Sugar Plums for Dry Creek by Janet Tronstad

Author:Janet Tronstad
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Steeple Hill
Published: 2005-02-15T00:00:00+00:00

Judd knew ballerinas were supposed to glide, but seeing Lizette dance the first dance left him breathless. She was dipping and bowing and soaring all over the practice floor. And while Lizette was moving, Charley kept reading from the narration about a young girl and her brother who were given special gifts at Christmas time.

The sun was starting to set, and Charley asked Mrs. Hargrove to bring him a lamp that was along the side of the room.

Once the lamp was there, Lizette danced in the circle of light it gave.

Judd was watching Lizette so closely that he didn’t notice when his cue came.

“The Nutcracker,” Charley cleared his throat and repeated a little louder. “When Clara opened her present, she saw the Nutcracker.”

“Just walk into the circle of light,” Lizette directed. “You’re not alive at this point, so no one will expect you to move.”

Judd moved into the circle of light.

“You mean I’m your present?” Judd whispered to Lizette in dismay. “Your Christmas present?”

Judd had gotten Amanda a doll for Christmas with eyes that lit up depending on what kind of eye makeup the girl put on the doll. Judd didn’t pretend to know much about little girls, but he was willing to bet that very few of them would be excited about getting a nutcracker for a Christmas present. “Do I at least come with a few walnuts or something?”

“Way to go, Nutcracker,” Pete said as he stood by the fireplace holding his rat-king head. “I’d at least bring her some cheese.”

“Clara was very excited to open her present and see the Nutcracker,” Charley read from the book.

Lizette danced some more, and Judd would swear that the movements of her arms and legs did remind him of an excited little girl. The background music for this part of the ballet was very light and fanciful.

Maybe it wasn’t so bad being Lizette’s present, Judd thought as he looked over at Pete. The cowboy was still leaning against the wall, only now he was frowning.

“Clara’s brother was also given a gift—some toy soldiers,” Charley read as Bobby marched forward in a toy soldier costume. “But, even though he liked the toy soldiers, he was jealous of Clara’s nutcracker and broke it just when it was time for everyone to go to bed.”

Lizette danced into the shadows as the narrator said, “everyone went to bed,” leaving the Nutcracker and the toy soldiers in the living room.

“That night after everyone was asleep,” Charley kept reading. “Clara and her brother went back downstairs.”

“Mice gather over by the fireplace,” Lizette whispered, and the Curtis twins hurried over to the fireplace.

“Clara and her brother start playing with the mice,” Charley read. Then he reached into the prop bag and pulled out a large wind-up alarm clock. “But then the clock strikes midnight.”

Charley pulled a button so the alarm clock would ring.

“When the clock strikes midnight, the mice stop playing. The room becomes darker and is no longer a friendly place. The mice start attacking Clara and her brother.

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