“Ah,” said Marie, “if I only could stay for a little! Oh, it is so lovely!”
Nutcracker clapped his little hands, and immediately there appeared a number of little shepherds and shepherdesses, and hunters and huntresses, so white and delicate that you would have thought they were made of pure sugar, although they had been walking about in the wood. They brought a beautiful golden easy-chair for Marie, and invited her to take a seat. As soon as she did so the shepherds and shepherdesses danced a pretty ballet, for which the hunters and huntresses played the music on their horns, and then they all disappeared amongst the thickets.
“Had we not better go on a little farther?” asked Nutcracker.
“Oh, I’m sure it was most delightful,” said Marie, as she stood up and followed Nutcracker, who was going on, leading the way. They walked by the side of a sweet babbling brook, which seemed to be what was giving out all the perfume which filled the wood.
“This is Orange Brook,” said Nutcracker, “but, except for its sweet scent, it is nothing like as fine a water as the River Lemonade, a beautiful broad stream which falls—as this one does—into Almond-milk Sea.” And, indeed, Marie soon heard a louder splashing and rushing, and came in sight of the River Lemonade, which went rolling along in swelling waves of yellowish color, between banks covered with herbage and underwood. A short distance farther, on the banks of this stream, stood a nice little village. The houses were all dark brown, with gilded roofs so gay that one might suppose that they were plastered over with lemon peel and shelled almonds.
“That is Gingerbread Valley on the Honey River,” said Nutcracker. “It is known for the good looks of its people, but they are very short-tempered, because they suffer so much from toothache. So we will not go there, nor, indeed, visit all the little towns and villages or country. Let us be off to the capital.”
He stepped quickly onwards, and Marie followed him until they came to a great lake which kept broadening and broadening out wider and wider and on which the loveliest swans, white as silver—with colors of gold—were floating everywhere. Nutcracker clapped his little hands and the waves of the lake began to sound louder and splash higher, and at once there came a large shell barge made of precious stones of every color and drawn by two dolphins with scales of gold. It carried her and Nutcracker over the lake.
Oh, how beautiful it was when Marie went onward there over the waters in the shell-shaped barge, with the rose perfume breathing around her, and the rosy waves splashing! But she could not restrain a cry of admiration and astonishment as she now found herself all of a sudden before a castle, brightly lighted and splendid with a hundred beautiful towers. Here and there upon its walls were rich bouquets of violets, narcissus, tulips, and carnations. The great dome as well as the roofs of the towers were set all over with thousands of sparkling gold and silver stars.
“Aha!” said Nutcracker, “here we are at Marzipan Castle at last.”
Marie was lost in admiration of this magic palace. The fact did not escape her that the roof was wanting to one of the tallest towers, and that little men, upon a scaffold of sticks of cinnamon, were busy putting it on again. But before she had time to ask Nutcracker about this, beautiful music was heard and out came twelve little pages with lighted clove sticks, which they held in their little hands as torches. After them came four ladies about the size of Marie’s Christmas doll, but so gorgeously and brilliantly dressed that Marie saw in a moment they could be nothing but princesses. They embraced Nutcracker most tenderly, and cried at once, “O dearest prince! Beloved brother!”