Ho, ho, ho! Happy first day of December. And here I am with another Fat Albert story. This time, Nutcracker style. Once upon a time I uploaded this last year but wasn't able to finish it in time for Christmas, so I deleted it since I didn't want to leave this story hanging. But it's back, and better than ever.

As the synopsis states, Russell wants to give a girl a homemade gift, but he's too shy and thinks she may not like it. However, after a bump to the head sends him to Christmas land, he finds he must save Carla from the evil rat king. And to do that... he has to become... The Nutcracker. So I hope you enjoy this little tale. Usually, I'd put who's playing what part in these types of stories, but, I want you guys to guess who's gonna be who, aside from Russell being, well, the Nutcracker. So let's get on with it!

Disclaimer: I own neither Fat Albert or The Nutcracker Ballet.

Chapter 1: What's in the Box?

Twas a few days before Christmas, and all through North Philly; snow filled the air, making everything cold and chilly (See what I did there). Everyone was in the holiday mood. Especially a certain red wearing big guy.

No, not Santa.

But Fat Albert, along with his friends.

So, why don't we check up on them?

Or well, one of them?

Walking down the sidewalk, little Russell Cosby clings tightly to a wrapped box as he trudged through the snow with his older brother Bill. For once, the hat and coat he always wore was appropriate for the weather.

"I really, really, REALLY hope Carla likes my present for her..." Russell said to Bill.

"I'm sure she will. Why wouldn't she...?" Bill replied.

"Because it's not very good..."

"Hey, you did your best..."

Who is Carla you may ask? Well, she recently moved into North Philly a few months ago. Although she was older than him, Russell immediately became smitten with her, especially after she offered to play with him at recess when nobody else would.

Of course, this newfound crush did not come without some teasing for Russell, courtesy of Rudy Davis, who was always telling the child that he had no chance with Carla and that she deserved better than 'a little shrimp' like him.

Russell, as always, shrugged off the insults, but inside, they hurt really badly, especially after seeing how sweet and kind Carla really is. It stung to think of the possibility that he had no chance with her, especially considering that she was fourteen (Bill and Rudy's age), while he was only nine.

He quickly reminded himself not to let Rudy's comments get to him. He never did before, so why should he now?

Soon enough, the brothers made it to the snow-covered junkyard, where the other guys were engaged in a snowball fight.

"Hey, hey, hey!" Albert called, making a snowball, "Here's a ball comin' your way!" He then threw it at top speed, as it hit Weird Harold in the back. The tall boy threw a snowball in retaliation, which caused Albert to dodge, letting the ball hit Dumb Donald instead.

"H-Hey! That's cold!" He shivered.

Rudy rolled his eyes, "Of course it's cold. Snow is frozen rain, dummy."

"I didn't know rain could freeze..."

"There's a lot of things you don't know..."

With that, the rich boy made his own snowball, "Now, prepare yourselves for my 'Rudy Wind Up'." As he said, Rudy began to whine up his arm, before throwing the snowball. It was coming straight towards Bill and Russell, causing the latter to shield himself and the box away from the upcoming ball, "Watch it!" He glared, "You almost messed up my present!"

At the mention of 'present', the other boys stopped their game and looked towards the brothers.

"Hey, hey, hey..." Albert greeted with a smile, "Good to see you two."

"What's in the box, Shrimpy?" Rudy asked in a slightly mocking tone.

Russell glared at him, "None of your business." He replied back, "You almost wrecked it. I need a place to put it until school tomorrow. Bill, do you think it'll be safe in the clubhouse?"

"Don't see why not?" Bill shrugged.

"But what's in the box though?" Rudy asked again.

"None of your business!" Russell snapped, "Why don't you stick your nose in someone else's business?!"

"I'm just curious..."

Bucky soon spoke up, "Now that he mentions it, I'm a little curious too."

"Me too..." Harold added, "A little peek wouldn't hurt."

"Yeahb. Canb youb showb usb?" Mush asked.

Russell groaned. Now everyone wanted to know what was in the box. He looked over to his brother for help, but it seemed that even he didn't know what to do. Thankfully, Albert stepped in, "Cool it, dudes. If Russell doesn't want us to know what's in the box, then we should respect his privacy."

The little boy was about to sigh with relief, until Rudy stepped forward with a smirk, "Well, maybe he shouldn't be so secretive. And friends shouldn't keep secrets from each other..."

Suddenly, he attempted to snatch the box away from Russell, who had a tight grip on the ribbons, "No! Rudy, let go!" He shouted.

But the rich boy just laughed, as a tug of war occurred between the two boys. Albert, as usual, attempted to break up the fighting, while the others watched with amusement, sans Bill, who watched out of concern for his brother.

Despite all of Russell's effort, Rudy was able to pry the box away from him, causing him to fall into the snow, and removed the lid, and reaching inside. He then pulled out what looked like a snow globe... a badly made snow globe. Tiny clips of paper, with a ballerina figurine, was inside a circular glass, held together with paint-covered cement.

As for Russell, he moaned and placed his face in his hands.

Rudy began to chuckle, "Now what in the world is this suppose to be?" He asked, turning to Russell.

"A snow globe. I made it myself." Russell muttered, "It's for a friend."

"A friend, you say? And who might this friend be?"

Russell once again gave him a dirty look, "None of your business. It's just for a friend." He stood up and tried to grab the globe, but Rudy held it out of his reach, "Give it here, Rudy! I need to give it to her-"

He quickly covered his mouth, but it was too late. Everyone heard what he said. Rudy smirked wider, "'Her'? Hmmm... could this 'her'... possibly be..."

Don't say it. Don't say it. DON'T SAY IT!

"... Carla?"

Once again, Russell groaned in defeat, before nodding. This caused Rudy to burst out into uncontrollable laughter. As for the other boys, they couldn't help but smile at the globe, "I think it's a pretty globe." Harold commented.

"It's nice-looking," Donald added.

"Carla will love it." Albert smiled.

Russell looked at them sadly, "You don't have to be nice about it, guys. It doesn't look that good."

He heard Rudy snort, "You got that right, small fry. This has to be the ugliest snow globe I've ever seen. It's so ugly, that Carla will be gagging at the sight of it."

"Hey, leave Rus alone. He did his best." Bill defended his brother.

"If he really did his best, then it clearly wasn't much."

Russell started to blush, before reaching for the globe again, "Give! It! Back!"

Before long, he was able to grab the globe away from Rudy, before putting it back in the box, "I swear. It's like you're out to get me!" He snapped at the rich boy, "You're like school on Christmas. No class!"

Now it was Rudy's turn to glare, "Just face the facts, you runt. You don't and never will have a chance to impress Carla. She's way beyond your league. And I think she'll benefit from someone more suave and debonair." He then gave Russell a smirk that almost made the boy shiver, and not just from the cold.

"... Someone like me."

Russell felt his heart drop. The thought of Carla being with Rudy of all people was too much to handle. Grasping the box tightly, he ran to the clubhouse as fast as he could. Bill, even more concerned, ran after his brother.

Albert looked on sadly, before turning to Rudy, "Hey, that wasn't cool, man. Just because Russell likes Carla, it doesn't mean you have to tease him about it."

"Well, you can't deny that what I said was true. What chance does that shrimp think he has with her, anyway? First of all, she's way older than him. And second of all, that so-called 'gift' for her is an abomination."

"That might be. But Russell clearly worked hard on it. And besides, it's the inside that counts."

"Whatever..."

Meanwhile, at the clubhouse, Russell sat on the couch, tears streaming down his cheeks as he looked at the box, "Maybe I shouldn't give it to her... she'll hate it..." He sniffed.

Bill sat beside him, rubbing his shoulders, "Hey, don't listen to what Rudy says. You worked on that globe all week. Carla will really like it."

"It's not just Rudy... it's... well... I'm too afraid to talk to her... I'm... too shy... what if I can't do it?"

"Sure you can, Rus. I understand if you're shy, but don't let that prevent you from doing what you wanna do... okay..."

The little boy wiped his eyes, "I guess you're right."

"Remember, just because you think you can't do something, it doesn't mean you can't do it at all..."

"... I'll keep that in mind."

"Now... let's wait for the others. It's almost time for the Brown Hornet."

Russell smiled. That would be something to take his mind off of all of this. Since come tomorrow... he had a chance to speak to Carla... and hopefully won't be too afraid to give her his gift.

Well, we see what Russell has in mind to give to Carla, but he's shy about it, and Rudy sure isn't helping that situation. Next chapter, we'll see the boys at school, and meet Carla for the first time. It'll also be the lead into the adventure part of the story. So until then, I'll see you guys later, and don't forget to review, please. Thank you!