'The secret of the nutcracker' - a different version of the 'nutcraker' . It was WWII . Clara and her mom and brothers live in a little house near the wood. Her father had gone to war and was being captured by the enemy and put in prison camp. When she walked pass the wood one day, she met a old man who dressed like an owl (the owl's impersonator). She invited the old man to come to her house and have dinner with her family who was very poor. The old man gave her a present - a nutcracker. That night she had a dream. She dreamt the nutcracker helped her to fight off enemies and broke into the prison camp to find her father who was thin and sick.

She took her father almost all the way back home. They stopped at a beautiful place with birds of paradise dancing around them. The father was very happy to be with his daughter. But he said that was not where he wanted to stay. He would really like to go home to see the rest of his family.

Clara woke up still longing for her dad. The family were told some prisoners in the camp tried to escape and were shot down. They feared the worst. On Christmas day, Clara went for a walk in
the wood alone. She saw someone walking toward her in the distance. She was overjoy when she found out it was her dad.

Though the origional "Nutcracker' was a beautiful story in extraordinary settings and music, somehow it is still a dream to me. But this other Clara, I can identify with her.