The Steadfast Tin Soldier
| "The Steadfast Tin Soldier" | |
|---|---|
| Author | Hans Christian Andersen |
| Original title | "Den Standhaftige Tinsoldat" |
| Country | Denmark |
| Language | Danish |
| Genre(s) | Literary fairy tale |
| Published in | Fairy Tales Told for Children. New Collection. First Booklet. 1838. (Eventyr, fortalte for Børn. Ny Samling. Første Hefte. 1838.) |
| Publication type | Fairy tale collection |
| Publisher | C.A. Reitzel |
| Media type | |
| Publication date | 2 October 1838 |
| Preceded by | "The Daisy" |
| Followed by | "The Wild Swans" |
"The Steadfast Tin Soldier" (Danish: Den standhaftige tinsoldat) is a literary fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen about a tin soldier's love for a paper ballerina. After several adventures, the tin soldier perishes in a fire with the ballerina. The tale was first published in Copenhagen by C.A. Reitzel on 2 October 1838 in the first booklet of Fairy Tales Told for Children. New Collection. The booklet consists of Andersen's "The Daisy" and "The Wild Swans". The tale was Andersen’s first not based upon a folk tale or a literary model. "The Steadfast Tin Soldier" has been adapted to various media including ballet and animated film.
On his birthday, a boy receives a set of 25 toy soldiers all cast from one old tin spoon and arrays them on a table top. One soldier stands on a single leg, as having been the last one cast there was not enough metal to make him whole. Nearby, the soldier spies a paper ballerina with a spangle on her sash. She, too, is standing on one leg, and the soldier falls in love. That night, a goblin among the toys in the form of a jack-in-the-box angrily warns the soldier to take his eyes off the ballerina, but the soldier ignores him.
The next day, the soldier falls from a windowsill (presumably the work of the goblin) and lands in the street. Two boys find the soldier, place him in a paper boat, and set him sailing in the gutter. The boat and its passenger wash into a storm drain, where a rat demands the soldier pay a toll.
Sailing on, the boat is washed into a canal, where the tin soldier is swallowed by a fish. When this fish is caught and cut open, the tin soldier finds himself once again on the table top before the ballerina. Inexplicably, the boy throws the tin soldier into the fire, which is most likely a work of the goblin. A wind blows the ballerina into the fire with him; she is consumed by it. The maid cleans the fireplace in the morning and finds the soldier melted into a heart, along with the ballerina's spangle, which is now burned black as coal.
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