In a cozy playroom, where sunshine peeked through the curtains, lived a whole army of shiny tin soldiers. They all looked exactly the same, standing straight and tall in their red and blue uniforms, each holding a little tin rifle.

But one soldier was a little different. He stood very straight and proud, but he only had one leg! You see, he was the very last soldier made, and there just wasn't enough tin left for two. Still, he stood just as firmly on his one leg as the others did on their two.

From his spot on the table, he saw the most wonderful thing. It was a tiny dancer, made of paper, standing in front of a paper castle. She wore a sparkly dress and stood on one tiptoe, with her other leg stretched out high. "She only has one leg, just like me!" thought the tin soldier. He fell in love right away.

Now, on the same table lived a grumpy black goblin in a box. When he saw the tin soldier looking at the dancer, he popped out and grumbled, "Hey, tin soldier! Keep your eyes to yourself!" The tin soldier pretended not to hear.

One day, a window flew open with a SWOOSH! A big gust of wind blew the little tin soldier right off the table, out the window, and down, down, down to the street below. Oh dear!

Two boys found him. "Look!" said one. "A tin soldier! Let's make him a boat." They folded a newspaper into a little boat, put the soldier inside, and sent him sailing down the gutter. "What an adventure!" thought the soldier, even though the water was a bit wobbly.

The boat sailed into a dark tunnel, and then – SPLASH! – it sank. Just then, a big fish swam by and GULP! It swallowed the tin soldier whole.

It was very dark inside the fish. But soon, the fish was caught! A cook bought it at the market, took it home, and began to cut it open. And who do you think popped out? Our tin soldier! And guess what? He was in the very same house he had left!

He was put back on the table, and there she was – the lovely paper dancer, still standing on one leg. She looked at him, and he looked at her. They couldn't speak, but they understood.

Suddenly, one of the little boys in the house, for no reason at all, picked up the tin soldier and threw him right into the warm, crackling fireplace. Oh dear! The soldier felt himself melting. Just then, another gust of wind blew through the room. It gently lifted the paper dancer, and she floated like a feather, right into the fire beside him.

The next morning, when the maid cleaned the fireplace, she found a little lump of tin shaped like a heart. That was all that was left of the brave tin soldier. And next to it, she found a tiny, burnt, sparkly sequin from the dancer's dress. They were together, even in the ashes.

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