This is the tin soldier short story. There lived a boy in a town. On his birthday, He got a set of twenty-five tin soldiers as a gift. Onw of them was a one-legged soldier.
The boy kept the one-legged soldier away from the rest of the soldiers. He was probably biased. He did not like him because of his one missing leg.
The soldier fell in love with the ballerina standing opposite to him. She was in a dance pose, hence, on one leg. She was made of paper.
Some toys were jealous of that love-affair. A goblin was one of them.
The goblin warned the soldier to keep away from the beautiful ballerina. But the soldier dismissed his warning. In the meantime, All the toys has fun and frolic.
The one legged soldier was standing on the window sill. The goblin played his trick. The soldier fell into the goblin’s trap.
The tin soldier fell from the window sill. He landed in the street. He was probably pushed by the goblin.
The boy (the owner of the toys) was standing in the street. But he couldn’t see the soldier. The tin soldier needed help.
Two boys found the soldier in the drain. They picked him up. They placed him in a paper boat and let the boat sail towards a gutter.
The tin soldier floated in the paper boat. He travelled through the drain. He was all alone.
The mouse stopped the soldier at the mouth of the gutter. He demanded toll tax from the tin soldier. But the soldier has nothing on his person.
The soldier’s boat was able to reach the waters of a canal. A big fish looked at the soldier and thought, ‘it’s a nice morsel of food.’ Thinking so it swallowed the soldier.
The fish was caught by a fisherman. It was bought by the same family whose child’s birthday was celebrated. When the fish was cut open in the kitchen, the tin soldier was found.
The tin soldier was again standing on one leg. The paper ballerina was standing opposite to him. He was glad but the boy was not.
Probably, The tin soldier was not liked due to his single leg. So, the boy threw him into the fire.
The wind blew all of a sudden. The paper ballerina was swept by the wind, into the fire. She was burnt but her spangle remained. The soldier melted and acquired the shape of heart.