Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1912-02-02
TIE VALIANT Tin SOLDIER.

spoon. They shouldered arms and look
ed 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 to him for a birthday pres
ent, 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 melt
ed 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 |
seem In front of the castle number of |
little trees surrounded a piece of looking |
glass, which was intended to represent |
transparent lake. Swans, made of wax, |
swan on the lake, and were reflected in |
II.
All this was very pretty, but the pref
test of all was 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
narrow blue ribbon over her shoulders
just like a scarf In front of this 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 him
| self, had only one leg.
THAT is the wife for me-" he thought;
| but she is too grand and lives in a
| castle, while l have only a box to live
| in, five-andtwenty of us all together,
| that is no place for her. Still, l must
| try and make her acquaintance" Then
| he laid himself at full length on the ia
BILE 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 SOL
| diers 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 ratified 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
tptoe, with her arms 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 tomorrow, 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 draft, is not
known. but the window flew open, and
!, out fell the tin soldier, heels over head,
from the third story into the street be-
meath. 1t was terrible fall for he
came head downward His helmet and
his bayonet stuck in between the flag
stones, and his one leg up in the air.
The servant-maid and the little boy
went downstairs directly to look for
l | him, but he was nowhere to be seen,
although once they nearly trod upon
him. If he had called out Here / 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 heavy shower. When it was over
| TWO boys happened to pass by, and one
of them said:
Look! here is tin soldier. He ought
to have boat to sail in"
So they made boat out of a news
5 | paper, 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 gra.
cious, what large waves rose in that gut.
I | ter! 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 sc
, quickly that the tin soldier trembled
Yet he remained firm; his countenanct
did not change; he looked straight be.
fore him, and shouldered his musket
t Suddenly the boat shot under a bridge
which formed part of drain, and ther
e it was as dark as the tin soldiers box
Where am l going now?" thought
he. This is the black COLLINS fault
o I am sure. All. WELL if the little lady
:, ] were only here with me in the boat,
SHOULD not care for any darkness"
Suddenly there appeared grea
y water-rat, who lived in the drain.
Have you a passport" asked thu
rat. Give it to me at once"
But the tin soldier remained silent, ant
: held his musket tighter than ever. Th'
| boat sailed on and the rat followed 1t
How he did gnash his teeth and CRY
out to. the bits of wood and straw:
stop MIN. stop MIN! lie mas not pdlC
u toll, and has not shown his pass"
But the stream rushed on stronger
and stronger. The tin soldier could al
= ready see daylight shining where tn,
t arch ended. Then he heard a roaring
:. sound quite terrible enough to fright
en- the bravest man. At the end of tn
- tunnel the drain fell into a large cana
h over a steep place, which made it al
e dangerous for him as a waterfall would
l. be to U.S.
n He was too close to it to stop, so tn,
o boat rushed on, and the poor tin soldie
: could only hold himself as stihly as pos
q sible, without moving an eyelid, to shov
that he was not afraid.
=, The boat whirled round three or fou
9 times and then filled with water to tn
h very edge; nothing could save it from
6 sinking. He now stood up to his necl
in water, while deeper and deeper sanl
the boat, and the paper became soft ant
. loose with the wet, till at last the waite
u closed over the soldiers head.
:, He thought of the elegant 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, ant