Clara is the protagonist of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky's ballet, The Nutcracker, based off E. T. A. Hoffman's The Nutcracker and the Mouse King. The entirety of events are seen through her eyes. Clara receives the Nutcracker as a Christmas gift from her godfather, Drosselmeyer. At midnight, the toys come to life and fight an army of invading mice and, with Clara's help, the Nutcracker kills the Mouse King and is then transformed into a handsome prince with whom, in some versions, Clara falls instantly in love (in others, such as the original 1892 production, where the couple was played by two children, they are simply very good friends). The Prince had been under an evil spell placed upon him by the Mouse King, and only the love of a girl could break it. In gratitude for doing so, the Prince