The story begins on Christmas Eve, at Stahlbaum's house. Marie, seven years old, and her brother, Fritz, sit outside the living room speculating about the gift their godfather, Drosselmeyer, a watchmaker and inventor, has made for them. They received splendid gifts; Drosselmeyer's turns out to be a clock castle with mechanical people moving around inside. However, the children quickly got tired of it. Marie noticed a nutcracker, and asked who he belonged to. Her father tells her that he belongs 