, to prevent the recurrence of any similar disaster, he would allow nothing flying to enter his kingdom, not even flying leaves.

One by one all the little people got up on their legs again, and the rest of the day was passed in merriment and feasting. On the morrow the wedding of Prince Nutcracker and his fair Bride was celebrated with the grandest solemnities; after which the two Peoples took leave of one another in the most friendly manner; the Root-mannikins returned to their own Valley, and the Puppet-folks remained on the Nutfield.

CHAPTER THE FIFTH.

THE PUPPET-KINGDOM IS SET IN ORDER.--HAUGHTINESS OF NUTCRACKER, HIS WIFE, AND SUBJECTS.--ANTIPATHY OF THE TWO PEOPLES.--THE ROOT-KING ABDICATES HIS CROWN.--NUTCRACKER A TYRANT.--PREPARATIONS FOR WAR IN ROOT-VALLEY.--THE WAR.--HARLEQUIN'S DEATH.--FLIGHT AND DESTRUCTION OF THE PUPPET-KINGDOM.--NUTCRACKER'S DEATH.--THE PRINCESS SAVED.

It took Prince Nutcracker a full week to put his State in order, to erect towns, fortresses, and villages on their proper spots, and to assign to his subjects their places and sphere of activity. All this was admirably executed with the aid of his indefatigable councillor Harlequin, who was the soul of the whole undertaking. Everything too seemed to favour the new State, for as yet there had been no cloud in the sky, no gust of wind to overthrow a company of soldiers, no rain to wash off the beautiful colours of the castles, or to wet the princely decorations of the great theatre.

Thus lived the young Princess for some days with her husband in joy and splendour. She had laid aside her old dresses of leaves, flowers, and gossamer, and was arrayed like the most elegant State Puppet, after the newest Paris fashions. She left off her natural lively movements, and assumed the stiff and stately deportment of her husband and the ladies of the Court, who considered it unbecoming to turn their head ever so little on one side. She almost wholly forgot how to walk, while she was constantly driving to balls, concerts, and parades, to cockchafer-hunts and fly-chases. Her chief delight was in finery: every day she put on a new dress, and before her windows were shops of all the newest fashions, so that her first glance fell upon them when she got up in the morning.

Her husband too, and his subjects, grew continually more and more haughty. They looked down with contempt upon everything that was not a Puppet, or so finely painted and varnished as they. Every bird that flew past, or came near them, was pursued with the greatest cruelty.

Even the Rootmen, who came from time to time for their pleasure, were received with more and more coldness, insomuch that they soon ceased coming at all. Nay the good King himself was compelled to witness how his son-in-law and his own daughter came in time to treat him with indifference. Naturally the former friendship of the two Peoples was soon turned into bitter hatred. Before a month had elapsed Prince Nutcracker's arrogance became so great, that he demanded of the Rootmen a monthly tribute of two thousand of the finest hazelnuts: at the same time he assembled his troops and planted his fortresses in a line on the frontier of the Root-kingdom, resolving, in case of refusal, to invade with his army the territory of his father-in-law.

Such a violation of all right naturally filled the gentle spirit of the good old King with indignation. One whole day long he wept tears of bitterness into his mossy beard; he then publicly renounced his ungrateful daughter, and forbade her ever to come into his sight again. At length he retired from all affairs of government; he felt that he was too tender-hearted for such arduous business.

The tidings of this soon reached his daughter. Her eyes were now at once opened, and she saw how unworthily she had given away her hand, how from vanity she had violated her duty to her father, and to all those who had once been dear to her. Alas, it was too late! She tried all means to dissuade her husband from his unjust demands, but he was resolute; and when she continued unceasingly her entreaties, his anger turned against her likewise; he shut her up in her room, and would not hear a word more from her. Instead of joy and peace, her constant companions now were sorrow and repentance.

Meanwhile in the Root-kingdom a young and vigorous King was elected, who shared the hostility of his people against the insolent intruders, and forthwith declared war upon them. He resolved by a decisive battle either to annihilate or drive them away, and to this end he summoned his Allies from all sides to his aid. Rabbits and moles, lizards and worms, were to invade Nutcracker's country by an underground attack, and overthrow towns and villages; locusts, bees, and cockchafers were to fall upon the enemy from the air; whilst on the ground the Rootmen themselves should assail the foe with sharp rush-lances and two-edged blades of grass.

The morning of the fatal battle dawned gloomily; the sky was covered with black clouds. Clad in their green and brown moss coats the Rootmen marched toward the Nutfield, so that the enemy did not observe them until they were close under his fortresses. Suddenly there burst forth a cannonade and firing from all the loopholes; but the balls remained sticking in the moss of the assailants, who answered the terrific discharge with loud laughter. Quickly the army of the Rootmen pressed onward into the Nutfield: Prince Nutcracker threw himself upon them with his Body-guard, but was driven back; whereupon he fled into the palace, and made Harlequin his Fieldmarshal. With wild leaps of despair Harlequin led the main army to the field.

But soon a general panic seized upon all. The subterranean Allies of the enemy had already undermined the ground along which the army of Puppets were marching, and with it the fortresses, towns, and villages on the Nutfield; at the same time almost all the buildings round about tumbled one upon another with a loud crash. Fieldmarshal Harlequin himself was seized by the leg by a fierce old Mole, who dragged him down into the earth, in spite of the most heroic struggles: he was never seen again!

This was the signal for a general and wild flight of Nutcracker's brilliant army, who fled to the royal palace with the cry of "Save yourselves as you can!" The palace consisted of strongly-built wooden saloons, and longest withstood the labours of the undermining animals. Here Nutcracker had already put the horses to his State-carriage; then quickly jumping into it with his wife, he holloa'd to the coachman, "Off and away, far out of this Valley, as fast as you can, and as far as possible!" And all his people crowded round the coach in wild confusion to find a refuge, for on every side insects came flying and buzzing around in the air, and with their wings overthrew everything that was not firmly fixed.

Away went the fugitives, rolling over the field like a great ball. Although hard pressed by the enemy, and with the loss of many killed, they succeeded in creeping through the great hedge which surrounded the Valley, and escaping into the forest.

The reverses of the insolent Prince and his subjects now reached their height: the very sky waged war against them, and poured down upon them torrents of rain. Nutcracker and his Princess saw with grief, from the windows of their coach, the torrent increasing and overflowing the road,--their subjects, houses, and furniture swept past in the whirlpool, one after another falling under the toils of the march, tumbling over precipices or getting entangled in roots, nettles, and heaps of fallen leaves, and perishing miserably. Nutcracker's whole People were speedily destroyed: he too had not gone many yards, when the water unglued the joints of his coach, and the princely pair were carried away by the flood. But the natural strong and active spirit of the Princess was now re-awakened by the danger. How had she once used to skip about exultingly, and swim upon the waves in such weather! With one hand she seized her husband's pigtail, and with the other a twig. She tried with a spring to reach the root of a tree; but alas! the hair of the terrified Prince was not strong enough: the pigtail remained in her hand, and she saw her husband carried away by the torrent and vanish from her sight.

At first she called sorrowfully after him, but presently her natural spirit became only the more daring. She threw off her silly fashionable dress, soaked with the rain, which cramped her slender limbs; and quickly clothing herself in the first leaves she could find, climbed up like a squirrel into an old tree, and in a hole in its branches sought shelter from the storm and the approaching night.

CHAPTER THE SIXTH.

THE BIRDCATCHER AND HIS FAMILY.--HOW THE CHILDREN RETURN HOME WITH RARE TREASURES.--NUTCRACKER'S DEAD BODY.--THE LITTLE MAIDEN IN THE STORK'S NEST, AND WHO SHE WAS.--AFFECTING RECONCILIATION ON THE NUTFIELD.--THREATENING DANGER TO THE ROOTMEN.--EMIGRATION OF THE ROOTMEN.

At the time when all these wonderful occurrences happened, there lived at the entrance of this forest an old Birdcatcher and his family. During the two years since he had settled here, his business had prospered remarkably; and, especially in the Spring and Autumn, so many birds had been taken in his nets, that he had earned many a bright dollar, and had laid by many a spare penny.

Now once on a Spring day a heavy rain had fallen, and, strange to say, ever since that time not a bird was longer to be seen there: every morning the Birdcatcher found his nets torn, his limed twigs destroyed, and even his screech-owl and other decoy-birds had vanished from their cages and perches. And yet he knew well enough there lived no other man in the whole forest who could have done all this.

One day he had sent his children with the cart deep into the forest, to fetch brushwood. Evening came on, and they did not return. It already began to grow dark, and as they still had not come back, his anxiety increased, and he determined to go in search of them. He had just crossed the threshold, when suddenly he heard a shouting and singing at a distance in the wood. Joyous sounds! it was his dear children, who were dragging and pushing along the little cart, piled up and closely packed.

"You good-for-nothing little brats, where have you been all this time?" he exclaimed, half angrily, though overjoyed. But they laughed, and removing the green brushwood with which they had covered the loaded cart, they exclaimed, quite red in the face with delight, "Only see, father, what we have here!" And, lo and behold, the cart was filled from top to bottom with broken, bent, and gnaw'd playthings!

And now they went on to tell the whole story of their treasures; and amidst a Babel of voices, all speaking together, one louder than another, the sum and substance of the story was this. After losing their way, they had wandered about till they came to a narrow, smooth dale, which lost itself like a footpath in the wood. The ground was all wet and miry from the rain. Suddenly, to their amazement, they found all these splendid things scattered about in radiant confusion; and, had not the sun already sunk behind the pine-trees, they would have followed the path still further. It seemed to have no end, but disappeared deep in the thicket, and, as far as they could see, it was all bestrewn with similar treasures.

The story seemed strange to their father, and he resolved to follow the path they spoke of the next day, hoping in his own mind to discover a track of the culprit who had decoyed away the birds and torn his nets.

The next morning, as soon as the dawn glimmered through the still forest, the Birdcatcher's whole family were on their way with the wood-cart to the dale; and, truly enough, there they found everything as the children had described.

"Look, look, father! there is another splendid little wooden fellow!" exclaimed the youngest child, raking out of the mire a little Nutcracker, bedaubed with mud, his colours all washed off, and his pedestal lost.

"Heyday! what a face the fellow has, and what a mouth, and what goggling eyes!" cried all the children in one voice.

"Silly nonsense! stupid toy!" exclaimed the old man angrily, as he snatched the Nutcracker from them, and flung it far away into the wood.

But now a wonderful sight presented itself to his view.

Out of a Crane's nest, high up on an old oak-tree, there rose a little maiden of human form, quite enveloped in gossamer. She climbed down from the tree like a squirrel, ran with all speed to the spot where Nutcracker lay, dug him a grave with her hands, and, with the aid of the two Cranes, laid him in it, and raked the earth over the spot; after which she climbed again up the tree, and into the nest.

The Birdcatcher and his family stood open-mouthed, in silent astonishment; they feared to frighten away the little maiden, but this strange sight made them hesitate what to do.

"So, so, then, you are the little witch who robs me of my bread!" at last exclaimed the Birdcatcher, giving vent to his repressed anger. "Wait there awhile, my pretty little bird: tomorrow morning we will come again with axe and nets; we will then cut down your tree in a trice and catch you. For the present let us see where this path leads, and whether there are not more of you here."

Before he had finished speaking, he espied the little maiden peeping anxiously from under her white veil out of the nest, and making a sign. And instantly the Cranes came flying to her, took up the nest with their bills, raised it from the branches, and bore it swiftly through the air.

Who other could the little maiden be than our Princess of Root-Valley?

Fear of her father and her countrypeople had prevented her returning to her native Valley. At the same time a feeling of sorrow for the haughtiness with which she had treated the Birds whom she had once loved, had grown so strong in her heart, that she resolved to make amends for her former ill-conduct to these good-natured creatures. Since the fatal day when her husband and his people had been all destroyed, she had made her abode in this tree, and taken under her tender care all the young birds whose parents had died. Indeed she it really was who, in spite of her fear of Men, had every night destroyed the Birdcatcher's nets, and had warned the birds against venturing near him.

At this instant however she saw the danger which threatened her countrymen, if these selfish people should discover the Root-kingdom. All other considerations therefore must yield. Without delay she desired the Cranes to convey her straight to her own Valley, where she was resolved to alight, happen what might.

In the Nutfield, which had so recently been the scene of her false splendour and her follies, the Rootmen happened on this very day to be assembled. Notwithstanding her wrong conduct, they had not yet given up the Princess, and, at the entreaties of her father, they were met to consider what steps could be taken to search for her.

The Cranes alighted with the nest. In an instant the repentant daughter fell on the neck of her overjoyed father, and all the People compassionated her, and forgave her from the bottom of their hearts. In their delight at seeing her again, all were ready to give themselves up to unrestrained rejoicing, but the Princess checked their merriment. She told her People the danger which threatened them of being discovered by Men. Anxiety and terror seized the Rootmen at this news: it was no longer possible to remain in the forest. They at once resolved to leave Root-Valley, and to emigrate by subterranean passages to distant lands.

The whole body put themselves forthwith in motion, when just at that instant there appeared upon the rocky heights, behind the thick hedge, the Birdcatcher with his family. If these folks had been astonished at the first instant, how much more so were they now, when they saw all the little Rootmen disappear in the rocks!

Angry and impatient at not being able to get at them, the Birdcatcher tried all he could to break through the hedge, but in vain,--he only came off with scratched and bleeding hands.

"Ill-luck!" he exclaimed; "had I but my axe and nets, to catch those tiny little creatures, I might sell them in the town, or make a show of them, and become the richest man in the world!" And thereupon he took his whistle, and began to whistle an alluring melody, thinking by this means to entice the little People like birds; but this attempt was likewise in vain. All the little Rootmen passed before his eyes into the rock, actually laughing and making faces at him; and when the very last little elf vanished in the rock, the opening closed. Since that time no one has ever again seen the little Rootmen.

The End.

TRANSCRIBER'S NOTES

Inconsistencies in hyphenation have been retained; however, some mid-paragraph illustrations have been moved to the beginning of the chapter.

The caret in "Third Chapt^r" indicates a superscripted letter "r."