The Steadfast Tin Soldier

In this rather sad but sweet tale, a boy receives 25 tin soldiers for his birthday, and arranges them on a table. One soldier stands on a single leg, for there was not enough metal left to make him whole. A paper ballerina, who stands nearby, also stands on one leg, and the soldier falls in love with her. However, a jack-in-the-box warns the soldier to stay away from the ballerina. The following day, the soldier falls from a windowsill. He is washed into a canal and swallowed by a fish. But once the fish is caught and cut open, the soldier finds himself back on the table with the ballerina. The boy impulsively throws the tin soldier into the fire, and a sudden wind blows the ballerina into the fire with him – and she is quickly consumed by it. When a maid cleans the fireplace in the morning, she discovers the tin soldier has melted into a heart.