The Nutcracker and the Mouse King, The Battle quiz

Questions and answers

1. 1

   Question 1. How does Pantaloon call the cavalry and artillery out of the cupboard?

   • He waves Marie's ribbon above his head like a banner
   • Correct answer: He puts his fingers to his mouth and gives a piercing crow
   • He orders the drummer to roll his drum a second time
   • He shouts each regiment's name down from the top shelf of the cupboard

   Pantaloon's crow rings as if a hundred little trumpets were sounding, and the dragoons, cuirassiers and hussars march out.

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2. 2

   Question 2. What makes Fritz's hussars hesitate and hang back for a time?

   • Smoke and dust so thick that they lose sight of the mice
   • The Mouse King's piping from all seven of his throats
   • An order from Pantaloon to wait for the gingerbread men
   • Correct answer: Foul-smelling shot that leaves spots on their red tunics

   The mice subject the hussars to a heavy fire of very evil-smelling shot that makes horrid spots on their red tunics.

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3. 3

   Question 3. Where does the mouse-cavalry come from when it attacks Nutcracker's left wing?

   • Correct answer: From under the chest of drawers
   • From a crack behind the stove
   • From inside Fritz's empty box
   • From behind the window curtain

   Masses of mouse-cavalry had been quietly debouching from under the chest of drawers during the hottest part of the fight.

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4. 4

   Question 4. Why does the regiment of motto-figures advance so slowly?

   • Their commanders, the two Chinese Emperors, cannot agree on a plan
   • Correct answer: They must first get past the ledge at the bottom of the cupboard
   • They are waiting for the artillery to clear a path for them
   • The unicorns and lions refuse to march beside the monkeys

   The narrator says they moved very slowly, as the terrain required, because the ledge at the bottom of the cupboard had to be passed.

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5. 5

   Question 5. When Nutcracker shouts for the reserves, whom does he call by name?

   • Fritz, Marie and Godpapa Drosselmeier
   • Clara, Gertrude and the two Chinese Emperors
   • Correct answer: Pantaloon, Scaramouch and the Drummer
   • The hussars, the dragoons and the cuirassiers

   He cries for Pantaloon, Scaramouch and the Drummer, still hoping for reinforcements from the cupboard.

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6. 6

   Question 6. What does the narrator mean when he says Pantaloon's dragoons and cuirassiers made a somewhat analogous movement?

   • They charged the mice from the same angle the hussars had used
   • They copied the motto-figures and formed a square on the floor
   • They followed Nutcracker in a leap over the ledge of the cupboard
   • Correct answer: They retreated too, wheeling about and marching home to quarters

   Analogous means similar: like the hussars, the cavalry pulled back, and the narrator's polite military wording makes the retreat comic.

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7. 7

   Question 7. Why does Hoffmann arm Nutcracker's artillery with sugar-plums and gingerbread nuts?

   • To show that Fritz's toy cannons were broken before the fight
   • To suggest that the mice could be won over by kindness instead
   • Correct answer: To keep the war in a child's nursery world, comic as well as thrilling
   • To prove to the reader that Marie is only dreaming the whole scene

   The edible ammunition reminds readers that this is a battle of toys and sweets, so the scene is funny even while it is exciting.

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8. 8

   Question 8. What does 'tantamount' mean as used in: 'such a movement is almost tantamount to a regular retreat'?

   • Opposite to
   • Correct answer: Equivalent to
   • Superior to
   • Independent of

   Tantamount means equal in effect; the narrator is saying a retrograde movement is practically the same as a retreat.

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9. 9

   Question 9. What does 'debouching' mean as used in: 'masses of mouse-cavalry had been quietly debouching from under the chest of drawers'?

   • Hiding motionless in a dark place for hours
   • Correct answer: Emerging from a narrow place into the open
   • Retreating toward a safer position behind the lines
   • Gathering food for a long campaign

   Debouching is a military term for troops coming out of a narrow or hidden place into open ground, as the mice do from under the chest of drawers.

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10. 10

    Question 10. What does 'foolhardy' mean as used in: 'pushing forward in a rash and foolhardy manner'?

    • Correct answer: Recklessly bold
    • Cleverly sneaky
    • Deeply fearful
    • Calmly patient

    Foolhardy means daring without thought for the danger; the mouse captain's reckless charge breaks the square of motto-figures.

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11. 11

    Question 11. Which of these events happen in the opening part of the battle?

    • Fritz's soldiers jump down to the bottom shelf and form up in good order.

      Happened

    • Nutcracker rides into battle on one of the hussars' horses.

      Didn't happen

    • Smoke and dust make it hard for Marie to see what is happening.

      Happened

    • The mice abandon their advance after the first volley of sugar-plums.

      Didn't happen

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12. 12

    Question 12. Which of these events happen as the battle reaches its end?

    • The enemy's chasseurs bite the legs off the gingerbread men.

      Happened

    • Clara ties her spangled girdle around Nutcracker's shoulders.

      Didn't happen

    • Two enemy riflemen seize Nutcracker by his wooden cloak.

      Happened

    • Nutcracker leaps the ledge of the cupboard and escapes.

      Didn't happen

    • Marie throws a candlestick from the table at the Mouse King.

      Didn't happen

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