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The steadfast tin soldier is a fairytale story about true, devoted, lasting and at the same time very tearful and sad love. This story can be read online on one of the pages of our website. With you, a fascinating fascinating story will open about how even in the most difficult times the human soul is capable. You will be able to follow and see the incredible coincidence that life can be capable of. The reader, together with the soldier, will make it. With the help of this fairy tale, you will show examples of self-sacrifice. Only devoted love is ready for such actions, when there is not the slightest other choice left. All this is and can be read in a very simple but popular fairy tale called The Steadfast Tin Soldier. You can read it online on our website.

What the fairy tale teaches and what the author wanted to tell the children

This tale is about a wonderful, beautiful and wonderful love story of a tin soldier for a porcelain dancer. Who could have imagined that a brilliant Danish writer could be inspired by a small and simple piece of tin, and no less large, the same piece of porcelain. It was their writer who discovered on a winter morning in the chimney ash. At the beginning of the tale, he warned young readers that mutual, true love is a very rare phenomenon. If it appeared, then it must be protected from such negative characters as trolls, as we see in the fairy tale that is before you now.

The text of the fairy tale The Steadfast Tin Soldier

There were once twenty-five tin soldiers, mother's brothers - an old tin spoon; a gun on his shoulder, a straight head, a red and blue uniform - well, what a charm, what kind of soldiers! The first words they heard when they opened their box house were: "Ah, tin soldiers!" It was shouted, clapping his hands, by a little boy who was presented with tin soldiers on his birthday. He immediately began to arrange them on the table. All the soldiers were exactly the same, except for one, which was on one leg. He was cast last, and the tin was a little short, but he stood on his one leg as firmly as the others on two; and he just turned out to be the most remarkable of all.

On the table where the soldiers found themselves, there were many different toys, but the most striking was the wonderful palace made of cardboard. Through the small windows one could see the palace chambers; in front of the palace, around a small mirror that depicted a lake, there were trees, and wax swans swam and admired their reflection on the lake. All this was a miracle, how sweet, but the sweetest of all was the young lady who stood on the very threshold of the palace. She was cut out of paper and dressed in a skirt of the finest cambric; over her shoulder was a narrow blue ribbon in the form of a scarf, and on her chest sparkled a rosette the size of the face of the young lady herself.

The young lady stood on one leg, her arms outstretched - she was a dancer - and raised the other leg so high that our soldier could not see her at all, and thought that the beauty was also one-legged, like him.

“I wish I had a wife! he thought. - Only she, apparently, from the nobles, lives in the palace, and I only have a box, and even then there are twenty-five of us in it: she does not belong there! But it doesn't hurt to get to know each other."

And he hid behind a snuffbox, which stood right there on the table; from here he could perfectly see the lovely dancer, who was still standing on one leg, not losing her balance.

Late in the evening, all the other tin soldiers were put in a box, and all the people in the house went to bed. Now the toys themselves began to play “for a visit”, “for war” and “for a ball”. The tin soldiers began to knock on the walls of the box - they also wanted to play, but they could not lift the lids. The Nutcracker tumbled, the stylus danced on the board; there was such a noise and uproar that the canary woke up and also spoke, and even in verse! Only the dancer and the tin soldier did not budge: she still held on to her outstretched toe, stretching her arms forward, he stood cheerfully under the gun and did not take his eyes off her.

It struck twelve. Click! - the snuffbox opened.

There was no tobacco, and a small black beech - what a trick!

Tin soldier, - said the beech, - there’s nothing for you to look at!

The tin soldier didn't seem to hear.

Well, wait! Buka said.

In the morning the children got up and put the tin soldier on the window.

Suddenly - whether by the grace of beeches or from a draft - the window flew open, and our soldier flew headlong down from the third floor - only his ears whistled! A minute - and he was already standing on the pavement with his foot up: his head in a helmet and a gun was stuck between the stones of the pavement.

The boy and the maid immediately ran out in search, but no matter how hard they tried, they could not find the soldier; they almost stepped on him with their feet, and yet they did not notice him. He shouts to them: "I'm here!" - they, of course, would immediately find him, but he considered it indecent to shout in the street: he wore a uniform!

It started to rain; stronger, stronger, finally came a real downpour. When it cleared up again, two street boys came.

Hey! - said one. - There is a tin soldier! Let's send him sailing!

And they made a boat out of newsprint, put a tin soldier in it and let it into the groove. The boys themselves ran around and clapped their hands. Eh-ma! That's how the waves went along the groove! The current carried on - no wonder after such a downpour!

The boat was thrown and turned in all directions, so that the tin soldier was trembling all over, but he held on steadfastly: a gun on his shoulder, head straight, chest forward!

The boat was carried under the long walkways: it became so dark, as if the soldier had again fallen into the box.

“Where is it taking me? he thought. - Yes, these are all the things of an ugly beech! Oh, if that beauty were sitting with me in the boat, for me be at least twice as dark!

At that moment, a large rat jumped out from under the bridge.

Do you have a passport? she asked. - Give me your passport!

But the tin soldier was silent and firmly held the gun. The boat was carried away, and the rat ran after it. Wu! How she gnashed her teeth and shouted to the chips and straws floating towards:

Hold it, hold it! He did not pay the duty, did not show his passport! But the current carried the boat faster and faster, and the tin soldier could already see the light ahead, when he suddenly heard such a terrible noise that any brave man would have chickened out. Imagine - at the end of the bridge, the groove fell into a large channel! It was as scary for the soldier as it was for us to rush in a boat to a large waterfall.

But it was impossible to stop. The boat with the soldier slid down; the poor fellow was still on his toes and did not even bat an eyelid. The boat spun... One, two - filled with water to the brim and began to sink. The tin soldier found himself up to his neck in the water; further - more ... water covered him with his head! Then he thought of his beauty: he would never see her again. In his ears sounded:

Strive forward, o warrior,

And meet death calmly!

The paper was torn, and the tin soldier was about to sink, but at the same moment he was swallowed by a fish.

What darkness! Worse than under the footbridges, and fear how narrow it is! But the tin soldier held firm and lay at full length, tightly clutching his gun.

The fish darted back and forth, made the most amazing jumps, but suddenly froze, as if lightning had struck it. A light flashed, and someone shouted: “Tin Soldier!” The fact is that the fish was caught, brought to the market, then it got into the kitchen, and the cook cut open her belly with a large knife. The cook took the tin soldier by the waist with two fingers and carried him into the room, where all the households ran to look at the wonderful traveler. But the tin soldier did not become proud. They put him on the table, and - what-what happens in the world! - he saw himself in the same room, saw the same children, the same toys and a wonderful palace with a beautiful dancer! She still stood on one leg, holding the other high. That's so resilience! The tin soldier was touched and nearly burst into tears with tin, but that would have been indecent, and he restrained himself. He looked at her, she at him, but they did not exchange a word.

Suddenly one of the boys grabbed a tin soldier and for no reason threw him right into the stove. Probably, it's all beech rigged! The tin soldier stood engulfed in flames. He was terribly hot, from fire or from love - he himself did not know. The colors have completely peeled off from him, he has shed all over; who knows why - from the road or from grief? He looked at the dancer, she looked at him, and he felt that he was melting, but he still held firm, with a gun on his shoulder. Suddenly the door in the room flew open, the wind picked up the dancer, and like a sylph, she fluttered right into the stove to the tin soldier, flared up at once, and - the end! And the tin soldier melted and melted into a lump. The next day the maid was picking out some ashes from the stove and found it in the form of a small pewter heart; from the dancer, only one rosette was left, and even that one was all burned and blackened like coal.

Listen to the story The Steadfast Tin Soldier online

Watch The Steadfast Tin Soldier online

There were once twenty-five tin soldiers in the world. All the sons of one mother - an old tin spoon - and, therefore, they were brothers to each other. They were nice, brave guys: a gun on his shoulder, a chest with a wheel, a red uniform, blue lapels, shiny buttons ... Well, in a word, what a miracle, what kind of soldiers!

All twenty-five lay side by side in a cardboard box. It was dark and cramped inside. But the tin soldiers are a patient people, they lay still and waited for the day when the box was opened.

And then one day the box was opened.

Tin soldiers! Tin soldiers! cried the little boy, and clapped his hands for joy.

He was presented with tin soldiers on his birthday.

The boy immediately began to arrange them on the table. Twenty-four were exactly the same - one could not be distinguished from the other, and the twenty-fifth soldier was not like everyone else. He turned out to be single. It was cast last, and the tin was a little short. However, he stood on one leg just as firmly as the others on two.

It was with this one-legged soldier that a wonderful story happened, which I will now tell you.

There were many different toys on the table where the boy built his soldiers. But the best of all toys was a wonderful cardboard palace. Through its windows one could look inside and see all the rooms. In front of the palace lay a round mirror. It was just like a real lake, and around this mirrored lake were small green trees. Wax swans swam across the lake and, arching their long necks, admired their reflection.

All this was beautiful, but the most beautiful was the mistress of the palace, standing on the threshold, in the wide-open doors. She, too, was cut out of cardboard; she wore a skirt of thin cambric, a blue scarf on her shoulders, and a shiny brooch on her chest, almost as big as her owner's head, and just as beautiful.

The beauty stood on one leg, stretching out both hands forward - she must have been a dancer. She raised the other leg so high that our tin soldier at first even decided that the beauty was also one-legged, like himself.

“I wish I had such a wife! thought the tin soldier. - Yes, only she, probably, a noble family. Wow, what a beautiful palace he lives in! .. And my house is a simple box, and even a whole company of us packed there - twenty-five soldiers. No, she doesn't belong there! But it doesn’t hurt to get to know her…”

And the soldier hid behind a snuffbox, which stood right there on the table.

From here he had a perfect view of the lovely dancer, who stood on one leg all the time and never even swayed!

Late in the evening, all the tin soldiers, except for the one-legged one - they could not find him - were put in a box, and all the people went to bed.

And when it became completely quiet in the house, the toys themselves began to play: first to visit, then to the war, and in the end they had a ball. The tin soldiers banged their guns against the walls of their box - they also wanted to go free and play, but they could not lift the heavy lid. Even the nutcracker began to tumble, and the stylus began to dance on the board, leaving white marks on it - tra-ta-ta-ta, tra-ta-ta-ta! There was such a noise that the canary woke up in the cage and began to chat in its own language as quickly as it could, and moreover, in verse.

Only the one-legged soldier and the dancer did not move.

She still stood on one leg, stretching forward both hands, and he froze with a gun in his hands, like a sentry, and did not take his eyes off the beauty.

It struck twelve. And suddenly - click! The snuffbox opened.

This snuffbox never smelled of tobacco, but there was a little evil troll in it. He jumped out of the snuffbox, as if on a spring, and looked around.

Hey you, tin soldier! the troll shouted. - Do not hurt to look at the dancer! She's too good for you.

But the tin soldier pretended not to hear anything.

Ah, there you are! - said the troll. - Okay, wait until morning! You will still remember me!

In the morning, when the children woke up, they found a one-legged soldier behind a snuffbox and put him on the window.

And suddenly - either the troll set it up, or it just pulled a draft, who knows? - but as soon as the window swung open, and the one-legged soldier flew from the third floor upside down, so much so that his ears whistled. Well, he got scared!

Not a minute passed - and he was already sticking out of the ground upside down, and his gun and head in a helmet were stuck between the cobblestones.

The boy and the maid immediately ran out into the street to look for the soldier. But no matter how much they looked around, no matter how they rummaged around on the ground, they did not find it.

Once they almost stepped on a soldier, but even then they passed by without noticing him. Of course, if the soldier shouted: "I'm here!" - he would be found immediately. But he considered it obscene to shout in the street - after all, he wore a uniform and was a soldier, and besides, he was made of tin.

The boy and the maid went back into the house. And then all of a sudden it started to rain! Real downpour!

Wide puddles spread along the street, fast streams flowed. And when at last the rain stopped, two street boys ran up to the place where the tin soldier was sticking out between the cobblestones.

Look, one of them said. - No way, this is a tin soldier! .. Let's send him to sea!

And they made a boat out of an old newspaper, put a tin soldier in it and lowered it into a ditch.

The boat swam away, and the boys ran alongside, jumping up and down and clapping their hands.

The water in the ditch was churning. Why would she not seethe after such a downpour! The boat then dived, then flew up to the crest of the wave, then it circled in place, then carried it forward.

The tin soldier in the boat was trembling all over - from helmet to boot - but he held himself steadfastly, as a real soldier should: a gun on his shoulder, head up, chest like a wheel.

And now the boat skidded under a wide bridge. It became so dark, as if the soldier had fallen into his box again.

“Where am I? thought the tin soldier. - Oh, if my beautiful dancer was with me! Then everything would be nothing to me ... "

At that moment, a large water rat jumped out from under the bridge.

Who are you? she screamed. - Do you have a passport? Show your passport!

But the tin soldier was silent and only tightly clutched his gun. His boat was carried farther and farther, and the rat swam after him. She snapped her teeth fiercely and shouted to the chips and straws floating towards her:

Hold it! Hold on! He doesn't have a passport!

And she raked her paws with all her might to catch up with the soldier. But the boat was carried so fast that even a rat could not keep up with it. Finally the tin soldier saw a light ahead. The bridge is over.

"I'm saved!" thought the soldier.

But then such a rumble and roar was heard that any brave man could not stand it and trembled with fear. Just think: behind the bridge, the water fell down noisily - right into a wide, turbulent canal!

The tin soldier, who was sailing in a small paper boat, was in the same danger as we were if we were carried in a real boat to a real big waterfall.

But it was impossible to stop. The boat with the tin soldier was swept into a large canal. The waves tossed and tossed her up and down, but the soldier still behaved well and did not even blink an eye.

And suddenly the boat spun in place, scooped up water on the right side, then on the left, then again on the right, and was soon filled with water to the very brim.

Here the soldier is already waist-deep in water, now up to his throat ... And finally the water covered him with his head.

Plunging to the bottom, he sadly thought about his beauty. He will never see the sweet dancer again!

But then he remembered an old soldier's song:
“Step forward, always forward!
Glory awaits you beyond the grave! .. "-

and prepared with honor to meet death in a terrible abyss. However, something quite different happened.

Out of nowhere, a large fish emerged from the water and instantly swallowed the soldier along with his gun.

Oh, how dark and cramped it was in the stomach of the fish, darker than under the bridge, tighter than in the box! But the tin soldier held firm even here. He drew himself up to his full height and tightened his grip on his gun. So he stayed for quite some time.

Suddenly, the fish darted from side to side, began to dive, wriggle, jump, and finally froze.

The soldier could not understand what had happened. He prepared to face new trials courageously, but the surroundings were still dark and quiet.

And suddenly, like lightning, flashed in the dark.

Then it became completely light, and someone shouted:

That's the thing! Tin soldier!

And the thing was this: the fish was caught, brought to the market, and then she got into the kitchen. The cook cut open her belly with a large shiny knife and saw a tin soldier. She took it with two fingers and carried it into the room.

The whole house came running to see the wonderful traveler. The soldier was put on the table, and suddenly - what kind of miracles do not happen in the world! - he saw the same room, the same boy, the same window from which he flew out into the street ... There were the same toys around, and among them a cardboard palace towered, and a beautiful dancer stood on the threshold. She stood still on one leg, holding the other high. Now that's called resilience!

If you look at the map, you will see that a significant part of Denmark is located on large and small islands. On one of them - the island of Funen - is the city of Odense. Here, in 1805, the future storyteller Christian Andersen was born into the family of a shoemaker.
The house where the boy grew up was very old. Its wooden beams were decorated with ancient carvings of tulips and hop shoots, and along the edge of the roof there was a gutter with a dragon's head at the end. Rainwater was supposed to flow from the dragon's mouth, but it flowed from the body - the gutter was full of holes. Andersen's childhood years were spent in poverty. His father, a Napoleonic soldier, returned from a military campaign seriously ill and soon died. The family was left without a livelihood, and little Christian was forced to go to work in a cloth factory. In his free time, the boy ran to a school for the poor, where they taught the law of God, writing and arithmetic, and even that was bad.
Christian grew up as a visionary and inventor. He loved to play in the theater, where he imagined himself as an actor, composed various funny and touching stories. Their most attentive listener was an old cat. He had only one drawback - he fell asleep too soon.
In 1819, fourteen-year-old Christian left his native city. His path lay in Copenhagen. The young man arrived in the capital with a secret hope to enter the theater, to become an artist. However, at first, Andersen had a hard time. To earn a living, he was forced to take up carpentry ...
The life of the great storyteller Christian Andersen resembles a sad fairy tale with a happy ending. In a fairy tale, good people always come to the aid of the hero. This is what happened to Christian. Kind people secured a small study pension for him. Thanks to her, he graduated from the gymnasium, and then the university. Andersen wrote his first stories and poems while still a student. At the age of thirty he was already the author of many books of poetry and prose. At the same time, he created his first fairy tales: "Flint", "Little Klaus and Big Klaus", "Flowers of Little Ida", "Thumbelina". The name of the storyteller becomes known far beyond the borders of little Denmark; the children of England, France, and Russia are read to them.
Glory has not changed Andersen - he is still good-natured and friendly, writes a lot. He finds plots for fairy tales everywhere. He can write an interesting, captivating story about every thing, be it a simple darning needle or an ordinary tin soldier... In old Copenhagen there were many dark narrow streets. Here former sailors lived out their lives, small shops and workshops huddled. Each workshop had its own sign: either huge boots, or a giant castle, a toy soldier.
...Once a pewter spoon fell into the hands of an old master. For a long time he twirled it this way and that, and finally, he decided to cast twenty-five soldier recruits out of it in blue and red uniforms, with guns on their shoulders. Said and done. All the tin soldiers resembled each other like two drops of water, And only one differed from his brothers: he had only one leg. The master cast it last, and there was not enough tin for the second leg. But still, even on one leg, the soldier stood firmly, and boldly looked ahead.
The old master did not even suspect how many amazing adventures would happen to this soldier: there would be a journey in a fragile boat along a stormy stream, and the pursuit of a terrible rat, a toll collector, and swimming in the belly of a fish, and finally, a trial by fire. But what is remarkable, no matter what life troubles the tin soldier got into, he firmly stood on his only leg and steadfastly endured all the hardships and dangers. Such was his character. The story of the Steadfast Tin Soldier, told by a great storyteller, is simple and unsophisticated. But is it really that simple? Think about it at your leisure.
B. Zabolotskikh

There were once twenty-five tin soldiers in the world, all brothers, because they were born from an old tin spoon. A gun on his shoulder, looking straight ahead, and what a magnificent uniform - red and blue! They lay in a box, and when the lid was removed, the first thing they heard was:
- Oh, tin soldiers!
It was a little boy who screamed and clapped his hands. They were given to him for his birthday, and he immediately arranged them on the table.
All the soldiers turned out to be exactly the same, and only one was a little different from the rest: he had only one leg, because he was cast last, and there was not enough tin. But even on one leg he stood as firmly as the rest on two, and now a wonderful story will happen to him.

There were many other toys on the table where the soldiers ended up, but the most noticeable was a beautiful palace made of cardboard. Through the small windows one could look directly into the halls. In front of the palace, around a small mirror that depicted a lake, there were trees, and wax swans swam across the lake and looked into it.
It was all very sweet, but the sweetest of all was the girl who stood at the door of the castle. She, too, was cut out of paper, but her skirt was of the finest cambric; over her shoulder was a narrow blue ribbon, like a scarf, and on her chest sparkled a sparkle no smaller than the head of the girl herself. The girl stood on one leg, her arms stretched out in front of her - she was a dancer - and threw the other so high that the tin soldier did not see her, and therefore decided that she was also one-legged, like him.
“I wish I had such a wife!” he thought. “Only she, you see, from the noble ones, lives in the palace, and I only have something like a box, and even then there are twenty-five of us soldiers in it, it’s not a place for her.” there! But you can get to know each other!"
And he hid behind a snuffbox, which was right there on the table. From here he had a perfect view of the lovely dancer.

In the evening, all the other tin soldiers, except for him alone, were placed in a box, and the people in the house went to bed. And the toys themselves began to play - and to visit, and to the war, and to the ball. The tin soldiers stirred in the box - they also wanted to play - but they could not lift the lid. The Nutcracker tumbled, the stylus danced across the board. There was such a noise and uproar that the canary woke up and how it whistled, and not just, but in verse! Only the tin soldier and the dancer did not move. She still stood on one toe, her arms outstretched, and he stood bravely on his only leg and did not take his eyes off her.
It struck twelve, and - click! - the lid of the snuff box bounced off, only it turned out to be not tobacco, no, but a small black troll. The snuffbox was with a focus.
- Tin soldier, - said the troll, - don't look where you don't need to!
But the tin soldier pretended not to hear.
- Well, wait, here comes the morning! - said the troll.

And the morning came; the children got up and put the tin soldier on the windowsill. Suddenly, by the grace of a troll, or from a draft, the window will burst open, and the soldier will fly headfirst from the third floor! It was a terrible flight. The soldier threw bliss into the air, stuck his helmet and bayonet between the stones of the pavement, and stuck upside down.
The boy and the maid immediately ran out to look for him, but they could not see him, although they almost stepped on him with their feet. Shout it to them: "I'm here!" - they probably would have found him, but it just didn’t become for a soldier to shout at the top of his lungs - after all, he was wearing a uniform.
It began to rain, the drops fell more and more often, and finally a real downpour poured. When it was over, two street boys came.
- Look! - said one. - There is a tin soldier! Let's send him to the sea!
And they made a boat out of newsprint, put a tin soldier in it, and it floated through the gutter. The boys ran around and clapped their hands. Fathers, what waves were moving along the ditch, what a swift current it was! Still, after such a downpour!

The ship was thrown up and down and turned so that the tin soldier was trembling all over, but he held on steadfastly - a gun on his shoulder, head straight, chest forward.
Suddenly the ship dived under a long walkway across a ditch. It became so dark, as if the soldier had fallen into the box again.
“Where is it taking me?” he thought. “Yes, yes, all this is the tricks of a troll! Ah, if that young lady were sitting with me in the boat, then be at least twice as dark, and then nothing!”
Then a large water rat appeared, which lived under the footbridges.
- Do you have a passport? she asked. - Show your passport!
But the tin soldier filled his mouth like water and only gripped the gun even tighter. The ship carried everything forward and forward, and the rat swam after it. Wu! How she gnashed her teeth, how she shouted to the chips and straws floating towards:
- Hold it! Hold on! He didn't pay the toll! He's passportless!

But the current grew stronger and stronger, and the tin soldier could already see the light ahead, when suddenly there was such a noise that any brave man would have been frightened. Imagine, at the end of the bridge, a gutter emptied into a large canal. For the soldier it was as dangerous as for us to rush in a boat to a large waterfall.
Now the channel is already very close, it is impossible to stop. The ship was carried out from under the bridge, the poor fellow held on as best he could, and did not even blink an eye. The ship was turned three, four times, filled with water to the brim, and it began to sink.
The soldier was up to his neck in the water, and the boat sank deeper and deeper, the paper soaked. Now the water covered the soldier with his head, and then he thought about the lovely little dancer - he would not see her again. He heard in his ears:
Strive forward, warrior,
Death will overtake you!

Then the paper completely unraveled, and the soldier went to the bottom, but at the same moment he was swallowed by a big fish.
Oh, how dark it was inside, even worse than under the bridge over the gutter, and cramped to boot! But the tin soldier did not lose courage and lay stretched out to his full height, not letting go of the gun ...
The fish came in circles, began to make the most outlandish jumps. Suddenly she froze as if struck by lightning. A light flashed, and someone shouted: "Tin soldier!" It turns out that the fish was caught, brought to the market, sold, brought to the kitchen, and the cook cut open her belly with a large knife. Then the cook took the soldier with two fingers by the small of his back and brought him into the room. Everyone wanted to look at such a wonderful little man - still, he made a trip in the belly of a fish! But the tin soldier was not at all proud. They put it on the table, and - what only miracles do not happen in the world! - he found himself in the same room, saw the same children, on the table were the same toys and a wonderful palace with a lovely little dancer. She still stood on one leg, throwing the other high high - she, too, was steadfast. The soldier was touched and almost burst into tears of tin tears, but that would have been unattractive. He looked at her, she at him, but they did not say a word to each other.

Suddenly, one of the kids grabbed a tin soldier and threw it into the stove, although the soldier was not guilty of anything. This, of course, was set up by the troll that was sitting in the snuffbox.
The tin soldier stood in flames, he was seized by a terrible heat, but whether it was fire or love, he did not know. The color had completely disappeared from him, no one could say why - from travel or from grief. He looked at the little dancer, she looked at him, and he felt that he was melting, but he still held firm, not letting go of the gun. Suddenly the door to the room flung open, the dancer was caught by the wind, and like a sylph, she fluttered right into the stove to the tin soldier, flared up at once - and she was gone. And the tin soldier melted into a ball, and the next morning the maid, shoveling out the ashes, found a tin heart instead of the soldier. And from the dancer there was only one sparkle, and she was burnt and black, like coal.

There were once twenty-five tin soldiers in the world, all brothers, because they were born from an old tin spoon. A gun on his shoulder, looking straight ahead, and what a magnificent uniform - red and blue! They lay in a box, and when the lid was removed, the first thing they heard was:

Oh, tin soldiers!

It was a little boy who screamed and clapped his hands. They were given to him for his birthday, and he immediately arranged them on the table.

All Soldiers turned out to be exactly the same, and only

the only one was a little different from everyone else: he had only one leg, because he was cast last, and there was not enough tin. But even on one leg he stood as firmly as the rest on two, and now a wonderful story will happen to him.

There were many other toys on the table where the soldiers ended up, but the most noticeable was a beautiful palace made of cardboard. Through the small windows one could look directly into the halls. In front of the palace, around a small mirror that depicted a lake, there were trees, and wax swans swam across the lake and looked into it.

It was all very sweet, but the sweetest of all was the girl who stood at the door of the castle. She, too, was cut out of paper, but her skirt was of the finest cambric; over her shoulder was a narrow blue ribbon, like a scarf, and on her chest sparkled a sparkle no smaller than the head of the girl herself. The girl stood on one leg, her arms stretched out in front of her - she was a dancer - and threw the other so high that the tin soldier did not see her, and therefore decided that she was also one-legged, like him.

“I wish I had such a wife! he thought. - Only she, you see, from the nobles, lives in the palace, and I only have something like a box, and even then there are twenty-five of us in it, there is no place for her there! But you can meet!

And he hid behind a snuffbox, which was right there on the table. From here he had a perfect view of the lovely dancer.

In the evening, all the other tin soldiers, except for him alone, were placed in a box, and the people in the house went to bed. And the toys themselves began to play

And to visit, and to the war, and to the ball. The tin soldiers stirred in the box - they also wanted to play - but they could not lift the lid. The Nutcracker tumbled, the stylus danced across the board. There was such a noise and uproar that the canary woke up and how it whistled, and not just, but in verse! Only the tin soldier and the dancer did not move. She still stood on one toe, her arms outstretched, and he stood bravely on his only leg and did not take his eyes off her.

It struck twelve, and - click! - the lid of the snuff box bounced off, only it turned out to be not tobacco, no, but a small black troll. The snuffbox was with a focus.

Tin soldier, - said the troll, - don't look where you don't need to!

But the tin soldier pretended not to hear.

Well wait, here comes the morning! - said the troll.

And the morning came; the children got up and put the tin soldier on the windowsill. Suddenly, by the grace of a troll, or from a draft, the window will burst open, and the soldier will fly headfirst from the third floor! It was a terrible flight. The soldier threw bliss into the air, stuck his helmet and bayonet between the stones of the pavement, and stuck upside down.

The boy and the maid immediately ran out to look for him, but they could not see him, although they almost stepped on him with their feet. He shouts to them: "I'm here!" - they probably would have found him, but it just didn’t become for a soldier to shout at the top of his lungs - after all, he was wearing a uniform.

It began to rain, the drops fell more and more often, and finally a real downpour poured. When it was over, two street boys came.

Look! - said one. - There is a tin soldier! Let's send him to the sea!

And they made a boat out of newsprint, put a tin soldier in it, and it floated through the gutter. The boys ran around and clapped their hands. Fathers, what waves were moving along the ditch, what a swift current it was! Still, after such a downpour!

The ship was thrown up and down and turned so that the tin soldier was trembling all over, but he held on steadfastly - a gun on his shoulder, head straight, chest forward.

Suddenly the ship dived under a long walkway across a ditch. It became so dark, as if the soldier had fallen into the box again.

“Where is it taking me? he thought. - Yes, yes, all this is the tricks of the troll! Oh, if that young lady were sitting with me in the boat, then be at least twice as dark, and then nothing!

Then a large water rat appeared, which lived under the footbridges.

Do you have a passport? she asked. - Show your passport!

But the tin soldier filled his mouth like water and only gripped the gun even tighter. The ship carried everything forward and forward, and the rat swam after it. Wu! How she gnashed her teeth, how she shouted to the chips and straws floating towards:

Hold it! Hold on! He didn't pay the toll! He's passportless!

But the current grew stronger and stronger, and the tin soldier could already see the light ahead, when suddenly there was such a noise that any brave man would have been frightened. Imagine, at the end of the bridge, a gutter emptied into a large canal. For the soldier it was as dangerous as for us to rush in a boat to a large waterfall.

Now the channel is already very close, it is impossible to stop. The ship was carried out from under the bridge, the poor fellow held on as best he could, and did not even blink an eye. The ship was turned three, four times, filled with water to the brim, and it began to sink.

The soldier was up to his neck in the water, and the boat sank deeper and deeper, the paper soaked. Now the water covered the soldier with his head, and then he thought about the lovely little dancer - he would not see her again. He heard in his ears:

Strive forward, warrior,

Death will overtake you!

Then the paper completely unraveled, and the soldier went to the bottom, but at the same moment he was swallowed by a big fish.

Oh, how dark it was inside, even worse than under the bridge over the gutter, and cramped to boot! But the tin soldier did not lose courage and lay stretched out to his full height, not letting go of the gun ...

The fish came in circles, began to make the most outlandish jumps. Suddenly she froze as if struck by lightning. A light flashed, and someone shouted: "Tin Soldier!" It turns out that the fish was caught, brought to the market, sold, brought to the kitchen, and the cook cut open her belly with a large knife. Then the cook took the soldier with two fingers by the small of his back and brought him into the room. Everyone wanted to look at such a wonderful little man - still, he made a trip in the belly of a fish! But the tin soldier was not at all proud. They put it on the table, and - what only miracles do not happen in the world! - he found himself in the same room, saw the same children, on the table were the same toys and a wonderful palace with a lovely little dancer. She still stood on one leg, throwing up the other high - she, too, was steadfast. The soldier was touched and almost burst into tears of tin tears, but that would have been unattractive. He looked at her, she at him, but they did not say a word to each other.

Suddenly, one of the kids grabbed a tin soldier and threw it into the stove, although the soldier was not guilty of anything. This, of course, was set up by the troll that was sitting in the snuffbox.

The tin soldier stood in flames, he was seized by a terrible heat, but whether it was fire or love, he did not know. The color had completely disappeared from him, no one could say why - from travel or from grief. He looked at the little dancer, she looked at him, and he felt that he was melting, but he still held firm, not letting go of the gun. Suddenly the door to the room flung open, the dancer was caught by the wind, and like a sylph, she fluttered right into the stove to the tin soldier, flared up at once - and she was gone. And the tin soldier melted into a ball, and the next morning the maid, shoveling out the ashes, found a tin heart instead of the soldier. And from the dancer there was only one sparkle, and she was burnt and black, like coal.