Contents Chapter 1
- Christmas Eve _
Chapter 1 Christmas Eve 3 Chapter 2 The mystery present 8 Chapter 3 The magic begins 12 Chapter 4 Sleigh bells ringing 25 Chapter 5 The Land of Sweets 35
A nutcracker is a wooden or = ' ee
metal tool for cracking nutshells
When this story was written, ; A soft, fluffy lay er of SnOW
nuts were a special Christmas covere d Clara’s house on
treat Some nutcrackers were
even shaped like dolls | Christmas Eve
Trang 5
Suddenly, there was a loud knock on the door
“He’s here!” she cried,
dancing over and flinging
) A open the door ) a
Inside, a party was in full swing, but one very special guest hadn’t arrived Clara
watched for him at the window
4 5
Trang 6
It was Clara’s godfather She gave him a big hug
“What a warm welcome on such a chilly night!” he said, with a chuckle
“IT have a very special present for you this year,” he told Clara, as he placed a package under the tree
Clara loved her godfather’s visits Something magical always
) happened when he was around
Trang 7
Finally, Clara tiptoed
downstairs She soon found
the present, tied up with a big
red bow On the ribbon there
was a tag with a message Chapter 2 The mystery present ` NÓ
y That —: Clara couldn’ t
sleep She lay in bed thinking
about her present “It can’t
hurt if I just have a little peek,” she thought
8
“T wonder what Godfather
means,” thought Clara 9
Trang 8Slowly, Clara untied the Just then, the clock struck bow and folded back a corner midnight Clara gave an
of the paper enormous yawn In a few
Inside, she found a wooden minutes, she was fast asleep nutcracker doll, dressed like under the tree
a soldier
Trang 9
She looked around and saw she was under the Christmas tree and it seemed to be growing Chapter 3 What's : happening? /
Clara woke up with a start,
feeling very confused She But the tree wasn’t growing
couldn’t remember where she — she was shrinking Soon, she
was and her doll had vanished was as small as a mouse
Trang 10Out of the corner of her eye, “Don’t be afraid, Clara I
Clara thought she saw won't hurt you,” said a friendly
something leaping around voice Clara was astonished
Frightened, she darted behind a present
Her doll had come to life!
“T’m the Nutcracker Prince,” | he said, with a bow, “and I’m
and heard the tree rustle here to protect you The kitchen
behind her Clara spun around mice are plotting to kidnap you.”
Trang 11Wheel out
Trang 12
Mice began to appear in the shadows Slowly, they
crept closer Clara hid behind
the prince
“Steady, men steady,” he shouted “Wait for the signal — and FIRE!”
Huge lumps of cheese flew from the cannons and struck down several mice Some
lumps landed in the corners and the other mice scampered
Trang 13“Excellent work,
\ men!” roared the
; & nee as the last
ey mouse vanished
# > But the fight
wasn't over yet “Bravo,” said Xu an evil voice from the shadows
“That’s the Mouse King,” the prince whispered to Clara
“Is cheese the best you can do?” jeered the king “It'll
se take more than that to
» beat me! Now
hand over the m aa & # 5 `
“I'd rather die!” said the prince
“That can be arranged,” the Mouse King sneered
A mouse wearing a crown
"4 and an eye patch appeared
Trang 14
Soon, the prince and the Mouse King were locked in battle Their swords clanged as they danced around
the room
Ill make |
cream cheese Take that,
out of you! you rascally
J} : rodent!
Then disaster struck The prince tripped on a lump of cheese and sprawled on the floor Seizing his chance, the Mouse King put his sword to the prince’s neck
4
Well, well,
well
“Im going to enjoy
Trang 15
As the Mouse King pulled back his sword, Clara whipped
off her shoe and threw it as hard as she could at his head
He fell in a heap on the
floor — knocked out cold
Chapter 4
Sleigh bells ringing
Clara rushed over to the prince “Are you alright?” she cried “Yes — thanks to you,” he
said “We must celebrate,” he
added as Clara helped him up “T know just the place.”
Trang 16The prince led Clara to a
golden sleigh behind the
Christmas tree and helped her aboard
“Off we go, boys!” the prince
called to his four reindeer
°
As theu gathered speed, the sleigh started to rise up into
the air They rode out through
an open window and into
Trang 17After some time, theu came | Just then, a beautiful lady
to a forest covered with crisp dressed in sparkling white | white snow appeared among the trees |
“We're nearly at our first J “Clara, I’d like you to meet |
stop,” the prince announced @ > my good friend, the Ice Queen,” lÌ a “Hold on, we’re going down!” _ said the prince
: The snow crunched under A } | |
t | the reindeers’ feet as they
land 28 À .A What a lovely \¥ |
tanc = a surprise! 5
Trang 18
The queen led them to h
icy palace, which glisten
in the moonlight
Inside, icicle chandeliers hung
from every ceiling
“You've arrived in time for the
dances!” said the queen, as they
walked into a grand ballroom
Trang 19
A piano began to play
and eight ballerinas dressed in silver and white twirled into the middle of the room
They twinkled like snowflakes as they spun around
32
Trang 20“Do we really have to go?” sighed Clara
“Yes, we really do,” said the
prince “There’s someone else I want you to meet and we don’t have much time.”
Goodbye!
Bhs
Clara gasped when they reached their next stop The trees were
bursting with marshmallow
blossoms, and lollipop flowers sprouted from the ground
Trang 21Then Clara saw that the Before them stood a huge
mountains were topped with marzipan castle, decorated
melted chocolate and milkshake with all kinds of treats
rivers flowed down them YE a
“Where are we?” she asked, | A2 4© nr amazed a 7», if /_—
“The Land of Sweets!” Cm â ô h Ae
Trang 22Lifting Clara from the sleigh, he set her down on the palace
steps and a fanfare of trumpets
rang out At the top, the doors
opened anda fairy oy | appeared, dressed _ Cy € from head to Soy | toe in pink Se
“Clara, this is the Sugarplum
Fairy,” said the prince “She rules over the Land of Sweets.”
“I hope you have a sweet
tooth,” said the Sugarplum Fairy, with a smile
She led them into a grand
hall, where the tables were covered with chocolate cakes,
Trang 23“Watch the wobbly chairs,” First came the dance of
| whispered the prince as Clara chocolate, and a Spanish pair
sat down “They’re made of spun around to snapping raspberry mousse!” castanets
Clara ate until she thought she’d pop
After the feast, a band struck
up and dancers from around the world performed for Clara
40 4l
Trang 24
{>} ` A |
Next came the exotic dance The third group of dancers
of coffee A beautiful Arabian ` had come all the way from
*) sprincess danced with smooth, - | China to entertain everyone
swirling movements intime _ _* with their tea dance
_ to soft, soothing music
| Many more dances followed,
each one showing something good to eat or drink
Trang 25{>} ` A |
Next came the exotic dance The third group of dancers
of coffee A beautiful Arabian ` had come all the way from
*) sprincess danced with smooth, - | China to entertain everyone
swirling movements intime _ _* with their tea dance
_ to soft, soothing music
| Many more dances followed,
each one showing something good to eat or drink
Trang 26“IT hope this protects you,” it said “T wonder if that | means he knew the | Nutcracker Prince would rescue me,” thought Clara “Maybe it wasn’t just a dream ” When Clara woke up, she
was back under the Christmas tree and the prince
was gone
Only her doll lay beside her “Oh, it was only a dream,” she cried “But it seemed so real.”
Trang 27
The Nutcracker was written by a German writer and composer named E.T.A Hoffman in 1816 Later, it was adapted by Alexander Dumas, a
French writer who also wrote The Three Musketeers
In 1892, a Russian composer named Tchaikovsky turned the version by Dumas into a ballet, which
is now performed all over the world
Series editor: Lesley Sims Designed by Russell Punter and
Natacha Goransky
First published in 2004 by Usborne Publishing Ltd., Usborne House,
83-85 Saffron Hill, London EC1N 8RT, England www.usborne.com
Copyright © 2004 Usborne Publishing Ltd
All rights reserved No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise
without the prior permission of the publisher The name Usborne and the devices 2 @ are Trade Marks of Usborne Publishing Ltd
Printed in China UE First published in America in 2005
Trang 29USBORNE YOUNG READING: SERIES ONE sé k * a Tiếu: * ey rea bã "xi cP * „* K * * *
When Clara opens a special present on Christmas Eve, she finds an unusual doll inside But the doll is more than unusual — it’s magic Soon Clara is setting off on an incredible
journey through the Land of Snow and Ice, and on to the most spectacular place she has ever seen
The Nutcracker is in Series One of Usborne Young Reading, which combines good stories with easy reading text Usborne Young Reading has been developed in consultation
with Alison Kelly, Senior Lecturer at Roehampton University Series One is for readers who have just started reading alone
Series Two is for readers who are growing in confidence Series Three is for readers who are ready for longer stories
Find out about all the titles available at www.usborne.com
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