ec2-44-192-254-173.compute-1.amazonaws.com | ToothyWiki | RecentChanges | Login | Webcomic "The Nutcracker and the Mouse King", a wonderfully gothic story by E. T. A. Hoffmann (German; translation ISBN 0486217930 ); [allegedly] never intended for children. There is a rather beautiful ballet based on a somewhat sugary adaptation, set to music by Tchaikovsky that has become well-known.
There is an etext of the story of the Nutcracker that Drosselmeyer tells Fritz and Mary within the story, to give background to what Mary saw, [here].