was too close to it to stop, so the boat rushed on, and the poor tin soldier
could only hold himself as stiffly as possible, without moving an eyelid, to
show that he was not afraid. The boat whirled round three or four times, and
then filled with water to the very edge; nothing could save it from sinking.
He now stood up to his neck in water, while deeper and deeper sank the
boat, and the paper became soft and loose with the wet, till at last the water
closed over the soldier’s head. He thought of the elegant little dancer whom
he should never see again, and the words of the song sounded in his ears-
“Farewell, warrior! ever brave,
Drifting onward to thy grave.”
Then the paper boat fell to pieces, and the soldier sank into the water and
immediately afterwards was swallowed up by a great fish. Oh how dark it
was inside the fish! A great deal darker than in the tunnel, and narrower too,
but the tin soldier continued firm, and lay at full length shouldering his
musket. The fish swam to and fro, making the most wonderful movements,
but at last he became quite still. After a while, a flash of lightning seemed to
pass through him, and then the daylight approached, and a voice cried out,
“I declare here is the tin soldier.” The fish had been caught, taken to the
market and sold to the cook, who took him into the kitchen and cut him
open with a large knife. She picked up the soldier and held him by the waist
between her finger and thumb, and carried him into the room. They were all
anxious to see this wonderful soldier who had travelled about inside a fish;
but he was not at all proud. They placed him on the table, and-how many
curious things do happen in the world! -there he was in the very same room
