A few days later, Penelope has returned home from some errands, looking rather frazzled from her trip. Was Christmas shopping stressful, Miss Penelope?

"Not only shopping for Peter, but I also had a pleasant visit from the Hooded Claw, too." Said Penelope, out of breath, her hair looking frizzy, and her face slightly broken out.

I see. That fiend is certainly not helping your holiday stress. Remember what your guys told you, Penelope.

"I know, and I'm gonna make sure my little ole stress stays under control this year!" Penelope reached into her purse and took out a small bottle. "With the use of my 'Holiday De-Stress' essential oil Professor Pat Pending and I made together!"

Penelope placed a tiny drop of the essential oil onto her wrist and breathed it in.

"This here essential oil is made of both calming chamomile, frankincense; because one of the three little ole Wise Men gave it to the Good Lord as a gift at his birth. And last but not least, peppermint, so I can get that festive scent!"

You'd best keep that De-Stress oil with you Penelope! Maybe make a perfume or soap of it, too!

Penelope then looked at her mailbox, noticing that the red flag was raised.

Say, what could you have in the mail, Penelope?

"I'm about to find out."

Penelope placed her hand in her mailbox and pulled out a Nutcracker doll that had a small note tied to its wrist.

Dear Penelope,

Tis the season for romance, and for timeless traditions, and one of my Christmas wishes is to be a part of your favorite traditions! Attached to the back of the note are two tickets to your favorite Christmas show, The Nutcracker! But first you are cordially invited to a fine dinner at the grand Seafood Plaza! The show begins at 7:30 PM. I'm looking forward to seeing you my dear!

With great love,

Peter Perfect

"Oh how ever so sweet is that!" Penelope couldn't stop smiling. "Peter knows a young gal's heart only too well!"

Penelope's dog, a lovely blonde female Cocker Spaniel named Angel, barked came running out with the Ant Hill Mob to greet her owner.

"Oh, why Angel!" Penelope bent down to stroke her excitable pup. "It's so good to go home to you, baby! And hi, fellas! I missed you too!"

"Hey, Penelope!" Clyde welcomed Penelope with a grin. "Did you have a good time Christmas shopping for Peter?"

"Besides a run-in with that nasty ole Hooded Claw, I'd say it was overall successful." Penelope sighed in exhaustion, but still kept a grin. "I even picked up a gift for Peter's loyal hunting dog, Duke! And speaking of Peter, look what he surprised little ole me with!"

"What did he get you, Penelope?" Zippy asked Penelope. "What could it be?"

"He sent me an invitation to dinner and an evening production of The Nutcracker!" Penelope explained to the Ant Hill Mob. "The show is at seven thirty tonight. Does anyone know what time it is right now?"

"It happens to be four thirteen according to my watch." Pockets looked at his watch.

"Oh dear." Grumbled a tired Penelope. "I have to both wrap Peter's presents and get ready for my date with him."

"Penelope, what you need is a break." Clyde suggested. "You've had a busy day and with Christmas coming up you'll have more to come."

"You look really stressed out." Yak-Yak chuckled as he pointed at Penelope's tired face, frizzy hair and broken-out face.

"Yeah, you poor little thing." Softy sobbed.

"Yeah, poor thing…" Snoozy echoed through snores.

"Duh, do you think we can help you out, Penelope?" Dum-Dum asked.

"I would appreciate the help, boys." Penelope nodded. "You're right. I could use some little ole down time before I leave for the ballet tonight."

"Great! We'll help you get refreshed and looking good for your date tonight!" Clyde smiled. "And while you're away, we'll wrap those presents up."

"Oh, thank you fellas!" Penelope smiled. "Just let me drop these bags up first."

"Right!" The Mob nodded with smiles.

After Penelope dropped off the bags in the attic, she went back downstairs and saw Clyde holding her pink bathrobe.

"Get changed into your favorite robe, Penelope, and meet us in your bathroom." He handed the robe to Penelope. "We've set up a spa down there as Step 1 of getting ready for your date!"

"Thank you, Clyde!" Penelope gratefully took the robe and went to her room to change.

After about a minute, Penelope emerged from her bedroom in her pink bathrobe and retreated to her bathroom. It was huge, spacious, and had all the right essentials for makeovers and spa treatments at home; one of the many perks of being heiress to a vast family fortune such as the Pitstop fortune. The minute she came down she saw the Ant Hill Mob donning aprons and T-shirts to prevent their usual suits from being wet.

"There you are, Penelope." Clyde led Penelope to her pink spa chair and lowered it. "Just have a seat and we'll get you ready for a hair and facial mask treatment."

He then looked at his boys to assign them tasks for Penelope's spa treatment.

"Alright you guys, Yak-Yak will use a makeup remover on Penelope's face. Dum-Dum will shampoo her hair and towel dry it before Snoozy gets the hair mask on and wraps her hair in a hot towel. Softy, you light up those relaxation candles and be very careful. Zippy, you'll be in charge of washing, scrubbing and steaming her face. I'll handle getting her favorite anti-stress mud mask on and removing it, and Pockets, I'll have you get those cucumbers for her eyes and give her a mani-pedi. You give the best ones."

"Make it Bright Ruby Red on the toes and Emerald Green on the fingers, Pockets!" Penelope requested her nail colors. "The glittery polishes if you please."

"Right, Penelope!" Pockets smiled and nodded. "I'll remember!"

"Ok, you guys." Clyde told the other Mobsters. "Get to work!"

"Right Clyde!" They answered before scrambling to do their assigned tasks.

It took about a half hour for the Mob to give Penelope the treatments they were given, but their treatments proved to be rather successful. Clyde made sure of it. Penelope was feeling much more relaxed than she was when she arrived home. Her face was cleared up from her facial, but her hair was still wrapped up in a towel, as she decided to shower before getting dressed and getting her hair and makeup done.

"There we go. Part one is complete." Clyde grinned. "You look incredible and relaxed."

"It's all thanks to you boys." Penelope smiled back. "Now I simply must get to the shower and wash my body, so I can be squeaky clean and refreshed."

After a quick shower, Penelope, still in her bathrobe, removed her shower cap and went back to her bedroom, where she saw the Ant Hill Mob again.

"Why fellas. What brings you to my room?"

"Time for Part Two of getting you ready for your Christmas date with Peter Perfect." Clyde explained.

"Duh, we're gonna help with your hair." Said Dum-Dum.

"And your makeup." Zippy grinned.

"And finding a beautiful dress." Softy cried.

"Yeah, dress…" Snoozy snored.

"I'll handle my own makeup, but I would it would be ever so nice if you did my hair and helped me decide what I should wear." Penelope told her heroes.

"Ok you guys." Clyde turned to his boys again. "Zippy, you help blow-dry Penelope's hair and brush it while drying. Yak-Yak and Softy will get the curling and flat irons ready. I'll handle hair styling, and the rest of you will get all of her jewelry and hair accessories out so she can decide."

"Right, Clyde!" The rest of the Mob replied before scattering to their respective tasks.

After a few minutes, the boys finished styling Penelope's hair, she did her own makeup and she finally chose an outfit. The blonde hair was styled in a low side ponytail that had been beautifully curled and for her makeup she had crimson red lips, brown eyeshadow, black eyeliner, mascara, and rosy cheeks. For her outfit, Penelope decided on a white long sleeved, knee-length dress with a black lace trim around the waist, black tights to keep her legs from getting cold, and black kitten heels.

Dum-Dum gave Penelope a red flower statement necklace, Pockets loaned her a pair of diamond stud earrings, and Softy handed over her favorite sterling silver charm bracelet. After she got them on, Penelope looked in her mirror and loved how she looked.

"Oh thank you ever so ever fellas!" Penelope admired her reflection and her outfit. "Little ole me feels so happy, so relaxed, and oh so beautiful!"

"We're so glad to hear you say that, Penelope." Clyde gave another smile. "You are very beautiful inside and out. And we all want you to feel that every day."

"You're the best friends anyone ever had. I am a blessed gal to have you fellas."

Suddenly, everyone heard a knock on the front door.

"I'll get it!" Penelope rushed to the door before putting a breath mint in her mouth. When she opened the door she was happy to see Peter standing there.

"Ah, Peter!" Penelope cried in delight. "You're rather early but that's perfectly fine by little ole me!"

"Why yes, my dear Penelope. We simply must get to the restaurant early so we can get the best seats for the ballet." Peter's voice was different; nasally and snarky, but neither Penelope nor the Ant Hill Mob were suspicious.

"I agree, Peter honey! I would like a nice view myself." Penelope nodded before turning to the Mob. "Ok, fellas. Peter and I will be home later tonight. Thank you again for all your help in getting little ole me ready!"

"You're welcome Penelope!" Clyde replied. "We're more than happy to help. Go have your fun!"

"Bye!" Penelope called out while she was leaving with "Peter" in his car.

And so it's off to dinner and the Nutcracker Ballet Penelope goes!

A few minutes later, Penelope and "Peter" reached a theater in town, but it was not the theater the Nutcracker show was being held at. This theater looked rather old, worn out and empty.

Or is it?

"Well, here we are Penelope sweetie." "Peter" stepped out and led Penelope inside the theater.

Once they got inside, Penelope looked around and a realization came to her head.

"Peter, babe. This isn't the theater the ballet is playing at." Penelope grew suspicious. "And are you feeling alright? You haven't been your talkative little ole self on the car ride."

"Oh I'm feeling alright, Pitstop." "Peter" sneered. "And I'm just saving the chat something very special."

"Peter" gave a quick spin, and out came a too familiar figure.

"The Hooded Claw!" Penelope gasped. "I might have known it was a trick of yours! The real Peter Perfect would never do that! He's a real gentleman unlike you!"

"As a villain, Pitstop, it's not my job to be a gentleman!" The Hooded Claw smirked.

"HC even stole the real Peter Perfect's car so he could bring you here." The Bully Brothers appeared out of the shadows.

"So you carjacked Peter!" Penelope scowled. "You cad! Wait until he hears about this!

She took her phone out to call Peter, but the Claw immediately took it away and turned it off before handing it to one of the Bully Brothers.

"And now Penelope, your Christmas gift is going to come early this year!" He laughed. "Your last Christmas gift that is!"

And so that hooded fiend takes our gal to the stage of the old theater and takes an old Christmas Nutcracker prop to do her in!

After being taken to the stage of the theater, Penelope found herself tied up, and lying on her back on a platform under the teeth of a giant nutcracker head that had been used for a Christmas show many years ago.

"Since your original plan was to see The Nutcracker with that Perfect Parasite, I decided to use a Nutcracker themed trap for just the occasion!" The Hooded Claw began to explain his latest peril. "In this version though, our charming Nutcracker has turned against the lovely Clara, or in this case, you, Pitstop; and has sided with the Mouse King and his army."

"In other words, Claw?" Penelope was confused.

"Okay I'll use details. If you'll notice Pitstop, the Nutcracker's teeth that you're tied under has been sharpened to a razor sharp blade-like quality, capable of slicing you in two." The Claw explained. "Even though you obviously can't see it, there is a rope holding the teeth in place, and before we get going, the Bully Brothers will release two cages with four hungry mice in each cage. The mice will start chewing the rope until it gets weaker and weaker. And then, the rope will snap and release the teeth, making you this nutcracker's dinner!"

The Hooded Claw gave an evil laugh after his explanation.

"Carjacking Peter Perfect and breaking into an old theater just to do little ole me in!?" Penelope frowned. "You, terrible Mouse King, are going to get coal in your stocking for sure!"

"Eh, why not? Lumps of coal make perfect diamonds!" He grinned and put his nose in the air before he turned to the Bully Brothers.

"Okay Bully Brothers." He told his henchmen. "Time to release the mice!"

"Right, Claw." The Bully Brothers replied as they opened the cage door and released the mice.

"Well, Clara! This Mouse King must be off!" The Claw tipped his hat. "What a shame I can't stay to see you become Nutcracker Chow!"

With an evil laugh, he took off with the Bully Brothers.

Oh dear! Will Clara, err, Penelope, become dinner for the Nutcracker? Or will the Prince, err, Peter Perfect, find out about his stolen car and get there in time to save his princess?

Meanwhile, Peter, who slicked his blonde hair back and had on a blue flannel shirt under a black jacket, black slacks and black dress shoes, turned to his Beagle and hunting dog, Duke; and his red kitten, Ginger Snap.

"Well boys, I must be off to see Pretty Penny!" Peter stroked his pets and gave them scratches behind their ears. "You two be good while I'm away!"

The minute he stepped out his door and into his garage, he made the horrifying discovery of his missing red convertible.

I hate to break the news to you, Peter, but the Hooded Claw stole your car under the guise of you! Is there anything you can do?

"Looks like I'll have to find an emergency ride!" Peter took out his cell phone and called Clyde.

"Hello, Clyde. I need to put you and the boys on speaker." He warned his friends through the phone.

"Peter, is everything ok? How's Penelope?" Clyde wondered.

"I'm not with Penelope. I'm at home, and I can't go anywhere because my car has disappeared!" The concerned Peter told the Mob.

"Duh, but you left with Penelope a few minutes ago, didn't you?" Dum-Dum scratched his head in confusion.

"Either me, or an imposter…" Peter scowled.

A realization came to the boys' minds.

"It was the Hooded Claw!" Clyde's eyes widened.

"He must've taken my place and stolen my car!"

"Pete, just hang tight and we'll drive over, pick you up, and find Penelope!"

You chaps had better hurry! Those mice are chewing away at the rope!

Back at the old theater, the mice kept chewing and chewing the rope that was holding the nutcracker head's razor sharp teeth in place.

"Those mice must really be hungry." Penelope thought. "Does this place have any cheese that could satisfy them? I would hope so."

Just hang in there, Clara! Oops! I mean Penelope! The Nutcracker Prince…oops! I mean Peter Perfect, and the Toy Soldiers…oops! I mean the Ant Hill Mob, are hot on your trail!

"We'll never find Peter's car, or Penelope!" Yak-Yak giggled.

"Oh yes we will." Clyde replied. "We've gotta at least try to do something."

"But what can we do?" Pockets wondered. "We don't know where she is."

"We are going to improvise." Peter told the Mob. "Keep your eyes on a powerful red convertible and I'll try calling Penelope. Maybe she hid her phone inside her coat. She did that once and neither the Claw nor his henchmen ever detected it."

Peter took out his cell phone and called Penelope, but unfortunately because the Claw shut her phone off it led to voicemail.

"That's just great." Peter frowned. "That fiend stole her phone and that means I can't reach her. Have any of you seen a red convertible in town?"

"We wish we could say yes, but no." Clyde answered with a sigh. "But we have to keep looking."

The Mob's first attempts to find Peter's car proved to be in vain, as they didn't have much luck.

"Forget my car for now, chaps!" Peter told the boys. "Penelope is in serious danger! Her life and welfare is far more important! We need to really find her!"

"Right, Peter!" The mob nodded in agreement.

You gentlemen had better find Penelope soon, because those mice won't stop chewing the rope! It's just about to get weak! And that means the end of Penelope!

"No, it won't mean the end!" Penelope showed determination to escape. "This is one Clara who is not just going to lay here and wait for her Nutcracker Prince or her Toy Soldiers to come and rescue her!"

What are you going to do, Penelope?

Penelope was thinking hard. She remembered a time where she traveled all the way to Baghdad to retrieve the map to Ali Baba's cave to give treasure to poor children. During her trip, the Hooded Claw placed her in an elaborate trap that involved a mouse scaring an elephant enough for it to jump on a large block of stone, threatening to crush her to death. Penelope remembered successfully escaping this trap by using "mouse calls" in order to get the elephant off the block and get the mouse to untie her.

"Why yes…" Penelope grinned. "That's just what I'll do."

What's your plan, Penelope?

"I am going to bring my little ole mouse calls back and get these cute little ole critters to help me instead of harm me!"

Ah, so the army of mice are going to side with Clara in this version of the Nutcracker!

"Right!" Penelope prepared herself for her escape.

Penelope cleared her throat and attempted a couple of falsetto squeaks.

"Squeak, squeak, squeak!"

It's working, Penelope! Your squeaks are catching the attention of the mice!

Upon hearing the squeaks, the mice stopped chewing the rope, which was starting to get weak. They followed the squeaks coming from Penelope and crawled beside her.

The mice might have stopped chewing but they've already done some damage! The rope is now weak and is about to squeak at any second now!

"It's time for Step 2 of my escape!" Penelope grinned before doing more squeaks.

"Squeak, squeak, squeak!"

"That's my own little mouse talk for, 'I have string cheese in my purse, and if you untie me I am more than happy to share it with you!'"

Ah, I see! Let's hope the mice heed your message!

The mice looked at each other for a second, then quickly crawled on Penelope's body and starting chewing the ropes binding her.

"That tickles." Penelope giggled after the mice crawled on her.

In less than a few seconds, the mice succeeded in untying Penelope. Once they did, Penelope sat up, gathered the mice in her arms, got up from the platform and set them down just in time before the teeth of the nutcracker head came down.

Not a moment too soon! Now you'd better remember to wash your hands after you handle those mice Penelope.

"Oh, I will." Penelope grabbed her purse and took out string cheese that was supposed to be her snack.

"Here you are, little fellas." Penelope peeled the package of the string cheese off and started breaking the string cheese into little pieces for each mouse. "You poor dears must be starving, or you wouldn't have been chewing that rope so much."

The happy mice gratefully accepted the string cheese pieces and started eating them up. Once they did, Penelope turned and began to leave the theater. Halfway out the door, she noticed her cell phone laying on the ground.

"Why the Hooded Claw is still keeping the Bully Brothers as his evil henchmen little ole me will never know!" Penelope giggled as she picked up her phone. "They are such klutzes! I bet they can't even keep their own phones in their own pockets either."

She walked out of the theater and was surprised to see the Ant Hill Mob and Peter next to Peter's car, which was parked in front of the building.

Well it looks like our guys found both Peter's car, and Penelope!

"Hey, looks who's here!" Dum-Dum pointed out with a smile!

"She's safe! Thank heavens she's safe!" Softy bawled.

"Penny! Oh my dear Penny!" Peter cried happily as he and Penelope came up to each other and he held her. "I'm so glad you're okay! And you look so beautiful, darling."

"Thank y'all Peter." Penelope murmured as Peter softly kissed her forehead. "You boys were oh so lucky to have found me."

"It took a couple tries but we were successful in the end."

"Now that I'm safe we'd better get going to the Seafood Plaza, babe."

"Oh yes!" Peter took Penelope's hand and led her to his car.

"We'll see you boys later tonight!" Penelope turned to the Ant Hill Mob. "And don't worry about little ole me this time. Peter has everything under control and if there's another emergency, I'll call you, ok?"

"Sounds great, Penelope!" Clyde nodded. "You two enjoy the show!"

"We will, fellas!" Penelope smiled at the Mob as she and Peter prepared to leave. "Goodbye!"

Now that the Hooded Claw is out of the way, Penelope and Peter can now resume their plans for tonight!

During dinner, Penelope told Peter about the events of her day leading to their date, from the Ant Hill Mob helping her get ready to how the Hooded Claw disguised himself as Peter and took her to the old theater to the trap he had placed her in and how she escaped. Just like all of her other peril stories, this story shocked Peter.

The happy couple were much more at peace when they arrived at the theater where the ballet was to be held. Peter had made sure that he and Penelope would get balcony seats as part of his surprise for her. The balcony made for a great view of the stage and since they were in the front seats of the balcony, they were even able to put their feet up and relax without anyone else complaining.

"What an incredible view, right, Peter?" Penelope sat back and relaxed as she and Peter enjoyed the balcony.

"You can see anything from up here. In fact, look Penny, I can see my house from here!" Peter joked, making Penelope laugh.

The Nutcracker ballet production amazed both Penelope and Peter. Neither of them were able to take their eyes off any of the acts and the show overall got them in the Christmas spirit once more. Peter put his arm around Penelope, causing her to curl up to him and she wrapped her arm around his waist. The couple spent the show wrapped up in this warm, relaxing embrace.

After the show, Peter drove Penelope back home. He got out of the car so he could lead Penelope out again.

"What a wonderful night, Peter!" Penelope kissed Peter's cheek. "Thank you again."

"Oh, Penny, it was my pleasure." Peter smiled.

"May I have the pleasure of this dance, Clara?" He bowed.

"The pleasure is yours, my prince!" Penelope giggled.

Penelope and Peter waltzed and danced with each other as Christmas lights on the Pitstop Manor shined on the driveway.

"Why Peter. I didn't know you were that good of a dancer." Penelope complimented as Peter lifted her up in a spin.

"Just between the two of us, Penny, I was involved in ballet since the age of eight."

"I know I keep saying this, but that was a great show! Thank you ever so much for surprising me, babe!"

"Oh Penny, I had fun surprising you!"

Peter and Penelope shared a long kiss under the Christmas lights.

"Sweet dreams, my prince." Penelope kissed his cheek again.

"Sleep well, my lovely Clara." Peter ran his hand through her ponytail before going home.

Penelope felt so in love and so happy after her date that she couldn't stop smiling as she went inside. However, she discovered that the Ant Hill Mob was already asleep, so she tiptoed to her room and got ready for bed very quietly so she wouldn't disturb the boys. She couldn't wait to tell them about her date and the perilous events that occurred prior to the date.

Angel, as well as Snowflake, Penelope's white domestic longhaired cat, and Rosie, her light brown and white mini lop rabbit, awoke when their mistress came into the bedroom.

"Come into bed with me babies." She beckoned her pets.

Angel and Snowflake jumped onto the bed but Penelope picked up Rosie and set her down on the bed. She sleepily stroked them, still feeling happy after her date and the fact that Christmas was coming. No one, not even the Hooded Claw, was going to steal her happiness.