Fairy Tales

FOLK TALES

THE TINDERBOX

A SOLDIER CAME MARCHING along the road: One, two! One, two! He had his knapsack on his back and a sword by his side, for he had been to war, and now he was on his way home. As he was striding along the road, he met an old hag. She was so disgusting that her lower lip hung down on her chest. “Good evening, soldier,” she said. “What a handsome sword and big knapsack you have! You’re a real soldier! And now you’re going to get as much money as you could ever want.”

“Thanks very much, old hag,” the soldier replied.

“Do you see that big tree?” asked the hag, and pointed at a tree beside them. “It’s completely hollow inside. Climb up to the top, and you’ll see a hole that you can slide through. I want you to go deep down inside the tree, and I’ll tie a rope around your waist so that I can pull you up when you call me.”

“And what should I do down in the tree?” asked the soldier.

“Get money!” said the hag, “Listen, when you reach the bottom of the tree, you’ll be in a big passage. It will be quite bright there because there are over a hundred burning lamps. You’ll see three doors, and you can open them because the keys are in the locks. When you go into the first room, you’ll see a large chest in the middle of the floor with a dog sitting on top of it. He has eyes as big as a pair of teacups, but don’t worry about that. I’ll give you my blue-checkered apron that you can spread out on the floor, but move quickly, take the dog, and set him on the apron. Then open the chest and take as many coins as you want. They’re all made of copper, but if you would rather have silver, go into the next room where you’ll see a dog with eyes as big as a mill wheel, but don’t worry about that. Set him on my apron and take the money! On the other hand, if you want gold, you can have that too, and as much as you can carry, if you go into the third room. But the dog that is sitting on the money chest in there has two eyes, each as big as the Round Tower,¹ and that’s quite a dog, I can tell you, but don’t worry about it! Just set him on my apron, and he won’t do anything to you, so you can take as much gold as you want from the chest.”

“And what should I do down in the tree?” asked the soldier.

“That doesn’t sound too bad,” said the soldier, “but what am I to give you, you old hag? For you want something, I imagine.”

“No,” said the hag, “I don’t want a single penny. Just bring me an old tinderbox that my grandmother forgot the last time she was down there.”

“Very well! Let’s wrap that rope around my waist,” said the soldier.

“Here it is,” said the hag, “and here’s my blue-checkered apron.”

Then the soldier climbed into the tree, slid down the hole, and found himself, as the hag had said, in the big passageway, where hundreds of lamps were burning.

He opened the first door. Oh! There sat the dog with eyes as big as teacups, glaring at him.

“You’re a fine fellow!” said the soldier, and he set him on the hag’s apron and took as many copper coins as he could pack into his pockets. Then he closed the chest, put the dog back, and went into the second room. Yikes! There sat the dog with eyes as big as mill wheels.

“Stop staring at me so much!” said the soldier. “You might hurt your eyes!” and he set the dog on the hag’s apron. When he saw so many silver coins in the chest, he threw away the copper money and filled his pockets and his knapsack with the silver coins. Then he went into the third room!—Oh, the dog was so repulsive! It really did have two eyes as big as the Round Tower that rolled around in its head like wheels!

“Good evening,” said the soldier and tipped his cap, for he had never seen such a dog before. But after he had looked at him a little, he thought, enough of that! He lifted him down to the floor and opened up the chest. Oh, bless me! How much gold there was! He could buy all of Copenhagen and all the pastry-women’s candied pigs, all the tin soldiers, riding crops and rocking horses there were in the world! Now there was money!—Then the soldier threw away all the silver coins he had poured into his pockets and knapsack and took gold instead. All his pockets, the knapsack, his cap and boots were so full that he could barely walk! Now he had money! He put the dog on the chest, locked the door and called up through the tree, “Hoist me up now, old hag!”

There sat the dog with eyes as big as teacups, glaring at him.

“Do you have the tinderbox with you?” asked the hag.

“Oh, that’s right,” said the soldier, “I’d completely forgotten it,” and he went and got it. The hag hoisted him up, and there he was once again standing on the road with his pockets, boots, knapsack and cap full of money.

“What do you want that tinderbox for?” asked the soldier.

“That doesn’t concern you,” said the hag, “Now that you’ve got your money, just give me the tinderbox!”

“Nothing doing!” said the soldier. “Tell me right now what you want it for, or I’ll pull out my sword and chop off your head!”

“No,” said the hag.

So the soldier chopped her head off, and there she lay. But he wrapped all his money up in her apron, stuck it into his knapsack on his back, put the tinderbox in his pocket, and walked into town.

It was a lovely town, and he went to the very best inn, asked for the very best rooms, and ordered his most favorite foods because now he was rich.

The servant who polished his boots thought that they were rather funny old boots for such a rich man to have, but the soldier hadn’t bought new ones yet. The next day he did indeed buy boots and beautiful clothes! Now the soldier was a distinguished gentleman, and the people told him all about the fine things to be found in their town, and about their king, and what a lovely princess his daughter was.