World classic, retold in simple Mandarin
The Nutcracker
胡桃夹子
The Nutcracker (胡桃夹子, Hútáo jiāzi) is a fairy tale by E. T. A. Hoffmann, retold in simple Mandarin as a 4-chapter story with audio for learners at about HSK 1 (Beginner).
Retold from E.T.A. Hoffmann's fairy tale and the 1892 ballet: on Christmas Eve, a girl's broken toy soldier comes alive, and she must face the Mouse King before the clock rings again.
Meet the voices
- Narrator · 旁白 — A warm storyteller who sets the scene.
- Clara · 克拉拉 — A kind, brave eight-year-old who cares for a broken toy.
- Fritz · 弗里茨 — Clara's cheeky older brother who breaks the nutcracker.
- Godfather Drosselmeyer · 教父 — A mysterious toy-maker with an eye patch, who gives Clara the nutcracker.
- The Nutcracker · 胡桃夹子 — A wooden toy soldier who comes alive at midnight.
- The Mouse King · 鼠王 — The greedy king of the mice.
- The Prince · 王子 — The nutcracker, freed from the Mouse King's spell.
- The Sugar Plum Fairy · 糖梅仙子 — The kind fairy who rules the Land of Sweets.
- Mother · 妈妈 — Clara and Fritz's mother, heard only on Christmas Eve.
4 chapters, one journey
Chapter 1: The Gift
圣诞节的礼物
On Christmas Eve, Clara gets a nutcracker from her godfather, and Fritz breaks it. At midnight the toy stands up and speaks. Something is coming.
Free to read
Chapter 2: The Mouse King
鼠王来了
At midnight the toys wake up and fight the Mouse King's army. Clara has no sword, but she has one shoe. Then a golden light shines.
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Chapter 3: The Snowy Road
雪山路
Clara and the prince walk through a forest of sugar snow to a gate made of candy. A fairy welcomes them, but the night is short.
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Chapter 4: The Land of Sweets
糖国
Clara feasts in the Land of Sweets and learns to dance. Then the sun starts to rise, and she wakes on Christmas morning.
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Key words in The Nutcracker
Behind the story
The Nutcracker began as a German fairy tale by E.T.A. Hoffmann, published in 1816. In 1892 it became a famous ballet with music by Tchaikovsky, and today it is performed in theaters around the world every December.
In Chinese, the story is called 胡桃夹子 (Hútáo jiāzi), "the walnut clamp." Chinese readers and ballet fans know it as a Christmas classic, and the fairy of the candy kingdom is called 糖梅仙子 (Tángméi Xiānzǐ).
Did you know?
- A nutcracker is a real tool, often carved as a wooden soldier, used to crack hard nuts in German homes at Christmas.
- Hoffmann's tale was first told for children, and the toys coming alive at midnight is the heart of the story.
- The ballet was first shown in Saint Petersburg, Russia, in December 1892.