The Brave Tin Soldier

The Brave Tin Soldier
Hans Christian Andersen- First published in 1838.

Reading Level: 9+  Number of Pages: 4 Genre: Classic Fairy-tale

Summary: There were once 25 soldiers made of tin, who were all cast at the same time. One soldier, who was cast last, had only one leg, for there was not enough tin. Nevertheless, he stood upright and shouldered his musket and showed a brave face. In the toy-room where the soldiers lived there were all sorts of toys, but the prettiest was a little toy dancer, who had a tinsel rose, large as her face, on a dress of muslin. When the dancer danced she pirouetted and rose a leg high up into the air, so that the soldier fancied that she, too had only one leg. "This is the wife for me," he said to himself.  

One night, as the toy soldier was watching the dancer dance, a toy goblin came up to him and said, "Tin soldier, do not wish for what does not belong to you."

But the tin soldier ignored him. 

"Very well," said the goblin. "Wait till to-morrow then."

The next morning the soldier was standing in the window, and as the children came in he was accidentally knocked out the window and into the street below. Though the children looked for him, he was not to be found. It began to rain, and water coursed down the gutters of the street. A couple of boys found the soldier, and made a little boat of paper and placed him in it, setting sailing down the gutter. The soldier was brave, and stood erect as he sailed, rushing with the current as it flowed down the gutter, into the sewer, and on, out to the ocean, where the boat disintegrated and the soldier was swallowed by a fish.

  Remarkably not long after, the fish was caught, and the soldier heard a voice, "I declare here is the tin soldier." By chance the fish had been caught by the father of the family who had lost the soldier, and he had miraculously found his way back home. The family placed him on the table, and he spied the elegant little dancer at the door. They nearly wept at the sight of each other.

  Just then, and it had to be the fault of the goblin, one of the little boys took up the soldier and cast him into the stove. The flames lighted him, and he felt himself melting away. Just then the door opened and the little dancer floated through the air and into the stove, where her delicate form was instantly consumed.

 When the maid took the ashes out of the stove, she saw nothing of the little dancer but the tinsel rose, but of the soldier she saw he had melted into the shape of a heart.

My Impressions: This was a very sad and touching story about the little soldier. I really don't know what the message could be from this story.

 

Parent's Guide:The story is very sad, and the soldier stands tall throughout and is very brave, but he ends up melting in the end.

Recommendations: Check it out, Andersen is a classic.