The Nutcracker and the Mouse King, Uncle and Nephew quiz

Questions and answers

1. 1

   Question 1. Why must Marie stay in bed for a whole week at the start of the chapter?

   • Correct answer: She feels terribly giddy whenever she tries to stand up
   • The doctor fears the cut on her arm will open again
   • Her mother wants to keep her away from the glass cupboard
   • She has caught a chill from staying up so late at night

   The narrator says she felt so terribly giddy whenever she tried to stand up that she had to stay in bed a week.

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2. 2

   Question 2. What does Marie believe the astronomer's prophecy said Nutcracker would become?

   • The court clockmaker of Nürnberg
   • The husband of Princess Pirlipat
   • Correct answer: The rightful King of Toyland
   • The commander of Fritz's hussars

   Marie asks whether it isn't clear that the astronomer's prophecy that he was to be rightful King of Toyland has come true.

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3. 3

   Question 3. What does Marie think is keeping the toys in the cupboard so still?

   • Her own fever, which made her imagine they had ever moved
   • Correct answer: The enchantments of Dame Mouseyrinks and her seven-headed son
   • A rule that toys must never move while people are watching
   • The glass door, which Godpapa Drosselmeier has locked tight

   Marie thinks their stillness is the effect of the enchantments of Dame Mouseyrinks and her seven-headed son, which still keep up their power.

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4. 4

   Question 4. Where does Marie sit while the family takes tea?

   • On her father's knee beside the tea-table
   • In her mother's armchair close to the stove
   • On the floor in front of the glass cupboard
   • Correct answer: On her little stool at her godpapa's feet

   Marie takes her little stool and sits down in silence at her godpapa's feet.

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5. 5

   Question 5. Who laughs loudly while Marie tells the story of the battle?

   • Fritz and Godpapa Drosselmeier
   • Correct answer: Her mother and her sister
   • Her father and Godpapa Drosselmeier
   • Fritz and her father

   Her mother and sister keep interrupting with loud laughter, while Fritz and Drosselmeier listen quite gravely.

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6. 6

   Question 6. What does Godpapa Drosselmeier tell Marie that she is?

   • Correct answer: A born princess, like Pirlipat
   • A clever clockmaker, like himself
   • A brave soldier, like Fritz's hussars
   • A wise astronomer, like his old friend

   He tells her she is a born princess, like Pirlipat, who reigns in a bright beautiful country.

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7. 7

   Question 7. Why does Dr. Stahlbaum feel Godpapa Drosselmeier's pulse?

   • Drosselmeier turns very pale while telling his tale
   • Marie's mother asks him to look after their guest
   • Correct answer: Drosselmeier's words to Marie strike him as strange
   • Drosselmeier complains of a headache during tea

   Drosselmeier's words strike the father as so strange that he feels his pulse and diagnoses congestion about the head.

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8. 8

   Question 8. How does Marie's mother respond to Drosselmeier's mysterious words?

   • She agrees with her husband that the man is unwell
   • She laughs and tells Marie it is time for bed
   • She warns Marie not to trust his strange stories
   • Correct answer: She says she has a strong idea of what he means

   She shakes her head meditatively and says she has a strong idea what Mr. Drosselmeier means, though she can't put it in words.

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9. 9

   Question 9. Which of these events actually happen in this chapter?

   • Marie finds Nutcracker smiling at her from the second shelf of the cupboard.

     Happened

   • Nutcracker climbs down from the shelf and speaks to Marie face to face.

     Didn't happen

   • A faint, bell-toned voice seems to sing to Marie from the cupboard.

     Happened

   • Fritz admits that his hussars ran away from the mice.

     Didn't happen

   • Godpapa Drosselmeier takes Marie on his knee.

     Happened

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10. 10

    Question 10. Which of these does Marie say or do in this chapter?

    • She tells Godpapa Drosselmeier that Nutcracker is his nephew.

      Happened

    • She asks her father to mend Nutcracker's broken sword.

      Didn't happen

    • She promises Nutcracker her assistance whenever he requires it.

      Happened

    • She shows the family the shoe she threw at the mouse king.

      Didn't happen

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11. 11

    Question 11. What does 'vassals' mean as used in: 'she kept expecting that Nutcracker and his vassals would give some indications of being alive'?

    • Servants who cook and clean in a palace
    • Relatives who share the same family name
    • Correct answer: Subjects who owe loyalty to their ruler
    • Enemies who were captured in a battle

    Vassals are subjects or followers who owe loyalty and service to a lord or king, here the toys loyal to Nutcracker.

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12. 12

    Question 12. What does 'imperceptible' mean as used in: 'which made its panes ring in a wonderful, though all but imperceptible, manner'?

    • Correct answer: So faint that it can hardly be noticed
    • So loud that it hurts the listener's ears
    • So sudden that it causes great alarm
    • So sweet that it sounds like real music

    Imperceptible means too slight to be noticed; the ringing of the panes is all but impossible to hear.

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13. 13

    Question 13. What does 'meditatively' mean as used in: 'But Marie's mother shook her head meditatively, and said'?

    • In an angry, impatient way
    • Correct answer: In a thoughtful, reflective way
    • In a playful, teasing way
    • In a tired and sleepy way

    Meditatively means thoughtfully; the mother is quietly considering what Drosselmeier's strange words might mean.

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