theRE were once five-and-twenty tin soldiers，who were all brothers， for they had been made outof the same old tin spoon. They shouldered armsand looked straight before them， and wore asplendid uniform， red and blue. The first thing inthe world they ever heard were the words， “Tinsoldiers!” uttered by a little boy， who clapped hishands with delight when the lid of the box， inwhich they lay， was taken off. They were given him for a birthday present， and he stood atthe table to set them up. The soldiers were all exactly alike， excepting one， who had only oneleg; he had been left to the last， and then there was not enough of the melted tin to finishhim， so they made him to stand firmly on one leg， and this caused him to be veryremarkable.
the table on which the tin soldiers stood， was covered with other playthings， but themost attractive to the eye was a pretty little paper castle. Through the small windows therooms could be seen. In front of the castle a number of little trees surrounded a piece oflooking-glass， which was intended to represent a transparent lake. Swans， made of wax，swam on the lake， and were reflected in it. All this was very pretty， but the prettiest of all wasa 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 a narrow blue ribbon over her shoulders just like ascarf. In front of these was fixed a glittering tinsel rose， as large as her whole face. The littlelady 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 himself， had onlyone leg. “That is the wife for me，” he thought; “but she is too grand， and lives in a castle，while I have only a box to live in， five-and-twenty of us altogether， that is no place for her.Still I must try and make her acquaintance.” Then he laid himself at full length on the tablebehind a snuff-box that stood upon it， so that he could peep at the little delicate lady， whocontinued to stand on one leg without losing her balance. When evening came， the other tinsoldiers were all placed in the box， and the people of the house went to bed. Then theplaythings began to have their own games together， to pay visits， to have sham fights， andto give balls. The tin soldiers rattled in their box; they wanted to get out and join theamusements， but they could not open the lid. The nut-crackers played at leap-frog， and thepencil jumped about the table. There was such a noise that the canary woke up and began totalk， and in poetry too. Only the tin soldier and the dancer remained in their places. She stoodon tiptoe， with her legs stretched out， as firmly as he did on his one leg. He never took hiseyes from her for even a moment. The clock struck twelve， and， with a bounce， up sprangthe lid of the snuff-box; but， instead of snuff， there jumped up a little black goblin; for thesnuff-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 to-morrow， 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 draught， is not known， but the windowflew open， and out fell the tin soldier， heels over head， from the third story， into thestreet beneath. It was a terrible fall; for he came head downwards， his helmet and hisbayonet stuck in between the flagstones， and his one leg up in the air. The servant maid andthe little boy went down stairs directly to look for him; but he was nowhere to be seen，although once they nearly trod upon him. If he had called out， “Here I am，” it would havebeen 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 a heavyshower. When it was over， two boys happened to pass by， and one of them said， “Look，there is a tin soldier. He ought to have a boat to sail in.”
So they made a boat out of a newspaper， and placed the tin soldier in it， and sent himsailing down the gutter， while the two boys ran by the side of it， and clapped their hands.Good gracious， what large waves arose in that gutter! and how fast the stream rolled on!for the rain had been very heavy. The paper boat rocked up and down， and turned itself roundsometimes so quickly that the tin soldier trembled; yet he remained firm; his countenancedid not change; he looked straight before him， and shouldered his musket. Suddenly theboat shot under a bridge which formed a part of a drain， and then it was as dark as the tinsoldier's box.
“Where am I going now?” thought he. “This is the black goblin's fault， I am sure. Ah，well， if the little lady were only here with me in the boat， I should not care for any darkness.”
Suddenly there appeared a GREat water-rat， who lived in the drain.