Persistent Tin soldier A fairy tale with pictures by Hans Christian Andersen

The Steadfast Tin Soldier
A fairy tale with pictures by Hans Christian Andersen

Once upon a time there were twenty-five tin soldiers who were cast from one large tin spoon, and therefore they all looked alike, like brothers, with guns on their shoulders and wearing the same red and blue uniforms.

All except the last one, the twenty-fifth... There wasn't enough tin for him, and so he only had one leg. But on this one leg he stood as firmly as the others on the other two.

The steadfast Tin Soldier loved the little Dancer, who stood on one leg in front of her toy castle - and, if you looked from the box in which the soldiers lived, it seemed that she also had only one leg.

The soldier thought that she would make an ideal wife for him.

But the old and cunning Troll, who lives in the snuffbox, became jealous of the beauty of the little Tin Soldier and prophesied a terrible disaster for him.

And whether it was the fault of the evil Troll or of its own accord, this is what happened.

The next morning, when Little Soldier was standing on the windowsill, a gust of wind suddenly blew him away, and he flew down, straight onto the pavement, where he got stuck between two cobblestones.

The little boy, the owner of the toys, and the maid went out into the street and searched for a long time for the soldier. But, although they almost stepped on him, they still did not see...

Soon it began to rain and they had to return to the house. And the Tin Soldier lay on the pavement and was sad. After all, he did not know whether he would ever see his beautiful Dancer again...

When the rain stopped, two boys appeared on the street.

- Look, a tin soldier! - said one. - Let's set him sailing!

And so they made a boat out of newspaper, put Little Soldier in it and let him sail into the gutter.

- God save me! - thought the Tin Soldier. - What terrible waves, and the current is so strong!

But, despite the fear, he still stood straight and steadfast.

And the boat kept sailing and sailing along the drainage ditch and suddenly slid into the sewer pipe. It was pitch black there, and poor little Soldier could see absolutely nothing.

“Where am I going?” he thought. “This evil Troll is to blame for everything. Oh, if only my little Dancer were with me, I would become ten times braver!”

And the boat sailed forward and forward, and then a light appeared ahead. The water from the pipe, it turns out, flowed straight into the river.

The boat spun like a top, and with it the Tin Soldier.

And so the paper boat scooped up water on its side, became completely wet and began to sink.

G.H. Andersen

THE STEADFAST TIN SOLDIER

There were once twenty-five tin soldiers in the world. All the sons of one mother - an old tin spoon - and, therefore, they were each other’s siblings. These were nice, brave guys: a gun on their shoulder, a wheel on their chest, a red uniform, blue lapels, shiny buttons... Well, in a word, what a miracle these soldiers are!

All twenty-five lay side by side in a cardboard box. It was dark and cramped. But tin soldiers are a patient people, they lay motionless and waited for the day when the box would be opened.

And then one day the box opened.

Tin soldiers! Tin soldiers! - the little boy shouted and clapped his hands with joy.

He was given tin soldiers on his birthday.

The boy immediately began to place them on the table. Twenty-four were absolutely identical - one could not be distinguished from another, but the twenty-fifth soldier was not like the rest. He turned out to be one-legged. It was the last to be cast, and there wasn't enough tin. However, he stood on one leg as firmly as others stood on two.

It was with this one-legged soldier that a wonderful story happened, which I will tell you now.

On the table where the boy built his soldiers, there were many different toys. But the best of all the toys was the wonderful cardboard palace. Through its windows one could look inside and see all the rooms. In front of the palace there was a round mirror. It was just like a real lake, and around it mirror lake there were small green trees. Wax swans swam across the lake and, arching their long necks, admired their reflection.

All this was beautiful, but the most beautiful was the mistress of the palace, standing on the threshold, in the wide open doors. It was also cut out of cardboard; she was wearing a skirt of thin cambric, a blue scarf on her shoulders, and on her chest a shiny brooch, almost as large as its owner’s head, and just as beautiful.

The beauty stood on one leg, stretching both arms forward - she must have been a dancer. She raised her other leg so high that our tin soldier at first even decided that the beauty was also one-legged, like himself.

“I wish I had such a wife! - thought the tin soldier. - Yes, but she is probably of a noble family. That's where beautiful palace lives!.. And my house is a simple box, and there was almost a whole company of us packed in there - twenty-five soldiers. No, she doesn't belong there! But it still doesn’t hurt to get to know her...”

And the soldier hid behind a snuff box that stood right there on the table.

From here he had a clear view of the lovely dancer, who stood on one leg the whole time and never even swayed!

Late in the evening, all the tin soldiers, except for the one-legged one - they could never find him - were put in a box, and all the people went to bed.

And so, when the house became completely quiet, the toys themselves began to play: first to visit, then to war, and in the end they had a ball. The tin soldiers knocked with their guns on the walls of their box; they also wanted to go out and play, but they could not lift the heavy lid. Even the nutcracker began to tumble, and the stylus began to dance across the board, leaving white marks on it - tra-ta-ta-ta, tra-ta-ta-ta! There was such a noise that the canary in the cage woke up and began chatting in its own language as quickly as it could, and in verse at that.

Only the one-legged soldier and the dancer did not move.

She still stood on one leg, stretching out both hands forward, and he froze with a gun in his hands, like a sentry, and did not take his eyes off the beauty.

It struck twelve. And suddenly - click! - the snuff box opened.

There was never any smell of tobacco in this snuff box, but there was a small evil troll sitting in it. He jumped out of the snuffbox, as if on a spring, and looked around.

Hey you, tin soldier! - shouted the troll. - Don’t look too hard at the dancer! She's too good for you.

But the tin soldier pretended not to hear anything.

Oh, that's how you are! - said the troll. - Okay, wait until the morning! You will still remember me!

In the morning, when the children woke up, they found a one-legged soldier behind a snuff box and put him on the window.

And suddenly - either the troll set it up, or it was just a draft, who knows? - but as soon as the window opened, the one-legged soldier flew from the third floor upside down, so much so that his ears began to whistle. Well, he had a lot of fear!

Not a minute had passed - and he was already sticking out of the ground upside down, and his gun and head in a helmet were stuck between the cobblestones.

The boy and the maid immediately ran out into the street to find the soldier. But no matter how much they looked around, no matter how much they rummaged around on the ground, they never found it.

Once they almost stepped on a soldier, but even then they passed by without noticing him. Of course, if the soldier shouted: “I’m here!” - They would have found him right now. But he considered it obscene to shout in the street - after all, he wore a uniform and was a soldier, and a tin one at that.

The boy and the maid went back into the house. And then suddenly it began to rain, and what a rain! Real rain!

Wide puddles spread along the street and fast streams flowed. And when the rain finally stopped, two street boys came running to the place where the tin soldier was sticking out between the cobblestones.

Look, said one of them. - Yes, no way, this is a tin soldier!.. Let's send him sailing!

And they made a boat out of an old newspaper, put a tin soldier in it and lowered it into a ditch.

The boat floated off, and the boys ran alongside, jumping up and clapping their hands.

The water in the ditch was still bubbling. I wish it wouldn't seethe after such a downpour! The boat then dived, then took off on the crest of the wave, then it circled in place, then it was carried forward.

The tin soldier in the boat was trembling all over - from his helmet to his boot - but stood steadfastly, as a real soldier should: a gun on his shoulder, his head up, his chest in a wheel.

And then the boat skidded under a wide bridge. It became so dark, as if the soldier had fallen back into his box.

“Where am I? - thought the tin soldier. - Oh, if only my beautiful dancer were with me! Then I wouldn’t care at all...”

At that moment a large water rat jumped out from under the bridge.

Who are you? - she screamed. - Do you have a passport? Show me your passport!

But the tin soldier was silent and only tightly clutched his gun. His boat was carried further and further, and the rat swam after him. She clicked her teeth fiercely and shouted to the chips and straws floating towards her:

Hold it! Hold it! He doesn't have a passport!

And she raked her paws with all her might to catch up with the soldier. But the boat was carried so fast that even a rat could not keep up with it. Finally, the tin soldier saw a light ahead. The bridge has ended.

“I'm saved!” - thought the soldier.

But then such a roar and roar was heard that any brave man could not stand it and trembled with fear. Just think: behind the bridge the water was falling down noisily - straight into a wide, stormy canal!

The tin soldier, who sailed in a small paper boat, was in the same danger as we were if we were in a real boat being carried towards a real big waterfall.

But it was no longer possible to stop. The boat with the tin soldier washed up in big canal. The waves tossed her up and down, but the soldier still stood strong and didn’t even blink an eye.

And suddenly the boat spun in place, scooped up water on the starboard side, then on the left, then again on the right, and soon filled with water to the very brim.

Here the soldier is already waist-deep in water, now up to his throat... And finally the water covered him completely.

Sinking to the bottom, he sadly thought about his beauty. He won't see the cute dancer again!

But then he remembered an old soldier’s song:

Step forward, always forward!

Glory awaits you beyond the grave!..-

and prepared to meet death with honor in the terrible abyss. However, something completely different happened.

Out of nowhere, a large fish emerged from the water and instantly swallowed the soldier along with his gun.

Oh, how dark and cramped it was in the fish’s stomach, darker than under a bridge, cramped than in a box! But the tin soldier stood firm even here. He drew himself up to his full height and clutched his gun even tighter. He lay there like that for quite some time.

Suddenly the fish darted from side to side, began to dive, wriggle, jump and finally froze.

The soldier could not understand what happened. He prepared to bravely face new challenges, but everything around him was still dark and quiet.

And suddenly, like lightning flashed in the darkness.

Then it became completely light, and someone shouted:

That's the thing! Tin soldier!

And the thing was this: they caught the fish, took it to the market, and then it ended up in the kitchen. The cook ripped open her belly with a large shiny knife and saw a tin soldier. She took it with two fingers and carried it into the room.

The whole house came running to see the wonderful traveler. They put the little soldier on the table, and suddenly - what miracles happen in the world! - he saw the same room, the same boy, the same window from which he flew out into the street... There were the same toys around, and among them stood a cardboard palace, and a beautiful dancer stood on the threshold. She still stood on one leg, raising the other high. This is called resilience!

The Tin Soldier was so moved that tin tears almost rolled out of his eyes, but he remembered in time that a soldier was not supposed to cry. Without blinking, he looked at the dancer, the dancer looked at him, and both were silent.

Suddenly one of the boys - the smallest one - grabbed the tin soldier and, for no apparent reason, threw him straight into the stove. Probably, he was taught by the evil troll from the snuff box.

The wood burned brightly in the stove, and the tin soldier became terribly hot. He felt that he was burning all over - either from fire, or from love - he himself did not know. The color drained from his face, he was all washed out - maybe from chagrin, or maybe because he had been in the water and in the stomach of a fish.

But even in the fire he stood straight, clutched his gun tightly and did not take his eyes off the beautiful dancer. And the dancer looked at him. And the soldier felt that he was melting...

At that moment, the door to the room swung wide open, a draft wind caught the beautiful dancer, and she, like a butterfly, fluttered into the stove straight to the tin soldier. The flame engulfed her, she burst into flames - and that was the end. At this point the tin soldier completely melted.

The next day, the maid began to rake out the ash from the stove and found a small lump of tin, shaped like a heart, and a charred, coal-black brooch.

This was all that remained of the steadfast tin soldier and the beautiful dancer.

The Steadfast Tin Soldier

The Steadfast Tin Soldier
Hans Christian Andersen

Once upon a time there were twenty-five tin soldiers who were cast from one large tin spoon, and therefore they all looked alike, like brothers, with guns on their shoulders and wearing the same red and blue uniforms. All except the last one, the twenty-fifth... There wasn't enough tin for him, and so he only had one leg. But on this one leg he stood as firmly as the others on the other two.

The steadfast Tin Soldier loved the little Dancer, who stood on one leg in front of her toy castle - and, if you looked from the box in which the soldiers lived, it seemed that she also had only one leg. The soldier thought that she would make an ideal wife for him.

But the Troll, who lives in the snuffbox, old and wise, became jealous of the beauty of the little Tin Soldier and prophesied a terrible disaster for him.

But the Tin Soldier was persistent and did not pay attention to him.

And whether it was the fault of the evil Troll or of its own accord, this is what happened. The next morning, when Little Soldier was standing on the windowsill, a gust of wind suddenly blew him away, and he flew down, straight onto the pavement, where he got stuck between two cobblestones.

The little boy, the owner of the toys, and the maid went out into the street and searched for a long time for the soldier. But, although they almost stepped on it, they still did not see it... Soon it began to rain, and they had to return to the house. And the Tin Soldier lay on the pavement and was sad. After all, he did not know whether he would ever see his beautiful Dancer again...

When the rain stopped, two boys appeared on the street.

Look, a tin soldier! - said one. - Let's send him sailing!

And so they made a boat out of newspaper, put Little Soldier in it and let him sail into the gutter.

God save me! - thought the Tin Soldier. - What terrible waves, and the current is so strong!

But, despite the fear, he still stood straight and steadfast.

And the boat kept sailing and sailing along the drainage ditch and suddenly slid into the sewer pipe. It was pitch black there, and poor little Soldier could see absolutely nothing.

“Where am I going?” he thought. “This evil Troll is to blame for everything. Oh, if only my little Dancer were with me, I would become ten times braver!”

And the boat sailed forward and forward, and then a light appeared ahead. The water from the pipe, it turns out, flowed straight into the river. And the boat spun like a top, and with it the Tin Soldier. And so the paper boat scooped up water on its side, got wet and began to sink.

When the water closed over his head, the Soldier thought about the little dancer... Then the paper became completely wet. But suddenly the Soldier was swallowed by a large fish.

The fish’s stomach was even darker than the sewer pipe, but the soldier’s courage did not leave him. And then the fish began to rush and twitch.

"Wait for it!" will return to screens
04.12.2006 16:24
The premiere of new episodes of the cartoon “Well, just wait!” The eighth Minsk International Children's and Youth Film Festival "Listopadik-2006" will open. As the festival organizing committee reported, it is planned that two new episodes of the cartoon will be presented by their author Alexey Kotenochkin, the son of director Vyacheslav Kotenochkin, who created “Well, wait a minute!” for 30 years.

The festival week will be full of various events. In addition to competitive screenings, there will be meetings with famous actors and directors.

The festival will bring together many famous Russian filmmakers, including Boris Grachevsky, Sergei Seregin, Alexander Loye, Yana Poplavskaya, Valentina Telichkina, Dmitry Iosifov, Andrei Sokolov, as well as guests from Latvia, Estonia, Sweden, Finland, and the USA.
During the days of "Listopadik" there will be presentations of children's and youth products mass media, meetings with editorial teams, an exhibition of sketches by animators, an exhibition of children's drawings, charity events, as well as a concert of young artists and Belarusian pop stars.

In total, about 80 works by artists from 21 countries will be presented at the festival, which will be held from November 17 to 24, RIA Novosti reports.

After the premiere at the Minsk cinema "Komsomolets", the creator of the new series, the animator, said that there would no longer be a cartoon with that name. According to Kotenochkin Jr., “it is impossible to endlessly produce these series,” newsru reports. “If there is some kind of continuation, it will be a completely different movie and a different wolf and hare. We are in vain accused of copying the cartoon “Tom and Jerry,” the animator noted.

According to him, even on the 19th and 20th episodes it was difficult for him to decide. “Our heroes have their own social connection. And the social connection of the wolf - such a hooligan, keen on Vysotsky and The Beatles - was outdated in the 70s,” says Kotenochkin.

“In addition, the people who worked on the previous series are no longer alive. Therefore, we had to hire young people who have a completely different school. They all work in a different manner. I, of course, see shortcomings, but I did the best I could,” - said Alexey Kotenochkin.

He confirmed that negotiations are underway to create a new cartoon; it is being discussed whether it will be a series or a full-length film in 3 D animation format. But it will be a cartoon with a completely new plot.

Reference:
The first episode of the cartoon "Well, wait a minute!" was filmed in 1968, it quickly won the audience's sympathy and still remains the most popular of Russian cartoons. Its author is People's Artist of Russia Vyacheslav Kotyonochkin (1927-2000) participated in the creation of almost a hundred films, including “An Extraordinary Match”, “The Frog Traveler”, “Song of the Young Drummer” and many others. In addition, Kotyonochkin is the director of more than a dozen films for the TV magazine “Fitil”. The multi-episode animated series he shot, “Well, Just Wait!” was awarded the USSR State Prize in 1988.