THE BRAVE TIN SOLDIER.
THERE were once five and twenty tin soldiers, who were all
brothers, for they had been made out of the same old tin spoon.
They shouldered arms and looked straight before them, and wore a
splendid uniform, red and blue. The first thing in the world they
ever heard were the words, "Tin soldiers! " uttered by a little boy,
who clapped his hands with delight when the lid of the box, in
which they lay, was taken off. They were given him for a birthday
present, and he stood at the table to set them up. The soldiers were
all exactly alike, excepting one, who had only one leg; he had
been left to the last, and then there was not enough of the melted
tin to finish him, so they made him to stand firmly on one leg, and
this caused him to be very remarkable. The table on which
the tin soldiers stood, was covered with other playthings, but the
most attractive to the eye was a pretty little paper castle. Through
the small windows the rooms could be seen. In front of the castle a
number of little trees surrounded a piece of looking glass, which
was intended to represent a transparent lake. Swans, made of wax,
swam on the lake, and were reflected in it. All this was very pretty,
but the prettiest of all was a tiny little lady, who stood at the open
door of the castle; she, also, was made of paper, and she wore a
dress of clear muslin, with a narrow blue ribbon over her shoulders
just like a scarf. In front of these was fixed a glittering tinsel rose,
as large as her whole face. The little lady was a dancer, and she
stretched out both her arms, and raised one of her legs so high, that
the tin soldier could not see it at all, and he thought that she, like
himself, had only one leg. "That is the wife for me, " he thought;
"but she is too grand, and lives in a castle, while I have only a box
to live in, five and twenty of us altogether, that is no place for her.
Still I must try and make her acquaintance. " Then he laid himself
at full length on the table behind a snuff box that stood upon it, so
that he could peep at the little delicate lady, who continued to stand
on one leg without losing her balance. When evening came, the
other tin soldiers were all placed in the box, and the people of the
house went to bed. Then the playthings began to have their own
games together, to pay visits, to have sham fights, and to give balls.
The tin soldiers rattled in their box; they wanted to get out and join
the amusements, but they could not open the lid. The nut crackers
played at leap frog, and the pencil jumped about the table. There
was such a noise that the canary woke up and began to talk, and in
poetry too. Only the tin soldier and the dancer remained in their
places. She stood on tiptoe, with her legs stretched out, as firmly as
he did on his one leg. He never took his eyes from her for even a
moment. The clock struck twelve, and, with a bounce, up sprang
the lid of the snuff box; but, instead of snuff, there jumped up a
little black goblin; for the snuff box was a toy puzzle. "Tin
soldier, " said the goblin, "don't wish for what does not belong to
you. But the tin soldier pretended not to hear. "Very
well; wait till to morrow, then, " said the goblin. When the
children came in the next morning, they placed the tin soldier in
the window. Now, whether it was the goblin who did it, or the
draught, is not known, but the window flew open, and out fell the
tin soldier, heels over head, from the third story, into the street
beneath. It was a terrible fall; for he came head downwards, his
helmet and his bayonet stuck in between the flagstones, and his
one leg up in the air. The servant maid and the little boy went
down stairs directly to look for him; but he was nowhere to be seen,
although once they nearly trod upon him. If he had called out,
"Here I am, " it would have been all right, but he was too proud to
cry out for help while he wore a uniform. Presently it began
to rain, and the drops fell faster and faster, till there was a heavy
shower. When it was over, two boys happened to pass by, and one
of them said, "Look, there is a tin soldier. He ought to have a boat
to sail in. " So they made a boat out of a newspaper, and
placed the tin soldier in it, and sent him sailing down the gutter,
while the two boys ran by the side of it, and clapped their hands.
Good gracious, what large waves arose in that gutter! and how fast
the stream rolled on! for the rain had been very heavy. The paper
boat rocked up and down, and turned itself round sometimes so
quickly that the tin soldier trembled; yet he remained firm; his
countenance did not change; he looked straight before him, and
shouldered his musket. Suddenly the boat shot under a bridge
which formed a part of a drain, and then it was as dark as the tin
soldier's box. "Where am I going now? " thought he. "This
is the black goblin's fault, I am sure. Ah, well, if the little lady
were only here with me in the boat, I should not care for any
darkness. " Suddenly there appeared a great water rat, who
lived in the drain. "Have you a passport? " asked the rat,
"give it to me at once. " But the tin soldier remained silent and held
his musket tighter than ever. The boat sailed on and the rat
followed it. How he did gnash his teeth and cry out to the bits of
wood and straw, "Stop him, stop him; he has not paid toll, and has
not shown his pass. " But the stream rushed on stronger and
stronger. The tin soldier could already see daylight shining where
the arch ended. Then he heard a roaring sound quite terrible
enough to frighten the bravest man. At the end of the tunnel the
drain fell into a large canal over a steep place, which made it as
dangerous for him as a waterfall would be to us. He was too close
to it to stop, so the boat rushed on, and the poor tin soldier could
only hold himself as stiffly as possible, without moving an eyelid,
to show that he was not afraid. The boat whirled round three or
four times, and then filled with water to the very edge; nothing
could save it from sinking. He now stood up to his neck in water,
while deeper and deeper sank the boat, and the paper became soft
and loose with the wet, till at last the water closed over the
soldier's head. He thought of the elegant little dancer whom he
should never see again, and the words of the song sounded in his
ears "Farewell, warrior! ever brave, Drifting onward to thy grave. " Then the paper boat fell to
pieces, and the soldier sank into the water and immediately
afterwards was swallowed up by a great fish. Oh how dark it was
inside the fish! A great deal darker than in the tunnel, and narrower
too, but the tin soldier continued firm, and lay at full length
shouldering his musket. The fish swam to and fro, making the
most wonderful movements, but at last he became quite still. After
a while, a flash of lightning seemed to pass through him, and
then the daylight approached, and a voice cried out, "I declare here
is the tin soldier. " The fish had been caught, taken to the market
and sold to the cook, who took him into the kitchen and cut him
open with a large knife. She picked up the soldier and held him by
the waist between her finger and thumb, and carried him into the
room. They were all anxious to see this wonderful soldier who
had travelled about inside a fish; but he was not at all proud. They
placed him on the table, and how many curious things do happen
in the world! there he was in the very same room from the
window of which he had fallen, there were the same children, the
same playthings, standing on the table, and the pretty castle with
the elegant little dancer at the door; she still balanced herself on
one leg, and held up the other, so she was as firm as himself. It
touched the tin soldier so much to see her that he almost wept tin
tears, but he kept them back. He only looked at her and they both
remained silent. Presently one of the little boys took up the tin
soldier, and threw him into the stove. He had no reason for doing
so, therefore it must have been the fault of the black goblin who
lived in the snuff box. The flames lighted up the tin soldier, as he
stood, the heat was very terrible, but whether it proceeded from
the real fire or from the fire of love he could not tell. Then he could
see that the bright colors were faded from his uniform, but whether
they had been washed off during his journey or from the effects of
his sorrow, no one could say. He looked at the little lady, and she
looked at him. He felt himself melting away, but he still remained
firm with his gun on his shoulder. Suddenly the door of the room
flew open and the draught of air caught up the little dancer, she
fluttered like a sylph right into the stove by the side of the tin
soldier, and was instantly in flames and was gone. The tin soldier
melted down into a lump, and the next morning, when the maid
servant took the ashes out of the stove, she found him in the shape
of a little tin heart. But of the little dancer nothing remained but the
tinsel rose, which was burnt black as a cinder. THE END .
THE BRAVE TIN SOLDIER.
THERE were once five and twenty tin soldiers, who were all
brothers, for they had been made out of the same old tin spoon.
They shouldered arms and looked straight before them, and wore a
splendid uniform, red and blue. The first thing in the world they
ever heard were the words, "Tin soldiers! " uttered by a little boy,
who clapped his hands with delight when the lid of the box, in
which they lay, was taken off. They were given him for a birthday
present, and he stood at the table to set them up. The soldiers were
all exactly alike, excepting one, who had only one leg; he had
been left to the last, and then there was not enough of the melted
tin to finish him, so they made him to stand firmly on one leg, and
this caused him to be very remarkable. The table on which
the tin soldiers stood, was covered with other playthings, but the
most attractive to the eye was a pretty little paper castle. Through
the small windows the rooms could be seen. In front of the castle a
number of little trees surrounded a piece of looking glass, which
was intended to represent a transparent lake. Swans, made of wax,
swam on the lake, and were reflected in it. All this was very pretty,
but the prettiest of all was a tiny little lady, who stood at the open
door of the castle; she, also, was made of paper, and she wore a
dress of clear muslin, with a narrow blue ribbon over her shoulders
just like a scarf. In front of these was fixed a glittering tinsel rose,
as large as her whole face. The little lady was a dancer, and she
stretched out both her arms, and raised one of her legs so high, that
the tin soldier could not see it at all, and he thought that she, like
himself, had only one leg. "That is the wife for me, " he thought;
"but she is too grand, and lives in a castle, while I have only a box
to live in, five and twenty of us altogether, that is no place for her.
Still I must try and make her acquaintance. " Then he laid himself
at full length on the table behind a snuff box that stood upon it, so
that he could peep at the little delicate lady, who continued to stand
on one leg without losing her balance. When evening came, the
other tin soldiers were all placed in the box, and the people of the
house went to bed. Then the playthings began to have their own
games together, to pay visits, to have sham fights, and to give balls.
The tin soldiers rattled in their box; they wanted to get out and join
the amusements, but they could not open the lid. The nut crackers
played at leap frog, and the pencil jumped about the table. There
was such a noise that the canary woke up and began to talk, and in
poetry too. Only the tin soldier and the dancer remained in their
places. She stood on tiptoe, with her legs stretched out, as firmly as
he did on his one leg. He never took his eyes from her for even a
moment. The clock struck twelve, and, with a bounce, up sprang
the lid of the snuff box; but, instead of snuff, there jumped up a
little black goblin; for the snuff box was a toy puzzle. "Tin
soldier, " said the goblin, "don't wish for what does not belong to
you. But the tin soldier pretended not to hear. "Very
well; wait till to morrow, then, " said the goblin. When the
children came in the next morning, they placed the tin soldier in
the window. Now, whether it was the goblin who did it, or the
draught, is not known, but the window flew open, and out fell the
tin soldier, heels over head, from the third story, into the street
beneath. It was a terrible fall; for he came head downwards, his
helmet and his bayonet stuck in between the flagstones, and his
one leg up in the air. The servant maid and the little boy went
down stairs directly to look for him; but he was nowhere to be seen,
although once they nearly trod upon him. If he had called out,
"Here I am, " it would have been all right, but he was too proud to
cry out for help while he wore a uniform. Presently it began
to rain, and the drops fell faster and faster, till there was a heavy
shower. When it was over, two boys happened to pass by, and one
of them said, "Look, there is a tin soldier. He ought to have a boat
to sail in. " So they made a boat out of a newspaper, and
placed the tin soldier in it, and sent him sailing down the gutter,
while the two boys ran by the side of it, and clapped their hands.
Good gracious, what large waves arose in that gutter! and how fast
the stream rolled on! for the rain had been very heavy. The paper
boat rocked up and down, and turned itself round sometimes so
quickly that the tin soldier trembled; yet he remained firm; his
countenance did not change; he looked straight before him, and
shouldered his musket. Suddenly the boat shot under a bridge
which formed a part of a drain, and then it was as dark as the tin
soldier's box. "Where am I going now? " thought he. "This
is the black goblin's fault, I am sure. Ah, well, if the little lady
were only here with me in the boat, I should not care for any
darkness. " Suddenly there appeared a great water rat, who
lived in the drain. "Have you a passport? " asked the rat,
"give it to me at once. " But the tin soldier remained silent and held
his musket tighter than ever. The boat sailed on and the rat
followed it. How he did gnash his teeth and cry out to the bits of
wood and straw, "Stop him, stop him; he has not paid toll, and has
not shown his pass. " But the stream rushed on stronger and
stronger. The tin soldier could already see daylight shining where
the arch ended. Then he heard a roaring sound quite terrible
enough to frighten the bravest man. At the end of the tunnel the
drain fell into a large canal over a steep place, which made it as
dangerous for him as a waterfall would be to us. He was too close
to it to stop, so the boat rushed on, and the poor tin soldier could
only hold himself as stiffly as possible, without moving an eyelid,
to show that he was not afraid. The boat whirled round three or
four times, and then filled with water to the very edge; nothing
could save it from sinking. He now stood up to his neck in water,
while deeper and deeper sank the boat, and the paper became soft
and loose with the wet, till at last the water closed over the
soldier's head. He thought of the elegant little dancer whom he
should never see again, and the words of the song sounded in his
ears "Farewell, warrior! ever brave, Drifting onward to thy grave. " Then the paper boat fell to
pieces, and the soldier sank into the water and immediately
afterwards was swallowed up by a great fish. Oh how dark it was
inside the fish! A great deal darker than in the tunnel, and narrower
too, but the tin soldier continued firm, and lay at full length
shouldering his musket. The fish swam to and fro, making the
most wonderful movements, but at last he became quite still. After
a while, a flash of lightning seemed to pass through him, and
then the daylight approached, and a voice cried out, "I declare here
is the tin soldier. " The fish had been caught, taken to the market
and sold to the cook, who took him into the kitchen and cut him
open with a large knife. She picked up the soldier and held him by
the waist between her finger and thumb, and carried him into the
room. They were all anxious to see this wonderful soldier who
had travelled about inside a fish; but he was not at all proud. They
placed him on the table, and how many curious things do happen
in the world! there he was in the very same room from the
window of which he had fallen, there were the same children, the
same playthings, standing on the table, and the pretty castle with
the elegant little dancer at the door; she still balanced herself on
one leg, and held up the other, so she was as firm as himself. It
touched the tin soldier so much to see her that he almost wept tin
tears, but he kept them back. He only looked at her and they both
remained silent. Presently one of the little boys took up the tin
soldier, and threw him into the stove. He had no reason for doing
so, therefore it must have been the fault of the black goblin who
lived in the snuff box. The flames lighted up the tin soldier, as he
stood, the heat was very terrible, but whether it proceeded from
the real fire or from the fire of love he could not tell. Then he could
see that the bright colors were faded from his uniform, but whether
they had been washed off during his journey or from the effects of
his sorrow, no one could say. He looked at the little lady, and she
looked at him. He felt himself melting away, but he still remained
firm with his gun on his shoulder. Suddenly the door of the room
flew open and the draught of air caught up the little dancer, she
fluttered like a sylph right into the stove by the side of the tin
soldier, and was instantly in flames and was gone. The tin soldier
melted down into a lump, and the next morning, when the maid
servant took the ashes out of the stove, she found him in the shape
of a little tin heart. But of the little dancer nothing remained but the
tinsel rose, which was burnt black as a cinder. THE END .