The Brave Tin Soldier

Inside a dull tin box lay the gift that the little boy looked at with delight. There were twenty-five tin soldiers in it! They had uniforms painted red and blue, and stood upright with guns on their shoulders. How smart and handsome they looked!
Then he saw that the last soldier stood on one leg. The boy was very happy as he started lining up the soldiers in front of his toy castle.

A little ballerina wearing a blue ribbon and a pink dress stood dancing in front of the castle. She had stretched her arms in a graceful gesture and twirled on one leg. Since the one-legged soldier couldn’t see the other leg, he thought she too had only one leg like him. And so he thought she was the right bride for him. He wanted to make friends with her.
The next morning, the little boy sat down to play with his new toy soldiers. But the little soldier lost his balance when the wind blew strongly. He tumbled out of the window and fell into the street below, lying there neglected for days.

It rained and the street flowed like a river. A couple of boys saw him when the sky cleared and, putting him in a paper boat, they set him sailing! He sat upright in the boat with his little gun.
The boat sailed and spun till it dropped into a drain. That was dark and a bit scary, wishing he could be with the little lady. A large water-rat chased him down the drain asking for his passport. But the brave soldier went past bravely without saying a word.
Before the rat could get him, the boat drifted over a fall and down went the soldier, boat and all into a canal! Thinking of the dancing lady, he stood stiffly upright to show that he was not afraid, though his heart beat fast.
The boat sank but he stood straight and landed in the dark, inside the fish. “I wonder what will become of me,” he wondered, “I’ll just wait.” And he kept waiting for days, moving along with the fish.

Then one day, everything was still. He blinked as he suddenly saw light. Someone seemed to have opened the fish. It had been caught by a fisherman and sold to someone. It was the little boy’s mother who had bought the fish! Her cook had cut open the fish and found the little tin soldier.
She smiled as she cleaned him and took him along to join the others in the little boy’s room. They all stood there in bright uniforms and the dancer also was there in the same place! But the little tin soldier had been out on the street, in the rain, floated down the drain and the canal and been inside the fish too! He looked worn and dull.
The boy threw the little soldier into the fire. He melted in the flames, looking at the dancer, and standing up straight till the end.

In the morning, the ashes were swept away. And there among the ashes lay a little tin heart— the brave heart of the tin soldier!

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