E.T.A Hoffman Quotes

“He’s my dear Nutcracker and you can’t have him. See the sad way he looking at me and showing me his sore little mouth. You’re a heartless brute- you beat your houses, and you’ve even had one of your soldiers shot.”

“He stopped, gave a deep sigh, quickly tore from his shoulders the ribbon Marie had tied around him, pressed it to his lips, put it on as a token, and, bravely brandishing his bare sword, jumped as nimbly as a bird over the ledge of the cabinet to the floor. ”

“Unfortunately, he discovered that the larger she grew the more hideous she would be, and he could think of no remedy for it. ”

“Oh, cursed fate! A fraction of a moment later, young Drosselmeier was as ugly as Princess Pirlipat had been. His shrunken body could hardly support the monstrously swollen head with the big protuberant eyes and the wide, hideously yawning mouth. ”

“Oh, what do you think Godfather Drosselmeier has made for us?”

“Crack crack crack, ugly stupid mice, we’ll beat them blue and black, we’ll squash them all like lice, crack crack crack.”

“That children, is the story of the hard nut, and now you know why people say, that was a hard nut to crack, and why it is that nutcrackers are so ugly.”

“This is Candytown, a shipment has just arrived from Paperland and the King of Chocolate. The poor Candytowners have received threatening messages from the Prince of Mosquitos, so now they are covering their houses with special paper.”

“Well, dear Marie, since you seem so fond of friend Nutcracker, he shall be entrusted to your special care, though, as I’ve already told you, Louise and Fritz have as much right to make use of him as you.”

“There had just been a big battles between the dolls and mice. The reason I was so scared was that the mice were going to capture poor Nutcracker, who was in command of the dolls. So I threw my shoe at the mice, and after that I don’t know what happened.”

“With that, he reached into his pocket, and guess what he took out-- Nutcracker, whose lost teeth he had put back in very neatly and firmly, and whose broken jaw he had fixed as good as new. Marie cried out for joy.”

“You alone, dear lady, gave me the courage and strength to fight the insolent varlet who dared to defy you. The treacherous King of the Mice has been vanquished and lies writhing in his blood. Deign, dear lady, to accept these tokens of victory from the hand of one who will be your true and faithful knight until death.”

“He would cast off his ugliness only if he could kill the son whom Madam Mouserinks had borne after the death of her seven sons with their heads, and if he could win a lady’s heart in spite of his ugliness. ”

“He put it between his teeth, gave his ponytail a good tug, and --crack, crack-- broke the shell into many pieces. Adroitly removing a few fibers from the kernel, he handed it to the princess with a low bow, closed his eyes, and took a step backward. The princess swallowed the kernel, and wonder of wonders!”

“One piece of good fortune never comes alone. Take my word for it, the nut Krakatuk isn’t the only thing we’ve found; we’ve also found the young man who’s going to crack it between his teeth and give Princess Pirlipat the beauty kernel. I am referring to none other than your cousin’s son,”

“My sons, aunts, and uncles have been slain. Take care, Your Highness, that the queen of the mice doesn’t bite your little princess in two. Take care!”

“The astronomer gazed at the stars and, with the help of Drosselmeier, who was also versed in such matters, drew up Princess Pirlipat’s horoscope. This was no easy matter, for the lines of her destiny crisscrossed and tangles, but at last-oh joy!- as last it was revealed that all Princess Pirlipat had to do to throw off the spell that had made her ugly and to recover her beauty was to eat the sweet kernel of the nut Krakatuk.”

“O Krakatuk, hard nut from which I die Hee hee, pee pee You too, Nutcracker, will perish by and by. My son with sevenfold crown Will bring Nutcracker down. Yea, never fear He will avenge his mother dear. O Life, blood red and milky white, I leave thee for the shades of night. Squeak!”

“If she hadn’t thrown her slipper at the right time, if she hadn’t outfitted me with the pensioned colonel’s sword, I’d be lying in my grave, bitten to pieces by the abominable King of Mice. Tell me now, can Pirlipat, though a true princess, hold a candle to Mistress Stahlbaum for beauty, kindness, and virtue? No, I say, she cannot!”

“Silly child, how can you imagine that this wooden doll from Nuremberg is really alive and capable of moving about?”

“Oh, my precious Mistress Stahlbaum, you see at your feet the happiest of men, whose life you saved on this very spot. You were kind enough to say that you would not scorn me as that nasty Princess Pirlipat did, for becoming ugly on your account. In that instant, I ceased to be a lowly nutcracker and regained my former, not unpleasant aspect. Oh, precious Mistress Stahlbaum, favor me with your hand, share my crown and kingdom with me, reign with me over Marzipan Case, for I am king there now.”