The Brave Tin Soldier

Once upon a time, there were twenty-five little toy soldiers created from an old tin spoon. Twenty-four of the brothers were exactly identical. They each wore a splendid red and blue uniform, carried a shiny musket, and had a brave, painted-on face.

But the very last soldier to be made was a little different. The toy maker had run out of tin right at the end, so the twenty-fifth soldier only had one leg. Yet, he stood on his one leg just as bravely and firmly as all his brothers stood on two!

It was the little boy’s birthday, and he arranged the soldiers proudly on his playroom table. Among the other toys on the table was a gorgeous paper castle. Standing directly in front of the castle was a delicate, beautiful ballerina cut from fine paper. She wore a shiny little dress and a blue ribbon. Because she was frozen in a lovely dance move, one of her legs was lifted so high in the air that the one-legged tin soldier could only see one leg.

“She is just like me!” the tin soldier thought happily. “She only has one leg, too! I would love to be her friend.”

He gazed at the beautiful ballerina all evening. But at midnight, when the children were asleep, the toys came alive! A nasty little Jack-in-the-Box goblin sprang out of his box. He saw the tin soldier staring at the ballerina and hissed furiously, “Tin soldier! Keep your eyes to yourself!”

But the tin soldier bravely ignored the goblin, standing perfectly still. The goblin was furious. “Just wait until tomorrow!” he threatened.

The next morning, the children placed the tin soldier on the windowsill. Suddenly—no one knows if it was the wind or the nasty goblin—the window snapped shut, and the poor tin soldier fell three stories down, landing upside down in the street!

It began to rain heavily. Two boys found the soldier in the mud. They quickly folded a small paper boat, placed the tin soldier inside, and set him sailing down a rushing gutter in the street.

The water spun the boat violently! It was dark, cold, and terribly frightening. Soon, the boat rushed under a dark bridge where a massive, scary sewer rat lived. “Stop! Give me your passport!” the rat hissed, chasing the paper boat.

But the tin soldier remained steadfast! He gripped his musket tightly and didn’t even blink his painted-on eyes. Finally, the boat washed out into the open river, but the paper boat became soaked, and the brave tin soldier sank slowly into the deep, dark water.

Just as he thought he would never see the light again, a giant fish swam by and swallowed him whole! It was even darker inside the fish. But the tin soldier just gripped his musket and patiently waited in the dark.

By an absolute miracle, the fisherman caught that very fish, and it ended up being sold to the little boy’s family! When the cook opened the fish in the kitchen, she gasped. “The little tin soldier!”

The boy happily carried him back up to the playroom table. And there, standing in the exact same spot, was the paper ballerina. She looked at him, and he looked at her. They were so happy to be together again.

Moral of the Story: True bravery means standing strong and steadfast, no matter how scary the journey may be.