Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1909-06-12
little dainty lady. who continued to
stand on one leg without losing her

stand on one leg without losing her
balance.
When evening came, all the other
tin soldiers were put into their box,
and the people in the house went to
bed Now the toys began to play at
giving balls" The tin soldiers rat
tied in their box; they wanted to get
out and Join the fun, but they could
not lift the lind The nut-crackers
played at leapfrog, and the pencil
jumped about the table. There was
SO much noise that the canary woke
up and began to speak, and In poetry,
too.
Only the tin soldier and the dancer
remained In their places. She stood
on the tip Of one toe, with her arms
stretched out, as firmly as he did on
his one leg. He never took his eyes
from her, even for moment.
The clock struck twelve-and
bounce!-the lid flew off the snuffbox.
Up jumped little black goblin. for
the snuffbox held no snuff. 1t was
merely a toy puzzle.
Tin Soldier!' said the goblin,
don't stare at things that don't con-
Germ you"
But the tin soldier pretended not to
hear.
Just you wait till tomorrow" said
the goblin.
When the children came in the next
morning, they placed the tin soldier
In the window. Now, whether 1t was
the goblin that did it, or the draught,
at all events the window flew open,
and out fell the tin soldier, heels over
head, from the third story, into the
street beneath. 1t was terrible fall,
for he came head downwards. His
helmet and his bayonet stuck in the
flagstones, and his one leg up In the
air.
The servant maid and the little boy
went downstairs directly to look for
him; but, although once they nearly
trod upon him, they did not see him.
If he had called out, Here l ami" 1t
would have been all right. He was
too proud, however. to cry out for help
while he wore a uniform.
Presently 1t began to rain, and the
drops fell faster and faster, till there
was a heavy shower. When 1t was
over, two boys happened to pass by.
One of them said, Look, there is a
tin soldier! He ought to have boat
to sail in"
They made boat out of a news
paper and put the tin soldier in It, He
sailed down the gutter, and the two
boys ran beside him and clapped their
hands. Good gracious! how the
waves rose in that gutter, and how fast
the stream ran! But then 1t had been
a heavy rain.
The paper boat rocked up and
down, and turned itself round, some
times so quickly that the tin soldier
trembled; yet he remained firm. His
countenance did not change; he look
ed straight before him, and shoulder
ed his musket. Suddenly the boat
shot into long drain, and 1t became
as dark as the tin soldiers box.
Where am l going now?' he
thought. Eyes, yes, this is the goblin S
fault. All! If the little lady only sat
here with me in the boat, it might be
twice as dark for all that l should
care"
Suddenly there appeared a great wa.
ter rat, which lived in the drain.
Have you passport?" said the
rat. Give me your passport"
But the tin soldier kept silence, and
held his musket tighter than ever.
The boat went on, but the rat fol
| lowed 1t. Ha! how he CRASHED his
teeth, and called out to the bits Of
straw and wood, stop him! stop him!
he hasn't paid toll-he hasn't shown
his passport
| But the stream rushed on stronger
! and stronger. The tin soldier coult
see the bright daylight where the arcf
ended; but he heard roaring noise
which might well brighten the braves
man. Only think-just where the
tunnel ended, the drain ran into
great canal. For him that was a.
dangerous as for us to be carried owe
a great waterfall
He was too close to it to stop. Thu
boat rushed on, and the poor til
soldier could only hold himself a.
stiffly as possible to show that he wa
not afraid The boat whisked rount
three or four times, and then fillet
with water to the very edge. Nothin,
could save 1t from sinking.
He now stood up to his neck in wa
ter, while deeper and deeper sank thu
boat. The paper became soft ant
loose with the wet. At last the waite
closed over the soldiers head. HI
thought of the pretty little dance
whom he should never see again, ant
the words Of the song sounded In hi
ears
Farewell, warrior, ever brave,
Drifting onward to thy grave"
Then the paper boat fell to pieces
and the soldier dropped out. At tina
moment he was snapped up by grea
, fish.
"Oh, how dark it was inside tina
fish! a great deal darker than in tn
drain, and narrower, too. The tin so
, der remained firm and lay at fu
: length, shouldering his musket.
, The fish swan to and fro, maxim
the most fearful movements, but a
last he became quite still. After
, while. flash of lightning seemed t
, pass through him. Then the dayligh
: appeared, and voice cried out, II DE-
: clare, here is the tin soldier!"
The fish had been caught, taken t
the market and sold to the cook. Sh
!, had taken him into the kitchen an
i oft him omen with large knife