I loved these storeys as a child, brings back so many memories. My favourite was the Happy prince.

What beautiful toys they would make lovely Christmas presents

Basically the story of stage play, The Nutcracker. I loved reading Storyteller as a child, they got some of the best actors to read them too.

A beautiful yet sad story.

For his birthday, a little boy was given twenty-five tin soldiers in a box. The soldiers were all brothers, because they had been made from the same old tin tray and painted from the same pots of paint. They stood to attention with their rifles on their shoulders, looking straight ahead, wearing smart red and black uniforms. All the tin soldiers were exactly alike except one - the last one to be made. By then the toymaker had been running out of tin, so the last soldier could only have one leg. Even so, he stood as steady on his one leg as all the other soldiers did on two. When the boy opened his birthday present, he clapped his hands and cried, "An army!" He took the tin soldiers out of their box, one by one, and lined them up on a table crowded with other toys. The army stood there proudly in front of a fine cardboard castle, with swans gliding round a moat made from a piece of mirror, admiring their own reflections. On the drawbridge stood the lady of the castle, a paper ballerina. The last tin soldier, standing on his one leg, thought that the ballerina was the most beautiful doll he had ever seen. She had a white muslin dress and wore a blue ribbon over her shoulder, fixed with a glittering spangle. She stretched out her pale arms in front of her, as if she was reaching out towards him. And she stood on tip - toe , balancing on one leg with the other stretched out behind her , almost hidden by her skirt . To the tin soldier she looked as if she only had one leg-just like himself . " She would be a perfect wife for me , " he thought . " But she is much too fine . She has a castle - and I only have a box that I share with other soldiers . That wouldn't do for her . But she's so beautiful ! I could look at her for ever ! " The soldier stood in silence and stared at the ballerina on the drawbridge of her castle. And when the other soldiers were packed away, he slipped into the shadows of a colourful box, so that he could go on watching her all night. The little boy went to bed, and the house grew quiet. Then, in the middle of the night, the toys began to play. A clown on the table turned somersaults, and some sticks of chalk began to write on the blackboard. The animals played hide and seek, and danced to the music of the musical box. The tin soldiers in their box rattled around because they wanted to play too, but they could not get the lid open. The only toys who did not move were the ballerina and the soldier. She stood as still and steady on the toes of her one foot as the soldier did on his. His eyes never left her. The clock struck two . And the lid of the brightly coloured box sprung open . Bang ! Wheeee ! Out jumped a strange , grinning creature with a concertina body and a round , bald head . It was a jack - in - the - box . " Tin soldier ! " he screeched , bobbing up and down . " Keep your eyes to yourself . The tin soldier pretended not to hear . But he blushed as red as his uniform . " Staring at our princess ! Who do you think you are ? A prince ? A hero ? You wait till tomorrow ! " And the jack disappeared back into his box with a squawking laugh . " Next morning, when the little boy set out his soldiers for battle, he put the one-legged soldier by the .window as a look-out. Was it just the wind or the evil magic of the jack-in-the-box? Suddenly the window opened and the soldier toppled out. He fell all the way down to the street, and landed head-first on the pavement. The boy ran downstairs to look for him, but although he almost stepped on him, he could not find the little tin soldier. Then he was driven back into the house by a sudden downpour and the tin soldier was left alone. among the splashing raindrops. When the ram stopped two children came by and found the soldier. Then one said, "Look at the gutter, it's like a river!" They made a boat out of thick paper, put the tin soldier aboard, and sailed the boat down the road. The water raced down the flooded gutter and the boat was soon going-very fast. The tin soldier was trembling with fear but he stood as steady as ever and looked straight ahead. Then the water in the gutter suddenly poured down a drain into the sewer, taking the boat with it! Inside the smelly sewer eve g was dark. "I wonder how all this will end," thought the soldier. ''I'm sure it's all the fault of that jack-in-the-box." A big, brown rat that lived came up behind the boat and shouted "Passport! Show your passport! " The tin soldier said nothing, but held his rifle firmly. The rat swam after him and gnashed his teeth. "Stop him!" he shouted to two pieces of straw and a little twig. "Stop him! He doesn't belong in our sewer and he hasn't got a passport!". The twig snatched at the boat and tore it a little and water swirled around the soldier's one tin boot The water flowed faster and faster. But there was a light at the· end of the tunnel. He heard a huge roaring sound, and then the sewer gushed out into the Military Canal. There was no chance of stopping the boat, and as it toppled over the brink of the waterfall it spun round and was filled to the brim with water. The tin soldier shut his eyes and thought of the ballerina. "I shall never see her again. If only she knew that I was being brave. Then she might like me for that at least." Finally, the paper boat sank beneath him, and the soldier began to drown. Just then a fish opened its mouth and snapped it shut again . The soldier found himself in the fish's stomach , which was even darker than the sewer . " What a way for a soldier to die , " thought the tin hero . " Eaten by a fish ! " As the fish swam along the muddy canal , the tin soldier was joined in its stomach by a tangle of weed , two snails and a worm . Then he had to duck as a silver hook slid down the fish's throat . The fish began to jerk from side to side as it was hauled out of the water. The soldier and the snails rattled around in the darkness. Then at last the fish lay still. Sometime later, a ray of light appeared and the blade of a knife almost sliced the soldier in two. A woman's voice cried, "Look! It's your old tin soldier! " The fish had been caught by a fisherman and sold in the market. And who do you suppose had bought it, and taken it home to cook for supper? Yes, it was the mother of the little boy - the same little boy who had lost his look-out man. She took the tin soldier into the living room, where her son was playing. "Look what I found inside the fish! What an exciting journey he must have had." And she placed the tin soldier back on the table among the toys he knew. And there she was! The little ballerina was still standing on one leg reaching out her arms towards him. She was as steady and as beautiful as ever, and he was so relieved to see her again he almost cried. He looked at her and she looked at him, but neither of them spoke . Suddenly the little boy grabbed the soldier. "Just think where he's been," he said. "Ugh!" And he threw him into the fire. But he did not really know why he had done it. Perhaps the evil magic of the jack-in- the-box was to blame. The tin soldier lay helpless on the rough black coal, hot flames licking his red and black paint. His rifle twisted and curled in his hand and he began to sweat drops of tin. Through the stifling sm6ke, he could see the jack-in- the-box bobbing and grinning on his spring. But there too was the ballerina on her drawbridge, her arms still reaching out towards him. The flames burning at the heart of his tin body felt like the flames of love as he looked at her and she looked at him. Then someone opened the door of the living room and a sudden breeze caught the little dancer. She flew like a fairy right into the fire. In an instant her muslin dress flared up, and she was gone. The next day, when the fire was cold, the boy's mother swept out the grate. And in among the ashes she found a little tin heart and the metal spangle from the ballerina's dress. They had melted together in the great heat.

OK I'm crying. Goosebumps. Thank you! 😥

Thanks for posting. I still have my book from the early 60's, in pristine condition. I love the 3D with lenticular printing of picture on the cover. One of the sweet memories from my childhood.

I can't thank you enough for uploading this. I had all the stories in the collection and this was one of my favourites. It broke my heart though. Beautiful!

fine reading

this is one of my childhood story

You don't want a toy soldier like that. One of his legs is missing.

my childhood

That Jack-In-The-Box is an evil sorcerer!

Nice ❤

Nice

What is the music at 9:18 to the end?

Hey, i was wondering if this story was from a bigger book with other stories in it. If its from a bigger book can you pleaaaassseee tell the title and author, I’ve been trying to find the book for 5 years Thanks☺️

The little tin Stalker!!! Just kidding. He wasn't stalking her, just following her with intent.

Life lesson kids dont look at ballerinas

Who's reading this story, may I ask?

Ha