还剩1页未读,继续阅读
文本内容:
The HardyTin Soldier坚定的锡兵THERE wereonce five-and-twenty tinsoldiers;they wereall brothers,for theyhad allbeen bornofone oldtin spoon.They shoulderedtheir muskets,and lookedstraight beforethem;their uniformwasred andblue,and verysplendid.The firstthing theyhad heardin theworld,when the lidwas takenoff their box,had beenthe words“Tin soldiers!These wordswere utteredby a littleboy,clapping hishands:the soldiershad beengiven tohim,for it was hisbirthday;and nowheput themupon the table.Each soldierwas exactlylike therest;but oneof themhad beencastlast of all,and therehad notbeen enoughtin tofinish him;but hestood asfirmly uponhisone legas theothers on their two;and it was justthis Soldierwho becameremarkable.On the table onwhich theyhad beenplaced stoodmany otherplaythings,but thetoy thatattractedmost attentionwas aneat castleof cardboard.Through the little windowsone couldsee straightinto the hall.Before thecastle somelittle treeswere placedround alittle looking-glass,whichwas torepresent aclear lake.Waxen swansswam onthis lake,and weremirrored init.This wasallvery pretty;but theprettiest of all was alittle lady,who stoodat theopen doorof thecastle;she was also cutout inpaper,but she had adress of the clearestgauze,and alittlenarrow blueribbon overher shoulders,that lookedlike ascarf;and in the middleof thisribbonwas ashining tinsel rose asbig asher wholeface.The littlelady stretchedout bothher arms,for she wasadancer;and thenshe liftedone legso highthat the Tin Soldier could not see itatall,and thoughtthat,like himself,she hadbut one leg.“That wouldbe thewife forme,〃thought he;but sheis verygrand.She livesin acastle,and Ihave onlya box,and thereare five-and-twenty ofus in that.It isno placefor her.ButI musttry tomake acquaintancewith her.〃And thenhe laydown at full lengthbehind asnuff-box whichwas onthe table;there he couldeasily watchthe littledainty lady,who continuedto standupon oneleg withoutlosing herbalance.When theevening came all theother tinsoldiers wereput into theirbox,and thepeople in thehouse wentto bed.Now thetoys began to playat visiting,〃and at“war,〃and〃giving balls.〃The tinsoldiers rattledin theirbox,for theywanted tojoin,but couldnot liftthe lid.Thenutcracker threwsomersaults,and thepencil amuseditself onthe table:there wasso muchnoisethat thecanary wokeup,and beganto speaktoo,and evenin verse.The onlytwo whodid notstirfrom theirplaces werethe Tin Soldier and the DancingLady:she stoodstraight uponthepointof oneof hertoes,and stretchedout bothher arms;and he washis oneleg;and henever turnedhis eyesaway fromher.just asenduring onNowtwelve and,bounce!thelidflew offthe snuff-box;but therebut atheclock struckwas no一一little blackGoblin:you see,it wasa trick.snuff init,“Tinthe Goblin,dont stareat thingsthat don,t concernyou.”pretendedSoldier!said But thenot tohear him.Tin Soldier“Just youwait tillto-morrow!z,said the Goblin.But whenthe morningcame,and thechildren gotup,the Tin Soldier wasplaced in the window;and whetheritwas theGoblinor thedraught thatdid it,all atonce thewindow flew open,andthe Soldierfell headover heelsout of the thirdstory.That wasa terriblepassage!He puthisleg straightup,and stuckwith helmetdownward andhis bayonetbetween thepaving-stones.The servant-maid and thelittleboy came down directlyto lookfor him,but thoughthey almosttrodupon him,they couldnotseehim.If theSoldier hadcried outHere Iam!〃they wouldhave foundhim;but hedid notthink itfitting tocall outloudly,because hewasin uniform.Now itbegantorain;the dropssoon fellthicker,and atlast itcamedowninto acomplete stream.When therain waspast,two streetboys cameby.“Just look!”said oneof them:there liesa Tin Soldier.He mustcome outand ridein theboat.〃And theymade aboat outofanewspaper,and putthe Tin Soldier in the middleof it,and sohesailed downthe gutter,and thetwo boysran besidehim andclapped theirhands.Goodness preserveus!how thewaves rosein thatgutter,and howfast thestream ran!But thenithad beena heavyrain.The paperboat rockedup anddown,and sometimesturned roundso rapidlythat the Tin Soldier trembled;but heremained firm,and neverchanged countenance,and lookedstraightbefore him,and shoulderedhis musket.All atonce theboat wentinto along drain,and itbecame as dark asif hehad beenin hisbox.Where amI goingnow”he thought.〃Yes,yes,thats theGoblin,s fault.Ah!if thelittlelady onlysat herewith meintheboat,it mightbe twiceasdark-{or whatI shouldcare.〃Suddenly therecamea great WaterRat,which livedunder the drain.“Have youa passport”said theRat.Give meyour passport.〃But theTin Soldierkept silence,and heldhis muskettighter thanever.The boatwent on,butthe Ratcame afterit.Hu!how hegnashed histeeth,and calledout tothe bitsof strawand wood.“Hold him!hold him!Hehasnt paidtoll-he hasn,t shownhis passport!But thestream becamestronger andstronger.The Tin Soldiercouldsee thebright daylightwherethe archended;but heheard aroaring noise,which mightwell frightena bolderman.Onlythink-just where the tunnelended,the drainran into agreatcanal;and forhim thatwould havebeenas dangerousas forus tobe carrieddown agreat waterfall.Now he was alreadyso nearit thathe couldnot stop.The boatwas carriedout,the poorTin Soldierstiffeninghimself asmuch ashecould,and noone couldsay thathe movedan eyelid.The boatwhirledround threeor fourtimes,and wasfull ofwater tothe veryedge-it mustsink.The TinSoldier stoodup tohis neckin water,and theboat sankdeeper anddeeper,andthe paperwas loosenedmore andmore;and nowthe waterclosed overthe soldier,s head.Then hethoughtof thepretty littleDancer,and howhe shouldnever seeIler again;and itsounded intheSoldier,s ears:“Farewell,farewell,thou warriorbrave,For thisday thoumust die!”And nowthe paperparted,and theTinSoldierfell out;but atthat momenthewassnapped upbya greatfish.Oh,how darkitwasinthatfish,s body!It wasdarker yetthan inthedraintunnel;and thenitwas verynarrow too.ButtheTinSoldierremained unmoved,and layatfulllength shoulderinghismusket.The fishswam toand fro;he madethe mostwonderful movements,and thenbecame quitestill.Atlast somethingflashed throughhim likelightning.The daylightshone quiteclear,and avoicesaid aloud,“The TinSoldier!,z Thefish hadbeen caught,carried tomarket,bought,and takenintothekitchen,wherethecook cuthim openwith alarge knife.She seizedthe Soldierroundthe bodywith bothher handsand carriedhim intothe room,where allwere anxiousto seetheremarkable manwho hadtraveled aboutintheinside ofa fish;but theTinSoldier was notatall proud.They placedhim onthetable,and there--no!What curiousthings mayhappen intheworld.The TinSoldierwasinthevery roomin whichhehadbeen before!he sawthe samechildren,andthesame toysstood onthetable;and therewasthepretty castlewith thegraceful littleDancer.She wasstill balancingherself ononeleg,andheld theother extendedintheair.She washardy too.That movedtheTinSoldier;hewasverynearly weepingtin tears,but thatwould nothave beenproper.He lookedat her,but theysaidnothing toeach other.Then oneofthelittle boystook theTinSoldierand flunghim intothe stove.He gaveno reasonfordoing this.It musthave beenthe faultoftheGoblin inthe snuff-box.The TinSoldier stoodthere quiteilluminated,and felta heatthat wasterrible;but whetherthisheat proceededfrom thereal fireor fromlove hedid notknow.The colorshad quitegoneoff fromhim;but whetherthat hadhappened onthe journey,or hadbeen causedby grief,no onecouldsay.He lookedatthelittlelady,she lookedat him,and hefelt thathewasmelting;buthe stillstood firm,shouldering hismusket.Then suddenlythe doorflewopen,andthedraughtof aircaught the Dancer,and sheflew likea sylphjust intothe stovetotheTinSoldier,andflashed upin aflame,and shewas gone.Then theTinSoldiermelted downintoalump;and whentheservant-maid tookthe ashesout nextday,she foundhim inthe shapeofalittle tinheart.But oftheDancernothing remainedbut thetinselrose,and thatwas burnedas blackasacoal.。