Marie is convinced this story is about her new Nutcracker, especially when she gets visited by the Mouse King for several nights running. He tells her a long story about a princess named Pirlipat, some wicked mice, and a brave young man who tried to save the princess from the mice, only to get turned into a nutcracker. No one in her family believes Marie's story of how she hurt her arm, but Drosselmeier seems to.

While she's stuck in bed, Herr Drosselmeier comes to visit. She faints from blood loss, and has to spend a week in bed recovering. She stays up late playing with him, gets attacked by lots of mice led by a seven-headed Mouse King, the Nutcracker and all of Fritz's toy soldiers come to life and have a battle with the mice, and Marie gets injured in the fray, but saves Nutcracker from the ravages of the Mouse King by throwing her shoe at him. He also gives the family a very ugly nutcracker. They get a huge number of fabulous presents for Christmas, including a mechanical castle made by Drosselmeier, who is a Chief Justice, but seems to spend most of his time making fantastical toys and fixing clocks.

It's all about a little girl named Marie who has a somewhat creepy godfather, Herr Drosselmeier, as well as a bratty brother named Fritz and a snobby sister named Luise. Very German-winter-near-the-old-and-scary-forest sort of vibe. Hoffman's is the original, and it has this very bold, brash feel to it.

Nutcracker by eta hoffmann