The Brave Tin Soldier

by   Hans Christian Andersen

Persista stana soldato

de   Hans Christian Andersen

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 seen. In front of the castle a number of little trees surrounded a piece of looking-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 was a 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 a scarf. In front of these 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 himself, had only one 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 table 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 soldiers 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 rattled 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 tiptoe, with her legs 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 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 window flew open, and out fell the tin soldier, heels over head, from the third story, into the street beneath. It was a terrible fall; for he came head downwards, his helmet and his bayonet stuck in between the flagstones, and his one leg up in the air.

The servant maid and the 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 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 a heavy shower. 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 him sailing 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 round sometimes so quickly that the tin soldier trembled; yet he remained firm; his countenance did not change; he looked straight before him, and shouldered his musket.

Suddenly the boat shot under a bridge which formed a part of a drain, and then it was as dark as the tin soldier'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.

“Have you a passport?” asked the rat, “give it to me at once.”

But the tin soldier remained silent and held his musket tighter than ever. The boat sailed on and the rat followed it. How he did gnash his teeth and cry out to the bits of wood and straw:

“Stop him, stop him; he has not paid toll, and has not shown his pass.”

But the stream rushed on stronger and stronger. The tin soldier could already see daylight shining where the arch ended. Then he heard a roaring sound quite terrible enough to frighten the bravest man. At the end of the tunnel the drain fell into a large canal over a steep place, which made it as dangerous for him as a waterfall would be to us.

He was too close to it to stop, so the boat rushed on, and the poor tin soldier could only hold himself as stiffly as possible, without moving an eyelid, to show that he was not afraid. The boat whirled round three or four times, and then filled with water to the very edge; nothing could save it from sinking. He now stood up to his neck in water, while deeper and deeper sank the boat, and the paper became soft and loose with the wet, till at last the water closed over the soldier's head. He thought of the elegant little dancer whom he should never see again, and the words of the song sounded in his ears–

“Farewell, warrior! ever brave,
Drifting onward to thy grave.”

Then the paper boat fell to pieces, and the soldier sank into the water and immediately afterwards was swallowed up by a great fish.

Oh how dark it was inside the fish! A great deal darker than in the tunnel, and narrower too, but the tin soldier continued firm, and lay at full length shouldering his musket.

The fish swam to and fro, making the most wonderful movements, but at last he became quite still. After a while, a flash of lightning seemed to pass through him, and then the daylight approached, and a voice cried out, “I declare here is the tin soldier.” The fish had been caught, taken to the market and sold to the cook, who took him into the kitchen and cut him open with a large knife. She picked up the soldier and held him by the waist between her finger and thumb, and carried him into the room. They were all anxious to see this wonderful soldier who had travelled about inside a fish; but he was not at all proud. They placed him on the table, and– how many curious things do happen in the world!– there he was in the very same room from the window of which he had fallen, there were the same children, the same playthings, standing on the table, and the pretty castle with the elegant little dancer at the door; she still balanced herself on one leg, and held up the other, so she was as firm as himself. It touched the tin soldier so much to see her that he almost wept tin tears, but he kept them back. He only looked at her and they both remained silent.

Presently one of the little boys took up the tin soldier, and threw him into the stove. He had no reason for doing so, therefore it must have been the fault of the black goblin who lived in the snuff-box.

The flames lighted up the tin soldier, as he stood, the heat was very terrible, but whether it proceeded from the real fire or from the fire of love he could not tell. Then he could see that the bright colors were faded from his uniform, but whether they had been washed off during his journey or from the effects of his sorrow, no one could say. He looked at the little lady, and she looked at him. He felt himself melting away, but he still remained firm with his gun on his shoulder. Suddenly the door of the room flew open and the draught of air caught up the little dancer, she fluttered like a sylph right into the stove by the side of the tin soldier, and was instantly in flames and was gone. The tin soldier melted down into a lump, and the next morning, when the maid servant took the ashes out of the stove, she found him in the shape of a little tin heart. But of the little dancer nothing remained but the tinsel rose, which was burnt black as a cinder.

Sur la tablo, sur kiu ili estis starigitaj, staris ankorau multe da aliaj ludiloj; sed ludilo, kiu plej multe altiris al si la atenton, estis bela kastelo el papero. Tra la malgrandaj fenestroj oni povis rigardi internen en la salonojn. Antau ghi staris malgrandaj arboj, chirkaue estis peco da spegula vitro, kiu devis prezenti lagon. Cignoj el vakso naghadis sur ghi kaj spegulighadis en ghi. Chio certe estis tre charma, sed la plej charma estis malgranda knabino, kiu staris meze de la malfermita pordego de la kastelo. Ghi ankau estis eltranchita el papero, sed havis sur si silkan veston kaj malgrandan, mallarghan, bluan rubandon trans la shultroj; en la mezo de la rubando trovighis brilanta stelo, tiel granda, kiel ghia tuta vizagho. La malgranda knabino charme etendis supren siajn ambau brakojn, char shi estis dancistino, kaj krom tio shi levis unu kruron tiel alten, ke la stana soldato tute ne povis ghin rimarki kaj pensis, ke shi, simile al li, havas nur unu piedon.

“Shi estus bona por mi kiel edzino!” li pensis, “sed shi estas tro altrangula por mi, shi logas en kastelo, dum mi havas nur skatolon, – kiu apartenas ankorau al dudek kvar aliaj, tio ne estas loghejo por shi. Tamen mi vidu, chu mi povas konatighi kun shi!”. Li kushighis lau sia tuta longo malantau flartabakujo, kiu staris sur la tablo. De tie li povis bone observadi la malgrandan elegantan sinjorinon, kiu senlace staris sur unu piedo, ne perdante la ekvilibron.

Kiam farighis vespero, oni metis la aliajn stanajn soldatojn en ilian skatolon kaj la homoj en la domo enlitighis. Nun la ludiloj komencis ludi, jen “Ni ricevas gastojn”, jen “Rabistoj kaj urbaj soldatoj”, jen “Kashigho”. La stanaj soldatoj frapobruis en sia skatolo, char ili volis ankau partopreni en la ludado, sed ili ne povis levi la kovrilon. La nuksrompilo faris transkapighojn, kaj la grifelo gaje rulighadis sur la tablo. Farighis tia bruo, ke la kanario vekighis kaj alighis ankau kun sia kantado, sed nur per versoj. La solaj, kiuj ne movighis de sia loko, estis la stana soldato kaj la malgranda dancistino. Shi staris tute rekte sur la pinto de sia piedo, kaj ambau shiaj brakoj estis levitaj; li sur sia unu piedo estis tiel same persista kaj ne deturnis de shi siajn okulojn ech por unu sekundo.

Jen la horlogho sonis noktomezon, kaj subite desaltis la kovrilo de la flartabakujo; tamen ne flartabako estis interne, sed malgranda nigra koboldo; tio estis artifikajho.

“Stana soldato!”, diris la koboldo, “per la senchesa rigardado vi eluzos ankorau viajn okulojn!”

Sed la soldato shajnigis, ke li tion ne audas.

“Nu, atendu ghis morgau”, diris la koboldo.

Kiam farighis mateno kaj la infanoj levighis, oni starigis la soldaton en la fenestro; kaj – chu tio estis la koboldo, chu trablovo – subite la fenestro larghe malfermighis kaj la soldato elfalis malsupren el la tria etagho. Tio estis terura falo, li etendis sian solan piedon rekte en la aeron kaj enpushighis inter la shtonojn de la pavimo kun la kasko kaj la bajoneto malsupre.

La servistino kaj la malgranda knabo tuj kuris malsupren, por lin serchi; sed kvankam ili preskau surpashis sur lin, ili tamen ne povis lin rimarki. Se la stana soldato ekkrius: “Chi mi estas!” ili certe lin trovus; sed char li estis en uniformo, li opiniis nekonvena tiel laute krii.

Nun komencis pluvi; falis gutoj post gutoj, kaj baldau farighis vera pluvego; kiam ghi finighis, venis du strataj buboj.

“Vidu, vidu!” diris unu el ili, “jen kushas stana soldato, li devas eliri kaj shipveturi!”

Ili faris shipeton el gazeta papero, metis la stanan soldaton internen kaj eknaghigis lin en la strata defluilo. Ambau knaboj kuris apude kaj plaudis per la manoj. Ho chielo, kiaj ondoj levighadis en la strata defluilo, kaj kia forta torento tie estis! Jes, videble la pluvo falis torente. La papera shipeto balancighadis supren kaj malsupren, kaj de tempo al tempo ghi turnighadis en rondo tiel ke teruro atakis la stanan soldaton. Malgrau tio li restis firma, ne palighis, rigardis nur antauen kaj forte tenis la pafilon en la mano.

Subite la shipeto subnaghis sub longan stratdefluilan ponton; chi tie estis tiel same mallume, kiel en lia skatolo.

“Kien mi nun venos?”, li pensis. “Jes, jes, tio estas kulpo de la koboldo! Ha, se almenau la malgranda knabino sidus chi tie en la shipeto, tiam mi ne malghojus, se ech estus duoble pli mallume!”

En la sama momento aperis granda akva rato, kiu havis sian loghejon sub la stratdefluila ponto.

“Chu vi havas pasporton?”, demandis la rato. “Tuj montru la pasporton!”

Sed la stana soldato silentis kaj nur ankorau pli forte tenis sian pafilon. La shipeto veturis pluen kaj la rato ghin sekvis. Hu, kiel ghi grincigis la dentojn kaj kriadis al la lignetoj kaj pajleroj:

“Haltigu lin, haltigu lin! Li ne pagis doganpagon, li ne montris sian pasporton!”

Sed la fluo farighis chiam pli kaj pli forta; jam antau ol li atingis la finon de la ponto, li povis ekvidi la tagan lumon; sed samtempe li ekaudis bruan tonon, kiu povis ektimigi la koron ech de plej kuragha viro. Prezentu al vi, che la fino de la ponto la stratdefluilo falis ghuste en grandan kanalon, kio por li estis tiel same danghera, kiel por ni la shipveturado malsupren sur granda akvofalo.

Li estis nun jam tiel proksime, ke li ne povis halti. La shipeto naghis malsupren, la kompatinda stana soldato tenis sin, kiom li povis, tute rekte. Neniu povus diri pri li, ke li ech palpebrumis unu momenton per la okuloj. La shipeto turnighis tri au kvar fojojn kaj plenighis de akvo ghis la rando, ghi devis droni. La stana soldato staris en akvo ghis la kolo, kaj la shipeto iris chiam pli kaj pli profunden. Chiam pli kaj pli la papero dissolvighis; jen la akvo iris jam super la kapon de la soldato. Tiam li pensis pri la malgranda charma dancistino, kiun li plu neniam vidos; kaj en la oreloj de la stana soldato sonis:

“La tagigho, la tagigho
Estos mia neniigho!”

Jen la papero disshirighis, kaj la stana soldato trafalis sed en la sama momento lin englutis granda fisho.

Ha, kiel mallume estis interne! tie estis ankorau pli malbone ol sub la defluila ponto, kaj antau chio estis tre malvaste. Malgrau chio la stana soldato estis firma kaj kushis lau sia tuta longo kun la pafilo en la mano.

La fisho jhetadis sin tien kaj reen kaj faradis la plej terurajn movojn; fine farighis tute silente, kaj li eksentis subite kvazau radion de fulmo. Enpenetris hela lumbrilo, kaj iu ekkriis laute: “La stana soldato!” La fisho estis kaptita, alportita sur la vendejon, tie oni ghin vendis, kaj ghi venis en la kuirejon, kie la servistino per granda tranchilo ghin distranchis. Shi prenis la soldaton je la mezo de lia korpo kaj enportis lin en la chambron, kie chiuj volis vidi la rimarkindan viron, kiu vojaghis en la stomako de fisho; la stana soldato tamen tute ne estis fiera pri tio. Oni starigis lin sur la tablo, kaj tie – kiaj strangaj aferoj ofte farighas en la mondo – la stana soldato trovighis en la sama chambro, en kiu li estis antaue, li vidis la samajn infanojn, kaj la samaj ludiloj staris sur la tablo: la belega kastelo kun la charma malgranda dancistino. Shi chiam ankorau staris sur unu piedo kaj tenis la duan alte en la aero, shi ankau estis persista. Tio tiel kortushis la soldaton, ke li estis preta plori per stano, tamen tio ne konvenis. Li rigardis shin, kaj shi rigardis lin, sed ili nenion diris unu al la alia.

Subite unu el la malgrandaj knaboj kaptis la stanan soldaton kaj jhetis lin rekte en fornon, kvankam li tute ne havis ian kauzon por tio. Certe la koboldo en la tabakujo estis kulpa en tio.

La stana soldato staris tute prilumita kaj sentis teruran varmegon, sed li ne povis distingi, chu tio estas sekvo de la efektiva fajro, chu de lia tro granda ardo de amo. Chiuj koloroj sur li malaperis; chu tio farighis dum la vojagho, chu tio farighis de lia profundega malghojo, tion neniu povus diri. Li rigardis la malgrandan knabinon, kaj shi rigardis lin. Li sentis, ke li disfandighas, tamen li chiam ankorau staris persiste kun sia pafilo en la mano. Tiam malfermighis pordo, la vento kaptis la dancistinon, kaj simile al silfino shi ankau flugis rekte en la fornon, al la stana soldato, ekflamis per hela flamo kaj malaperis. Tiam la stana soldato fandighis kaj farighis bulo, kaj kiam en la sekvanta tago la servistino elprenis la cindron el la forno, shi trovis lin en formo de malgranda stana koro. Sed de la dancistino restis nur la stelo, kaj ghi estis tute brulnigrighinta.