The Little Mermaid by Hans Christian Andersen

The Little Mermaid by Hans Christian Andersen

Author:Hans Christian Andersen [Hans Christian Andersen]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781782692508
Publisher: Steerforth Press
Published: 2019-05-14T16:00:00+00:00


NCE UPON A TIME there were twenty-five tin soldiers. They were brothers, because they were all sons of an old tin spoon. Each one held a rifle and looked straight in front of him, and their splendid uniforms were red and blue. The very first thing they ever heard was when the lid was lifted from the box where they lay. “Tin soldiers!” shouted a little boy, and he clapped his hands. They were a present for him because it was his birthday, and now he set them up on the table. Every soldier looked exactly like his brothers—except for one, who was a bit different. This soldier had only one leg, because he was the last to be cast and there hadn’t been quite enough tin. Yet he stood just as steady on his one leg as the others on their two—and it’s this soldier who would become something marvellous.

There were lots of other toys on the table where they were placed, but what caught the eye was an attractive paper castle. Through the tiny windows you could see right into its rooms. Outside the castle, little trees stood around a small mirror that was supposed to look like a lake, where wax swans swam in their own reflections. It all looked very pretty—but prettiest of all was the young dancer who stood in the middle of the castle’s open doorway. She was also cut out of paper, but she was wearing a skirt of gauzy linen and a little blue sash across her shoulder, like a scarf. In the middle of the sash was a shiny spangle as big as her face. The dancer stretched out both arms, for she was a ballerina, and she raised one of her legs so high in the air that the tin soldier couldn’t see it and thought she had only one leg—just like him.

That’s the wife for me! he thought. But she looks rather elegant, and lives in a castle, while I only have a box. And there are twenty-five of us living there—not a place for her! Yet I must try to introduce myself. His tall body was hidden behind a snuffbox. Here he could gaze upon the fine little dancer, who kept standing on one leg without losing her balance.

Late in the evening, all the other tin soldiers were put into their box, and the people of the house went to bed. Now the toys started to play charades, fight battles and hold dances. The tin soldiers rattled in their box, because they wanted to get out but couldn’t get the lid off. The nutcracker turned somersaults, the chalk played tricks on the slate, and they all made such a racket that it woke the canary, who began talking in rhyme. The only toys who didn’t budge were the tin soldier and the ballerina. She stayed upright on tiptoe, with both her arms spread. He was just as steady on his single leg, and his eyes didn’t leave her for a moment.



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