The Tinderbox
| "The Tinderbox" | |
|---|---|
| Author | Hans Christian Andersen |
| Original title | "Fyrtøiet" |
| Translator | Charles Boner |
| Country | Denmark |
| Language | Danish |
| Genre(s) | Literary fairy tale |
| Published in | Fairy Tales Told for Children. First Collection. First Booklet. 1835. |
| Publication type | Fairy tale collection |
| Publisher | C. A. Reitzel |
| Media type | |
| Publication date | 8 May 1835 |
| Published in English | 1846 |
| Preceded by | "The Improvisatore" |
| Followed by | "Little Claus and Big Claus" |
"The Tinderbox" (Danish: Fyrtøjet) is a literary fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen about a soldier who acquires a magic tinderbox capable of summoning three powerful dogs to do his bidding. When the soldier has one of the dogs transport a sleeping princess to his room, he is sentenced to death but cunningly summons the dogs to save his life.
In the Aarne-Thompson tale index, The Tinderbox is type 562: The Spirit in the Blue Light. Other tales of this type include The Three Dogs and The Blue Light.
The tale has its source in a Scandinavian folk tale Andersen learned in his childhood, but similarities with "Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp" and other tales have been noted. The story was one of Andersen's first fairy tales, and was published by C. A. Reitzel in Copenhagen, Denmark on 8 May 1835 in an inexpensive booklet with three other tales by Andersen. The four tales were not favorably received by Danish critics who disliked their informal, chatty style and lack of morals. In 1946, "The Tinderbox" was the source material for Denmark's first animated film, and, in 2007, a ballet with costumes and scenery designed by Queen Margrethe II.
The story opens with a poor soldier returning home from war. He meets a witch, who asks him to climb into a hollow tree to retrieve a magic tinderbox. The witch gives the man permission to take anything he finds inside the chambers, but he must return the tinderbox. In the tree, he finds three chambers filled with precious coins guarded by three monstrous dogs, "one with eyes the size of teacups", who guards a vault filled with pennies, one with "eyes the size of water wheels", who guards a vault filled with silver, and one with eyes "the size of Round Tower", who guards a vault filled with gold. He fills his pockets with money, finds the tinderbox, and returns to the witch. When she demands the tinderbox without giving a reason, the soldier lops off her head with his sword.
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