Done By : Shatha Yasser & Muna Aldoseri

From : 3\3 and 3\1

East Riffa Intermediate School

A little tin soldier moves into a new home and falls in love with a wonderful ballerina, only to be separated from her! Will his adventures lead him back to his one true love? read to find out.

"Wow! Tin soldiers!" exclaimed Jack as he opened his birthday gift.

Those were the first words that the twenty-five tin soldiers heard. They were brothers, because they were born from the same tin. They looked alike in their red and blue uniforms with a gun on their shoulder. They stood still and looked ahead.

Except for one tin soldier-he had only one leg as they fell short of tin. But he stood as steady as the others did on two legs. He was the one who went on to become famous too!

Chapter 1

the tin soldier

Jack arranged the soldiers neatly on a table with all the other toys. There was a big cardboard castle with lots of windows and little trees around it. There was a mirror that resembled a lake. Wax swans swam in the lake and one could see their reflections in the mirror.

But the toy that looked the prettiest was a ballet dancer who stood by the castle doorway. She looked pretty in her white ballerina dress. A blue ribbon curled down her shoulders. Her hair was tied in a neat ponytail and one of her legs was lifted high behind her.

"She too has one leg, just like me! She would be perfect as my wife!" The tin soldier thought. He couldn't see the raised leg from where he stood. But then he thought, "She's a royal danseuse. I am just a lowly soldier who lives in a cardboard box with twenty four other soldiers. I'm not worthy of her."

He hid behind a box, admiring the dainty lady's beauty. The rest of the tin soldiers went back into their box. But when night fell and Jack and the rest of his family went to bed, strange things happened in that room.

The toys came to life and started to move and play! The tin soldiers, too, rattled around in their box. They wanted to come out and play with the other toys. The chalks ran around, making patterns on the black slate. The nutcracker hopped around.

They made such a ruckus that the canary bird woke up and started singing! But the ballerina stood on tiptoes with her arms outstretched and the little tin soldier stood staring at her.

At midnight, there was a big pop sound. The spice box lid had just flown off. But no spices flew out of it. Out popped a goblin instead!

"Why do you stare at the danseuse like that, tin boy? Turn away or you shall be blown away!" said the sly goblin as he gritted his teeth and slid back into the box.

Chapter 2

the soldier falls

But the tin soldier ignored him. His gaze was fixed on the lovely lady.

And the night went by.

In the morning, Jack came back and put the tin soldier very close to the window ledge. Sadly, it was a bad day for the little tin soldier. A strong wind blew him off the ledge and out of the window. He fell down and got his head stuck in the bushes, his leg straight up in the air. Jack ran down the stairs with his housemaid to look for him. They looked everywhere but could not find him. Jack went past him but did not notice him. "If I shout for help, maybe they will find me," thought the tin soldier. But he felt that it was not right to do so, especially while he was still in his uniform.

Soon, it began to rain heavily. Water gushed down the street. Two children noticed the soldier and picked him up.

"Let's sail him in our boat," said one of them.

And they did.

They placed the soldier in their paper boat and slid it down a gutter.

The water gushed heavily with the downpour. The boat swirled and was on the verge of being capsized. But the soldier was steadfast. He didn't flinch. He held his head high and went with the flow.

The boys ran along the gutter, clapping as the boat swung from one side to the other. Just then, it hit a plank. All of a sudden, the soldier was in the midst of darkness. This new place was full of rats and other rodents. They tried to gnaw at the boat and tear it. It was their home and they did not like others entering without permission.

But the current was so strong, the boat did not stop. The gutter opened up into a big canal.

The water was filling up rapidly in the boat. It was making the paper turn limp. The boat was sinking. The soldier was neck-deep in water. He tried to keep his head up, but the boat sank and the soldier sank deeper and deeper into the water. He thought of the beautiful ballerina and wished he were with her. He was lost in her thoughts when a giant fish swallowed him up. It was pitch dark inside the fish and still too. But the soldier was brave. He lay there straight, his gun still on his shoulder and his head held high.

Chapter 3

the soldier's heroism