A soldier was marching home from the wars, tramp, tramp, tramp! His knapsack was on his back and his sword was by his side. He was a brave soldier, and he was very happy to be going home.

Suddenly, he met an old woman on the road. She wasn't a very pretty old woman; in fact, she was a bit spooky with a long, wobbly chin. "Hello, soldier!" she croaked. "You have a fine sword! Would you like some money? Lots and lots of money?"

The soldier, who didn't have much money at all, said, "That sounds wonderful!"

"Good!" said the old woman. "Do you see that big, hollow tree over there? If you climb down inside, you'll find my tinderbox. It's an old fire-starter. Bring it to me, and you can have all the money you can carry."

The soldier thought, "Why not?" He was brave, remember? The old woman tied a rope around his waist, and he climbed down into the dark tree.

In the first room he came to, a big dog sat on a wooden chest. Its eyes were as big as teacups! "Don't worry," called the old woman's voice from above. "Put him on my blue-checked apron, which I've thrown down to you, and he won't hurt you." The soldier spread out the apron, gently placed the dog on it, and the dog sat quietly. He opened the chest – it was full of copper coins! He filled his pockets.

He went into the next room. Another dog sat on another chest, and this one had eyes as big as dinner plates! The soldier put this dog on the apron too, and it also sat quietly. He opened this chest – it was full of silver coins! He quickly threw out all the copper coins and filled his pockets with shiny silver.

Then he went into the third room. Oh my! The dog on this chest had eyes as big as bicycle wheels! It was huge! But the soldier bravely put this dog on the apron as well. He opened the chest, and it was overflowing with sparkling gold coins! He emptied his pockets of the silver and stuffed them with gold, gold, gold until he couldn't carry any more. He also picked up the tinderbox.

"Pull me up!" he shouted to the old woman.

When he was out, he asked, "What's so special about this tinderbox? Why do you want it so much?"

The old woman wouldn't tell him. She just cackled and reached for it. The soldier got a bit cross. "Tell me what it's for, or I'll keep it!" She still wouldn't say a word. So, the soldier just walked away, leaving the grumpy old woman by the tree. He had the tinderbox and pockets full of gold!

He went to the biggest town he could find. He bought the finest clothes, ate the yummiest cakes, and stayed in the best hotel. Everyone thought he was a prince because he had so much money!

But gold doesn't last forever if you keep spending it. Soon, the soldier was poor again. He had to move out of the grand hotel and into a tiny, cold attic room.

One dark night, he couldn't even afford a candle. He remembered the tinderbox. "Maybe I can get a spark from this to light my room," he thought. He struck it once. *Woof!* Suddenly, the dog with eyes as big as teacups appeared before him. "What does my master command?" it barked.

"Wow!" said the soldier, very surprised. "Get me some money!"

The dog vanished and, in a flash, came back with a big bag of copper coins. The soldier was delighted! He struck the tinderbox twice. *Woof! Woof!* The dog with eyes like dinner plates appeared. "Get me more money!" he commanded. And it brought him a bag of silver coins.

He tried striking it three times. *Woof! Woof! Woof!* And there was the enormous dog with eyes like bicycle wheels, bringing him a huge sack of gold! The soldier was rich again!

Now, in this town, there lived a beautiful princess. But she was locked up in a tall copper castle because a wise old fortune-teller had said she would marry a common soldier. The King and Queen didn't like that idea at all, so they kept her hidden away.

"I really want to see her," thought the soldier. That night, he struck the tinderbox once. The teacup-eyed dog appeared. "Bring me the princess," he whispered.

In a blink, the dog ran off and came back with the princess, fast asleep on its back. She was so lovely! The soldier couldn't help but give her a tiny kiss on her cheek. Then the dog whisked her back to the castle before anyone knew.

The next day, the princess told her mother, the Queen, about a strange dream she'd had about a dog and a soldier. The Queen was very clever. The next night, she told an old lady-in-waiting to watch the princess's room.

The soldier wanted to see the princess again. This time, he struck the tinderbox twice and sent the dinner-plate-eyed dog. The old lady-in-waiting saw the dog carry the princess away. She quickly followed them, and when the dog went into a big house, she marked the door with a white chalk cross. "Aha! Now we'll know where he lives!" she thought.

But the clever dog saw the cross as it left. It found a piece of chalk and put crosses on ALL the doors in the whole street! The next morning, when the King and Queen came to find the house, every door had a cross, and they didn't know which one it was.

The Queen was even cleverer. The next time, she made a little bag with tiny holes in it and filled it with flour. She tied it to the princess's back. That night, when the soldier sent the bicycle-wheel-eyed dog for the princess, the flour trickled out, making a white trail all the way from the castle right to the soldier's door.

The next morning, the King's guards followed the flour trail. Bang! Bang! Bang! They broke down the soldier's door. "You're arrested for sneaking the princess out!" they shouted.

The poor soldier was thrown into prison. They told him he was going to be hanged the next day! Oh dear! And he'd left his tinderbox in his room.

As he was being led to the gallows (the place where they hang people), he saw a little shoemaker's boy running by. "Hey, kid!" he called out. "If you run to my old room and get my tinderbox for me, I'll give you four shillings!" The boy loved the idea of earning money, so he ran like the wind and came back with the tinderbox just as the soldier was about to be hanged.

At the gallows, the soldier said to the King, "Before I die, please grant me one last wish. Let me have one last smoke of my pipe." The King, thinking it was a small and harmless request, said yes.

The soldier took out his tinderbox. He struck it once! *Woof!* The teacup-eyed dog was there.
He struck it twice! *Woof! Woof!* The dinner-plate-eyed dog was there.
He struck it three times! *Woof! Woof! Woof!* The enormous bicycle-wheel-eyed dog was there!

"Save me!" cried the soldier.
The three dogs leaped! They grabbed the mean judges and tossed them high in the air. They grabbed the King and Queen and tossed them high in the air too! The crowd was a bit scared but also a bit excited by all the commotion.

When things calmed down, the people in the crowd shouted, "Soldier, you should be our king! You're much braver and more exciting than the old one!"

So, the soldier became king, and he married the beautiful princess. The three amazing dogs sat at the wedding feast, their big eyes shining brightly, and everyone agreed it was the best party the town had ever seen. And they all lived happily, with plenty of adventures, for a very long time.

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