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There came a soldier marching along the high road - one, two! one, two! He had his knapsack on his back and a sabre by his side, for he had been in the wars, and now he wanted to go home. And on the way he met with an old witch: she was very hideous, and her under lip hung down upon her breast. She said, “Good evening, soldier.What a fine sword you have, and what a big knapsack! You’re a proper soldier! Now you shall have as much money as you like to have.”
“I thank you, you old witch!” said the soldier.
“Do you see that great tree?” quoth the witch;and she pointed to a tree which stood beside them. “It’s quite hollow inside. You must climb to the top, and then you’ll see a hole, through which you can let yourself down and get deep into the tree. I’ll tie a rope round your body, so that I can pull you up again when you call me.”
“What am I to do down in the tree?” asked the soldier.
“Get money,” replied the witch. “Listen to me. When you come down to the earth under the tree, you will find yourself in a great hall：it is quite light, for many hundred lamps are burning there. Then you will see three doors：these you can open, for the keys are in the locks. If you go into the first chamber, you’ll see a great chest in the middle of the floor;on this chest sits a dog, and he’s got a pair of eyes as big as two tea-cups. But you need not care for that. I’ll give you my blue-checked apron, and you can spread it out upon the floor;then go up quickly and take the dog, and set him on my apron;then open the chest, and take as many farthings as you like. They are of copper：if you prefer silver, you must go into the second chamber. But there sits a dog with a pair of eyes as big as mill-wheels. But do not you care for that. Set him upon my apron, and take some of the money. And if you want gold, you can have that too - in fact, as much as you can carry-if you go into the third chamber. But the dog that sits on the money-chest there has two eyes as big as the round tower of Copenhagen. He is a fierce dog, you may be sure;but you needn’t be afraid, for all that. Only set him on my apron, and he won’t hurt you;and take out of the chest as much gold as you like.”
“That’s not so bad,” said the soldier. “But what am I to give you, you old witch? for you will not do it for nothing, I fancy.”
“No,” replied the witch, “not a single farthing will I have. You shall only bring me an old tinder-box which my grandmother forgot when she was down there last.”
“Then tie the rope round my body,” cried the soldier.
“Here it is,” said the witch, “and here’s my blue-checked apron.”
Then the soldier climbed up into the tree, let himself slip down into the hole, and stood, as the witch had said, in thegreat hall where the many hundred lamps were burning.
Now he opened the first door. Ugh! There sat the dog with eyes as big as tea-cups, staring at him. “You’re a nice fellow!” exclaimed the soldier; and he set him on the witch’s apron, and took as many copper farthings as his pockets would hold, and then locked the chest, set the dog on it again, and went into the second chamber. Aha! There sat the dog with eyes as big as mill-wheels.
“You should not stare so hard at me,” said the soldier; “you might strain your eyes.” And he set the dog up on the witch’s apron. When he saw the silver money in the chest, he threw away all the copper money he had, and filled hispockets and his knapsack with silver only. The he went into the third chamber. Oh, but that was horrid! The dog there had eyes as big as the round tower and they turned round and round in his head like wheels.
“Good evening!” said the soldier; and he touched his cap, for he had never seen such a dog as that before. When he had looked at him a little more closely, he thought,“That will do,” and lifted him down to the floor, and opened the chest. Mercy! What a quantity of gold was there! He could buy with it the whole of Copenhagen, and the sugar pigs of the cake-woman, and all the tin soldiers, whips, and rocking-horses in the whole world. Yes, that was a quantity of money! Now the soldier threw away all the silver coin with which he had filledhis pockets and his knapsack, and took gold instead：yes, all his pockets, his knapsack, his boots, and his cap were filled, so that he could scarcely walk. Now indeed he had plenty of money. He put the dog, on the chest, shut the door, and then called up through the tree, “Now pull me up, you old witch.”
“Have you the tinder-box?” asked the witch.
“Plague on it!” exclaimed the soldier.“I had clean forgotten that.”And he went and brought it.
The witch drew him up, and he stood on the high road again, with pockets, boots, knapsack, and cap full of gold.
“What are you going to do with the tinder-box?” asked the soldier.
“That’s nothing to you,” retorted the witch. “You’ve had your money-just give me the tinder-box.”
“Nonsense!” said the soldier.“Tell me directly what you’re going to do with it, or I’ll draw my sword and cut off your head.”
“No!” cried the witch.
So the soldier cut off her head. There she lay! But he tied up all his money in her apron, took it on his back like a bundle, put the tinder-box in his pocket, and went straight off towards the town.
That was a splendid town! He put up at the very best inn, asked for the finest rooms, and ordered his favourite dishes, for now he was rich, having got so much money. The servant who had to clean his boots certainly thought them a remarkably old pair for such a rich gentleman; but he had not bought any new ones yet. The next day he procured proper boots and handsome clothes. Now our soldier had become a fine gentleman; and the people told him of all the splendid things which were in their city, and about the king, and what a pretty princess the king’s daughter was.
“Where can one get to see her?” asked the soldier.
“She is not be seen at all, ” said they all together; “she lives in a great copper castle, with a great many walls and towers round about it ; no one but the king may go in and out there, for it has been prophesied that she shall marry a common soldier, and the king can’t bear that.”
“I should like to see her,” thought the solider; but he could not get leave to do so. Now he lived merrily, went to the theatre, drove in the king’s garden, and gave much money to the poor; and this was very kind of him, for he knew from old times how hard it is when one has not a shilling. Now he was rich, had fine clothes, and gained many friends, who all said he was a rare one, a true cavalier; and that pleased the soldier well. But as he spent money every day and never earned any, he had at last only two shillings left; and he was obliged to turn out of the fine rooms in which he had dwelt, and had to live in a little garret under the roof, and clean his boots for himself, and mend them with a darning-needle. None of his friends came to see him, for there were too many stairs to climb.
It was quite dark one evening, and he could not even buyhimself a candle, when it occurred to him that there was a candle-end in the tinder-box which he had taken out of the hollow tree into which the witch had helped him. He brought out the tinder-box and the candle-end; but as soon as he struck fire and the sparks rose up from the flint, the doorflew open, and the dog who had eyes as a couple of tea-cups, and whom he had seen in the tree, stood before him, and said:
“What are my lord’s commands?”
“What is this?” said the soldier. “That’a famous tinder-box, if I can get every-thing with it that I want! Bring me some money, ” said he to the dog; and whisk! the dog was gone, and whisk! he was back again, with a great bag full of shillings in his mouth.
Now the soldier knew what a capital tinder-box this was. If he struck it once, the dog came who sat upon the chest of copper money; if he struck it twice, the dog came who had the silver; and if he struck it three times, then appeared the dog who had the gold. Now the soldier moved back into the fine rooms, and appeared again in handsome clothes; and all his friends knew him again, and cared very much for him indeed.
Once he thought to himself, “It is a very strange thing that one cannot get to see the princess. They all say she is very beautiful; but what is the use of that, if she has always to sit in the great copper castle with the many towers? Can I not get to see her at all? Where is my tinder box? ” And so he struck a light, and whisk! came the dog with eyes as big as tea cups.
“It is midnight, certainly, ” said the soldier, “but I should very much like to see the princess, only for one little moment.”
The dog was outside the door directly, and, before the soldier thought it, came back with the princess. She sat upon the dog’s back and slept; and every one could see she was a real princess, for she was so lovely. The soldier could not refrain from kissing her, for he was a thorough soldier.
Then the dog ran back again with the princess. But when morning came, and the King and Queen were drinking tea, the princess said she had had a strange dream the night before, about a dog and a soldier-that she had ridden upon the dog, and the soldier had kissed her. “That would be a fine history! ” said the Queen.
So one of the old court ladies had to watch the next light by the princess’s bed, to see if this was really a dream, or what it might be.
The soldier had a great longing to see the lovely princess again; so the dog came in the night, took her away, and ran as fast as he could. But the old lady put on waterboots, and ran just as fast after him. When she saw that they both entered a great house, she thought; “Now I know where it is; ” and with a bit of chalk she drew a great cross on thedoor. Then she went home and lay down, and the dog came up with the princess; but when he saw that there was a cross drawn on the door where the soldier lived, he took a piece of chalk too, and drew crosses on all the doors in the town. And that was cleverly done, for now the lady could not find the right door, because all the doors had crosses upon them.
In the morning early came the King and the Queen, the old court lady and all the officers, to see where it was the princess had been. “Here it is! ” said the King, when he saw the first door with a cross upon it. “No, my dear husband, it is there! ” said the Queen, who descried another door which also showed a cross. “But there is one, and there is one! ”said all, for wherever they looked there were crosses on the doors. So they saw that it would avail them nothing if they searched on.
But the Queen was an exceedingly clever woman, who could do more than ride in a coach. She took her great gold scissors, cut a piece of silk into pieces, and made a neat little bag; this bag she filled with fine wheat flour, and tied it on the princess’ s back; and when that was done, she cut a little hole in the bag, so that the flour would be scattered along all the way which the princess should take.
In the night the dog came again, took the princess on hisback, and ran with her to the soldier, who loved her verymuch, and would gladly have been a prince, so that he might have her for his wife. The dog did not notice at all how the flour ran out in a stream from the castle to the windows of the soldier’s house, where he ran up the wall with the princess. In the morning the King and Queen saw well enough where their daughter had been, and they took the soldier andput him in prison.
There he sat. Oh, but it was dark and disagreeable there! And they said to him. “Tomorrow you shall be hanged.” That was not amusing to hear, and he had left his tinder-box at the inn. In the morning he could see, through the irongreating of the little window, how the people were hurrying out of the town to see him hanged. He heard the drums beat and saw the soldiers marching. All the people were running out , and among them was a shoemaker’s boy with leather apron and slippers, and he galloped so fast that one of his slippers flew off, and came right against the wall where the soldier sat looking throuth the iron grating.
“Halloo, you shoemaker’s boy! You needn’t be in such a hurry,”cried the soldier to him: “it will not begin till I come. But if you will run to where I lived, and bring me my tinder-box, you shall have four shillings; but you must put your best leg foremost.”
The shoemaker’s boy wanted to get the four shillings, so he went and brought the tinder-box, and -well, we shall hear now what happened.
Outside the town a great gallows had been built, and round it stood the soldiers and many hundred thousand people. The King and Queen sat on a splendid throne, opposite to the judges and the whole council. The soldier already stood upon the ladder; but as they were about to putthe rope round his neck, he said that before a poor criminal suffered his punishment an innocent request was always granted to him. He wanted very much to smoke a pipe of tobacco, and it would be the last pipe he should smoke in the world. The King would not say “No” to this; so the soldier took his tinder-box, and struck fire. One-two-three!-and there suddenly stood all the dogs-the one with eyes as big as tea-cups, the one with eyes as large as mill-wheels, and the one whose eyes were as big as the round tower.
“Help me now, so that I may not be hanged,” said the soldier.
And the dogs fell upon the judge and all the council, seized one by the leg and another by the nose, and tossed them all many feet into the air, so that they fell down and were all broken to pieces.
“I won’t!” cried the King; but the biggest dog took him and the Queen, and threw them after the others. Then the soldiers were afraid, and the people cried, “Little soldier, you shall be our king, and marry the beautiful princess!”
So they put the soldier into the king’s coach, and all the three dogs danced in front and cried “Hurrah!” and the boys whistled through their fingers, and the soldiers presented arms. The princess came out of the copper castle, and became queen, and she liked that well enough. The weddinglasted a whole week, and the three dogs sat at the table too, and opened their eyes wider than ever at all they saw.
打火匣
公路上有一個兵在開步走——一，二!一，二!他背著一個行軍袋，腰間掛著一把長劍，因為他已經(jīng)參加過好幾次戰(zhàn)爭，現(xiàn)在要回家去。他在路上碰見一個老巫婆;她是一個非?？稍鞯娜宋铮南伦齑酱沟剿哪躺稀Ｋf：“晚安，兵士!你的劍真好，你的行軍袋真大，你真是一個不折不扣的兵士!現(xiàn)在你喜歡要有多少錢就可以有多少錢了。”
“謝謝你，老巫婆!”兵士說。 “你看見那棵大樹嗎?”巫婆說，指著他們旁邊的一棵樹。“那里面是空的。如果你爬到它的頂上去，就可以看到一個洞口。你從那兒朝下一溜，就可以深深地鉆進樹身里去。我要你腰上系一根繩子，這樣，你喊我的時候，便可以把你拉上來。”
“我到樹底下去干什么呢?”兵士問。
“取錢呀，”巫婆回答說?！澳銓?，你一鉆進樹底下去，就會看到一條寬大的走廊。那兒很亮，因為那里點著100多盞明燈。你會看到三個門，都可以打開，因為鑰匙就在門鎖里。你走進第一個房間，可以看到當中有一口大箱子，上面坐著一只狗，它的眼睛非常大，像一對茶杯?？墒悄悴灰芩?我可以把我藍格子布的圍裙給你。你把它鋪在地上，然后趕快走過去，把那只狗抱起來，放在我的圍裙上。于是你就把箱子打開，你想要多少錢就取出多少錢。這些錢都是銅鑄的。但是如果你想取得銀鑄的錢，就得走進第二個房間里去。不過那兒坐著一只狗，它的眼睛有水車輪那么大?？墒悄悴灰ダ硭?。你把它放在我的圍裙上，然后把錢取出來?？墒?，如果你想得到金子鑄的錢，你也可以達到目的。你拿得動多少就可以拿多少——假如你到第三個房間里去的話。不過坐在這兒錢箱上的那只狗的一對眼睛，可有‘圓塔’(注：這是指哥本哈根的有名的“圓塔”;它原先是一個天文臺。)那么大啦。你要知道，它才算得是一只狗啦!可是你一點也不必害怕。你只消把它放在我的圍裙上，它就不會傷害你了。你從那個箱子里能夠取出多少金子來，就取出多少來吧?！?BR> “這倒很不壞，”兵士說。“不過我拿什么東西來酬謝你呢。老巫婆?我想你不會什么也不要吧?！?BR> “不要，”巫婆說，“我一個銅板也不要。我只要你替我把那個舊打火匣取出來。那是我祖母上次忘掉在那里面的?！?BR> “好吧!請你把繩子系到我腰上吧?！北空f。
“好吧，”巫婆說?！鞍盐业乃{格子圍裙拿去吧。”
兵士爬上樹，一下子就溜進那個洞口里去了。正如老巫婆說的一樣，他現(xiàn)在來到了一條點著幾百盞燈的大走廊里。他打開第一道門。哎呀!果然有一條狗坐在那兒。眼睛有茶杯那么大，直瞪著他。
“你這個好家伙!”兵士說。于是他就把它抱到巫婆的圍裙上。然后他就取出了許多銅板，他的衣袋能裝多少就裝多少。他把箱子鎖好，把狗兒又放到上面，于是他就走進第二個房間里去。哎呀!這兒坐著一只狗，眼睛大得簡直像一對水車輪。
“你不應該這樣死盯著我，”兵士說?！斑@樣你就會弄壞你的眼睛啦。”他把狗兒抱到女巫的圍裙上。當他看到箱子里有那么多的銀幣的時候，他就把他所有的銅板都扔掉，把自己的衣袋和行軍袋全裝滿了銀幣。隨后他就走進第三個房間——乖乖，這可真有點嚇人!這兒的一只狗，兩只眼睛真正有“圓塔”那么大!它們在腦袋里轉動著，簡直像輪子!
“晚安!”兵士說。他把手舉到帽子邊上行了個禮，因為他以前從來沒有看見過這樣的一只狗兒。不過，他對它瞧了一會兒以后，心里就想，“現(xiàn)在差不多了?！彼阉聛矸诺降厣?。于是他就打開箱子。老天爺呀!那里面的金子真夠多!他可以用這金子把整個的哥本哈根買下來，他可以把賣糕餅女人(注：這是指舊時丹麥賣零食和玩具的一種小販?！疤秦i”(Sukkergrise)是糖做的小豬，既可以當玩具，又可以吃掉。)所有的糖豬都買下來，他可以把全世界的錫兵啦、馬鞭啦、搖動的木馬啦，全部都買下來。是的，錢可真是不少——兵士把他衣袋和行軍袋里滿裝著的銀幣全都倒出來，把金子裝進去。是的，他的衣袋，他的行軍袋，他的帽子，他的皮靴全都裝滿了，他幾乎連走也走不動了?，F(xiàn)在他的確有錢了。他把狗兒又放到箱子上去，鎖好了門，在樹里朝上面喊一聲：“把我拉上來呀，老巫婆!”
“你取到打火匣沒有?”巫婆問。
“一點也不錯!”兵士說?！拔野阉浀靡桓啥簟！庇谑撬肿呦氯?，把打火匣取來。巫婆把他拉了出來。所以他現(xiàn)在又站在大路上了。他的衣袋、皮靴、行軍袋、帽子，全都盛滿了錢。
“你要這打火匣有什么用呢?”兵士問。
“這與你沒有什么相干，”巫婆反駁他說，“你已經(jīng)得到錢——你只消把打火匣交給我好了?！?BR> “廢話!”兵士說?！澳阋惺裁从?，請你馬上告訴我。不然我就抽出劍來，把你的頭砍掉?！?BR> “我可不能告訴你!”巫婆說。
兵士一下子就把她的頭砍掉了。她倒了下來!他把他所有的錢都包在她的圍裙里，像一捆東西似的背在背上;然后把那個打火匣放在衣袋里，一直向城里走去。
這是一個頂漂亮的城市!他住進一個的旅館里去，開了最舒服的房間，叫了他最喜歡的酒菜，因為他現(xiàn)在發(fā)了財，有的是錢。替他擦皮靴的那個茶房覺得，像他這樣一位有錢的紳士，他的這雙皮鞋真是舊得太滑稽了。但是新的他還來不及買。第二天他買到了合適的靴子和漂亮的衣服。現(xiàn)在我們的這位兵士成了一個煥然一新的紳士了。大家把城里所有的一切事情都告訴他，告訴他關于國王的事情，告訴他這國王的女兒是一位非常美麗的公主。
“在什么地方可以看到她呢?”兵士問。
“誰也不能見到她，”大家齊聲說?！八≡谝淮睂挻蟮你~宮里，周圍有好幾道墻和好幾座塔。只有國王本人才能在那兒自由進出，因為從前曾經(jīng)有過一個預言，說她將會嫁給一個普通的士兵，這可叫國王忍受不了?！?BR> “我倒想看看她呢，”兵士想。不過他得不到許可。
他現(xiàn)在生活得很愉快，常常到戲院去看戲，到國王的花園里去逛逛，送許多錢給窮苦的人們。這是一種良好的行為，因為他自己早已體會到，沒有錢是多么可怕的事!現(xiàn)在他有錢了，有華美的衣服穿，交了很多朋友。這些朋友都說他是一個稀有的人物，一位豪俠之士。這類話使這個兵士聽起來非常舒服。不過他每天只是把錢花出去，卻賺不進一個來。所以最后他只剩下兩個銅板了。因此他就不得不從那些漂亮房間里搬出來，住到頂層的一間閣樓里去。他也只好自己擦自己的皮鞋，自己用縫針補自己的皮鞋了。他的朋友誰也不來看他了，因為走上去要爬很高的梯子。
有一天晚上天很黑。他連一根蠟燭也買不起。這時他忽然記起，自己還有一根蠟燭頭裝在那個打火匣里——巫婆幫助他到那空樹底下取出來的那個打火匣。他把那個打火匣和蠟燭頭取出來。當他在火石上擦了一下，火星一冒出來的時候，房門忽然自動地開了，他在樹底下所看到的那條眼睛有茶杯大的狗兒就在他面前出現(xiàn)了。它說：
“我的主人，有什么吩咐?”
“這是怎么一回事兒?”兵土說。“這真是一個滑稽的打火匣。如果我能這樣得到我想要的東西才好呢!替我弄幾個錢來吧!”他對狗兒說。于是“噓”的一聲，狗兒就不見了。一會兒，又是“噓”的一聲，狗兒嘴里銜著一大口袋的錢回來了。 現(xiàn)在士兵才知道這是一個多么美妙的打火匣。只要他把它擦一下，那只狗兒就來了，坐在盛有銅錢的箱子上。要是他擦它兩下，那只有銀子的狗兒就來了。要是他擦三下，那只有金子的狗兒就出現(xiàn)了?，F(xiàn)在這個兵士又搬到那幾間華美的房間里去住，又穿起漂亮的衣服來了。他所有的朋友馬上又認得他了，并且還非常關心他起來。
有一次他心中想：“人們不能去看那位公主，也可算是一樁怪事。大家都說她很美;不過，假如她老是獨住在那有許多塔樓的銅宮里，那有什么意思呢?難道我就看不到她一眼嗎?——我的打火匣在什么地方?”他擦出火星，馬上“噓”的一聲，那只眼睛像茶杯一樣的狗兒就跳出來了。
“現(xiàn)在是半夜了，一點也不錯，”兵士說。“不過我倒很想看一下那位公主哩，哪怕一忽兒也好。”
狗兒立刻就跑到門外去了。出乎這士兵的意料之外，它一會兒就領著公主回來了。她躺在狗的背上，已經(jīng)睡著了。誰都可以看出她是一個真正的公主，因為她非常好看。這個兵士忍不住要吻她一下，因為他是一個不折不扣的丘八呀。
狗兒又帶著公主回去了。但是天亮以后，當國王和王后正在飲茶的時候，公主說她在晚上做了一個很奇怪的夢，夢見一只狗和一個兵，她自己騎在狗身上，那個兵吻了她一下?！斑@倒是一個很好玩的故事呢!”王后說。
因此第二天夜里有一個老宮女就得守在公主的床邊，來看看這究竟是夢呢，還是什么別的東西。
那個兵士非常想再一次看到這位可愛的公主。因此狗兒晚上又來了，背起她，盡快地跑走了。那個老宮女立刻穿上套鞋，以同樣的速度在后面追趕。當她看到他們跑進一幢大房子里去的時候，她想：“我現(xiàn)在可知道這塊地方了?！彼驮谶@門上用白粉筆畫了一個大十字。隨后她就回去睡覺了，不久狗兒把公主送回來了。不過當它看見兵士住的那幢房子的門上畫著一個十字的時候，它也取一支粉筆來，在城里所有的門上都畫了一個十字。這件事做得很聰明，因為所有的門上都有了十字，那個老宮女就找不到正確的地方了。
早晨，國王、王后、那個老宮女以及所有的官員很早就都來了，要去看看公主所到過的地方。
當國王看到第一個畫有十字的門的時候，他就說：“就在這兒!”
但是王后發(fā)現(xiàn)另一個門上也有個十字，所以她說：“親愛的丈夫，不是在這兒呀?”
這時大家都齊聲說：“那兒有一個!那兒有一個!”因為他們無論朝什么地方看，都發(fā)現(xiàn)門上畫有十字。所以他們覺得，如果再找下去，也不會得到什么結果。
不過王后是一個非常聰明的女人。她不僅只會坐四輪馬車，而且還能做一些別的事情。她取出一把金剪刀，把一塊綢子剪成幾片，縫了一個很精致的小袋，在袋里裝滿了很細的蕎麥粉。她把這小袋系在公主的背上。這樣布置好了以后，她就在袋子上剪了一個小口，好叫公主走過的路上，都撒上細粉。
晚間狗兒又來了。它把公主背到背上，帶著她跑到兵士那兒去。這個兵士現(xiàn)在非常愛她;他倒很想成為一位王子，和她結婚呢。
狗兒完全沒有注意到，面粉已經(jīng)從王宮那兒一直撒到兵士那間屋子的窗上——它就是在這兒背著公主沿著墻爬進去的。早晨，國王和王后已經(jīng)看得很清楚，知道他們的女兒曾經(jīng)到什么地方去過。他們把那個兵士抓來，關進牢里去。
他現(xiàn)在坐在牢里了。嗨，那里面可夠黑暗和悶人啦!人們對他說：“明天你就要上絞架了。”這句話聽起來可真不是好玩的，而且他把打火匣也忘掉在旅館里。第二天早晨，他從小窗的鐵欄桿里望見許多人涌出城來看他上絞架。他聽到鼓聲，看到兵士們開步走。所有的人都在向外面跑。在這些人中間有一個鞋匠的學徒。他還穿著破圍裙和一雙拖鞋。他跑得那么快，連他的一雙拖鞋也飛走了，撞到一堵墻上。那個兵士就坐在那兒，在鐵欄桿后面朝外望。
“喂，你這個鞋匠的小鬼!你不要這么急呀!”兵士對他說?！霸谖覜]有到場以前，沒有什么好看的呀。不過，假如你跑到我住的那個地方去，把我的打火匣取來，我可以給你四塊錢。但是你得使勁地跑一下才行。”這個鞋匠的學徒很想得到那四塊錢，所以提起腳就跑，把那個打火匣取來，交給這兵士，同時——唔，我們馬上就可以知道事情起了什么變化。在城外面，一架高大的絞架已經(jīng)豎起來了。它的周圍站著許多兵士和成千成萬的老百姓。國王和王后，面對著審判官和全部陪審的人員，坐在一個華麗的王座上面。
那個兵士已經(jīng)站到梯子上來了。不過，當人們正要把絞索套到他脖子上的時候，他說，一個罪人在接受他的裁判以前，可以有一個無罪的要求，人們應該讓他得到滿足：他非常想抽一口煙，而且這可以說是他在這世界上最后抽的一口煙了。
對于這要求，國王不愿意說一個“不”字。所以兵士就取出了他的打火匣，擦了幾下火。一——二——三!忽然三只狗兒都跳出來了——一只有茶杯那么大的眼睛，一只有水車輪那么大的眼睛——還有一只的眼睛簡直有“圓塔”那么大。
“請幫助我，不要叫我被絞死吧!”兵士說。
這時這幾只狗兒就向法官和全體審判的人員撲來，拖著這個人的腿子，咬著那個人的鼻子，把他們?nèi)酉蚩罩杏泻脦渍筛撸麄兟湎聛頃r都跌成了肉醬。
“不準這樣對付我!”國王說。不過的那只狗兒還是拖住他和他的王后，把他們跟其余的人一起亂扔，所有的士兵都害怕起來，老百姓也都叫起來：“小兵，你做咱們的國王吧!你跟那位美麗的公主結婚吧!”
這么著，大家就把這個兵士擁進國王的四輪馬車里去。那三只狗兒就在他面前跳來跳去，同時高呼：“萬歲!”小孩子用手指吹起口哨來;士兵們敬起禮來。那位公主走出她的銅宮，做了王后，感到非常滿意。結婚典禮舉行了足足八天。那三只狗兒也上桌子坐了，把眼睛睜得比什么時候都大。
There came a soldier marching along the high road - one, two! one, two! He had his knapsack on his back and a sabre by his side, for he had been in the wars, and now he wanted to go home. And on the way he met with an old witch: she was very hideous, and her under lip hung down upon her breast. She said, “Good evening, soldier.What a fine sword you have, and what a big knapsack! You’re a proper soldier! Now you shall have as much money as you like to have.”
“I thank you, you old witch!” said the soldier.
“Do you see that great tree?” quoth the witch;and she pointed to a tree which stood beside them. “It’s quite hollow inside. You must climb to the top, and then you’ll see a hole, through which you can let yourself down and get deep into the tree. I’ll tie a rope round your body, so that I can pull you up again when you call me.”
“What am I to do down in the tree?” asked the soldier.
“Get money,” replied the witch. “Listen to me. When you come down to the earth under the tree, you will find yourself in a great hall：it is quite light, for many hundred lamps are burning there. Then you will see three doors：these you can open, for the keys are in the locks. If you go into the first chamber, you’ll see a great chest in the middle of the floor;on this chest sits a dog, and he’s got a pair of eyes as big as two tea-cups. But you need not care for that. I’ll give you my blue-checked apron, and you can spread it out upon the floor;then go up quickly and take the dog, and set him on my apron;then open the chest, and take as many farthings as you like. They are of copper：if you prefer silver, you must go into the second chamber. But there sits a dog with a pair of eyes as big as mill-wheels. But do not you care for that. Set him upon my apron, and take some of the money. And if you want gold, you can have that too - in fact, as much as you can carry-if you go into the third chamber. But the dog that sits on the money-chest there has two eyes as big as the round tower of Copenhagen. He is a fierce dog, you may be sure;but you needn’t be afraid, for all that. Only set him on my apron, and he won’t hurt you;and take out of the chest as much gold as you like.”
“That’s not so bad,” said the soldier. “But what am I to give you, you old witch? for you will not do it for nothing, I fancy.”
“No,” replied the witch, “not a single farthing will I have. You shall only bring me an old tinder-box which my grandmother forgot when she was down there last.”
“Then tie the rope round my body,” cried the soldier.
“Here it is,” said the witch, “and here’s my blue-checked apron.”
Then the soldier climbed up into the tree, let himself slip down into the hole, and stood, as the witch had said, in thegreat hall where the many hundred lamps were burning.
Now he opened the first door. Ugh! There sat the dog with eyes as big as tea-cups, staring at him. “You’re a nice fellow!” exclaimed the soldier; and he set him on the witch’s apron, and took as many copper farthings as his pockets would hold, and then locked the chest, set the dog on it again, and went into the second chamber. Aha! There sat the dog with eyes as big as mill-wheels.
“You should not stare so hard at me,” said the soldier; “you might strain your eyes.” And he set the dog up on the witch’s apron. When he saw the silver money in the chest, he threw away all the copper money he had, and filled hispockets and his knapsack with silver only. The he went into the third chamber. Oh, but that was horrid! The dog there had eyes as big as the round tower and they turned round and round in his head like wheels.
“Good evening!” said the soldier; and he touched his cap, for he had never seen such a dog as that before. When he had looked at him a little more closely, he thought,“That will do,” and lifted him down to the floor, and opened the chest. Mercy! What a quantity of gold was there! He could buy with it the whole of Copenhagen, and the sugar pigs of the cake-woman, and all the tin soldiers, whips, and rocking-horses in the whole world. Yes, that was a quantity of money! Now the soldier threw away all the silver coin with which he had filledhis pockets and his knapsack, and took gold instead：yes, all his pockets, his knapsack, his boots, and his cap were filled, so that he could scarcely walk. Now indeed he had plenty of money. He put the dog, on the chest, shut the door, and then called up through the tree, “Now pull me up, you old witch.”
“Have you the tinder-box?” asked the witch.
“Plague on it!” exclaimed the soldier.“I had clean forgotten that.”And he went and brought it.
The witch drew him up, and he stood on the high road again, with pockets, boots, knapsack, and cap full of gold.
“What are you going to do with the tinder-box?” asked the soldier.
“That’s nothing to you,” retorted the witch. “You’ve had your money-just give me the tinder-box.”
“Nonsense!” said the soldier.“Tell me directly what you’re going to do with it, or I’ll draw my sword and cut off your head.”
“No!” cried the witch.
So the soldier cut off her head. There she lay! But he tied up all his money in her apron, took it on his back like a bundle, put the tinder-box in his pocket, and went straight off towards the town.
That was a splendid town! He put up at the very best inn, asked for the finest rooms, and ordered his favourite dishes, for now he was rich, having got so much money. The servant who had to clean his boots certainly thought them a remarkably old pair for such a rich gentleman; but he had not bought any new ones yet. The next day he procured proper boots and handsome clothes. Now our soldier had become a fine gentleman; and the people told him of all the splendid things which were in their city, and about the king, and what a pretty princess the king’s daughter was.
“Where can one get to see her?” asked the soldier.
“She is not be seen at all, ” said they all together; “she lives in a great copper castle, with a great many walls and towers round about it ; no one but the king may go in and out there, for it has been prophesied that she shall marry a common soldier, and the king can’t bear that.”
“I should like to see her,” thought the solider; but he could not get leave to do so. Now he lived merrily, went to the theatre, drove in the king’s garden, and gave much money to the poor; and this was very kind of him, for he knew from old times how hard it is when one has not a shilling. Now he was rich, had fine clothes, and gained many friends, who all said he was a rare one, a true cavalier; and that pleased the soldier well. But as he spent money every day and never earned any, he had at last only two shillings left; and he was obliged to turn out of the fine rooms in which he had dwelt, and had to live in a little garret under the roof, and clean his boots for himself, and mend them with a darning-needle. None of his friends came to see him, for there were too many stairs to climb.
It was quite dark one evening, and he could not even buyhimself a candle, when it occurred to him that there was a candle-end in the tinder-box which he had taken out of the hollow tree into which the witch had helped him. He brought out the tinder-box and the candle-end; but as soon as he struck fire and the sparks rose up from the flint, the doorflew open, and the dog who had eyes as a couple of tea-cups, and whom he had seen in the tree, stood before him, and said:
“What are my lord’s commands?”
“What is this?” said the soldier. “That’a famous tinder-box, if I can get every-thing with it that I want! Bring me some money, ” said he to the dog; and whisk! the dog was gone, and whisk! he was back again, with a great bag full of shillings in his mouth.
Now the soldier knew what a capital tinder-box this was. If he struck it once, the dog came who sat upon the chest of copper money; if he struck it twice, the dog came who had the silver; and if he struck it three times, then appeared the dog who had the gold. Now the soldier moved back into the fine rooms, and appeared again in handsome clothes; and all his friends knew him again, and cared very much for him indeed.
Once he thought to himself, “It is a very strange thing that one cannot get to see the princess. They all say she is very beautiful; but what is the use of that, if she has always to sit in the great copper castle with the many towers? Can I not get to see her at all? Where is my tinder box? ” And so he struck a light, and whisk! came the dog with eyes as big as tea cups.
“It is midnight, certainly, ” said the soldier, “but I should very much like to see the princess, only for one little moment.”
The dog was outside the door directly, and, before the soldier thought it, came back with the princess. She sat upon the dog’s back and slept; and every one could see she was a real princess, for she was so lovely. The soldier could not refrain from kissing her, for he was a thorough soldier.
Then the dog ran back again with the princess. But when morning came, and the King and Queen were drinking tea, the princess said she had had a strange dream the night before, about a dog and a soldier-that she had ridden upon the dog, and the soldier had kissed her. “That would be a fine history! ” said the Queen.
So one of the old court ladies had to watch the next light by the princess’s bed, to see if this was really a dream, or what it might be.
The soldier had a great longing to see the lovely princess again; so the dog came in the night, took her away, and ran as fast as he could. But the old lady put on waterboots, and ran just as fast after him. When she saw that they both entered a great house, she thought; “Now I know where it is; ” and with a bit of chalk she drew a great cross on thedoor. Then she went home and lay down, and the dog came up with the princess; but when he saw that there was a cross drawn on the door where the soldier lived, he took a piece of chalk too, and drew crosses on all the doors in the town. And that was cleverly done, for now the lady could not find the right door, because all the doors had crosses upon them.
In the morning early came the King and the Queen, the old court lady and all the officers, to see where it was the princess had been. “Here it is! ” said the King, when he saw the first door with a cross upon it. “No, my dear husband, it is there! ” said the Queen, who descried another door which also showed a cross. “But there is one, and there is one! ”said all, for wherever they looked there were crosses on the doors. So they saw that it would avail them nothing if they searched on.
But the Queen was an exceedingly clever woman, who could do more than ride in a coach. She took her great gold scissors, cut a piece of silk into pieces, and made a neat little bag; this bag she filled with fine wheat flour, and tied it on the princess’ s back; and when that was done, she cut a little hole in the bag, so that the flour would be scattered along all the way which the princess should take.
In the night the dog came again, took the princess on hisback, and ran with her to the soldier, who loved her verymuch, and would gladly have been a prince, so that he might have her for his wife. The dog did not notice at all how the flour ran out in a stream from the castle to the windows of the soldier’s house, where he ran up the wall with the princess. In the morning the King and Queen saw well enough where their daughter had been, and they took the soldier andput him in prison.
There he sat. Oh, but it was dark and disagreeable there! And they said to him. “Tomorrow you shall be hanged.” That was not amusing to hear, and he had left his tinder-box at the inn. In the morning he could see, through the irongreating of the little window, how the people were hurrying out of the town to see him hanged. He heard the drums beat and saw the soldiers marching. All the people were running out , and among them was a shoemaker’s boy with leather apron and slippers, and he galloped so fast that one of his slippers flew off, and came right against the wall where the soldier sat looking throuth the iron grating.
“Halloo, you shoemaker’s boy! You needn’t be in such a hurry,”cried the soldier to him: “it will not begin till I come. But if you will run to where I lived, and bring me my tinder-box, you shall have four shillings; but you must put your best leg foremost.”
The shoemaker’s boy wanted to get the four shillings, so he went and brought the tinder-box, and -well, we shall hear now what happened.
Outside the town a great gallows had been built, and round it stood the soldiers and many hundred thousand people. The King and Queen sat on a splendid throne, opposite to the judges and the whole council. The soldier already stood upon the ladder; but as they were about to putthe rope round his neck, he said that before a poor criminal suffered his punishment an innocent request was always granted to him. He wanted very much to smoke a pipe of tobacco, and it would be the last pipe he should smoke in the world. The King would not say “No” to this; so the soldier took his tinder-box, and struck fire. One-two-three!-and there suddenly stood all the dogs-the one with eyes as big as tea-cups, the one with eyes as large as mill-wheels, and the one whose eyes were as big as the round tower.
“Help me now, so that I may not be hanged,” said the soldier.
And the dogs fell upon the judge and all the council, seized one by the leg and another by the nose, and tossed them all many feet into the air, so that they fell down and were all broken to pieces.
“I won’t!” cried the King; but the biggest dog took him and the Queen, and threw them after the others. Then the soldiers were afraid, and the people cried, “Little soldier, you shall be our king, and marry the beautiful princess!”
So they put the soldier into the king’s coach, and all the three dogs danced in front and cried “Hurrah!” and the boys whistled through their fingers, and the soldiers presented arms. The princess came out of the copper castle, and became queen, and she liked that well enough. The weddinglasted a whole week, and the three dogs sat at the table too, and opened their eyes wider than ever at all they saw.
打火匣
公路上有一個兵在開步走——一，二!一，二!他背著一個行軍袋，腰間掛著一把長劍，因為他已經(jīng)參加過好幾次戰(zhàn)爭，現(xiàn)在要回家去。他在路上碰見一個老巫婆;她是一個非?？稍鞯娜宋铮南伦齑酱沟剿哪躺稀Ｋf：“晚安，兵士!你的劍真好，你的行軍袋真大，你真是一個不折不扣的兵士!現(xiàn)在你喜歡要有多少錢就可以有多少錢了。”
“謝謝你，老巫婆!”兵士說。 “你看見那棵大樹嗎?”巫婆說，指著他們旁邊的一棵樹。“那里面是空的。如果你爬到它的頂上去，就可以看到一個洞口。你從那兒朝下一溜，就可以深深地鉆進樹身里去。我要你腰上系一根繩子，這樣，你喊我的時候，便可以把你拉上來。”
“我到樹底下去干什么呢?”兵士問。
“取錢呀，”巫婆回答說?！澳銓?，你一鉆進樹底下去，就會看到一條寬大的走廊。那兒很亮，因為那里點著100多盞明燈。你會看到三個門，都可以打開，因為鑰匙就在門鎖里。你走進第一個房間，可以看到當中有一口大箱子，上面坐著一只狗，它的眼睛非常大，像一對茶杯?？墒悄悴灰芩?我可以把我藍格子布的圍裙給你。你把它鋪在地上，然后趕快走過去，把那只狗抱起來，放在我的圍裙上。于是你就把箱子打開，你想要多少錢就取出多少錢。這些錢都是銅鑄的。但是如果你想取得銀鑄的錢，就得走進第二個房間里去。不過那兒坐著一只狗，它的眼睛有水車輪那么大?？墒悄悴灰ダ硭?。你把它放在我的圍裙上，然后把錢取出來?？墒?，如果你想得到金子鑄的錢，你也可以達到目的。你拿得動多少就可以拿多少——假如你到第三個房間里去的話。不過坐在這兒錢箱上的那只狗的一對眼睛，可有‘圓塔’(注：這是指哥本哈根的有名的“圓塔”;它原先是一個天文臺。)那么大啦。你要知道，它才算得是一只狗啦!可是你一點也不必害怕。你只消把它放在我的圍裙上，它就不會傷害你了。你從那個箱子里能夠取出多少金子來，就取出多少來吧?！?BR> “這倒很不壞，”兵士說。“不過我拿什么東西來酬謝你呢。老巫婆?我想你不會什么也不要吧?！?BR> “不要，”巫婆說，“我一個銅板也不要。我只要你替我把那個舊打火匣取出來。那是我祖母上次忘掉在那里面的?！?BR> “好吧!請你把繩子系到我腰上吧?！北空f。
“好吧，”巫婆說?！鞍盐业乃{格子圍裙拿去吧。”
兵士爬上樹，一下子就溜進那個洞口里去了。正如老巫婆說的一樣，他現(xiàn)在來到了一條點著幾百盞燈的大走廊里。他打開第一道門。哎呀!果然有一條狗坐在那兒。眼睛有茶杯那么大，直瞪著他。
“你這個好家伙!”兵士說。于是他就把它抱到巫婆的圍裙上。然后他就取出了許多銅板，他的衣袋能裝多少就裝多少。他把箱子鎖好，把狗兒又放到上面，于是他就走進第二個房間里去。哎呀!這兒坐著一只狗，眼睛大得簡直像一對水車輪。
“你不應該這樣死盯著我，”兵士說?！斑@樣你就會弄壞你的眼睛啦。”他把狗兒抱到女巫的圍裙上。當他看到箱子里有那么多的銀幣的時候，他就把他所有的銅板都扔掉，把自己的衣袋和行軍袋全裝滿了銀幣。隨后他就走進第三個房間——乖乖，這可真有點嚇人!這兒的一只狗，兩只眼睛真正有“圓塔”那么大!它們在腦袋里轉動著，簡直像輪子!
“晚安!”兵士說。他把手舉到帽子邊上行了個禮，因為他以前從來沒有看見過這樣的一只狗兒。不過，他對它瞧了一會兒以后，心里就想，“現(xiàn)在差不多了?！彼阉聛矸诺降厣?。于是他就打開箱子。老天爺呀!那里面的金子真夠多!他可以用這金子把整個的哥本哈根買下來，他可以把賣糕餅女人(注：這是指舊時丹麥賣零食和玩具的一種小販?！疤秦i”(Sukkergrise)是糖做的小豬，既可以當玩具，又可以吃掉。)所有的糖豬都買下來，他可以把全世界的錫兵啦、馬鞭啦、搖動的木馬啦，全部都買下來。是的，錢可真是不少——兵士把他衣袋和行軍袋里滿裝著的銀幣全都倒出來，把金子裝進去。是的，他的衣袋，他的行軍袋，他的帽子，他的皮靴全都裝滿了，他幾乎連走也走不動了?，F(xiàn)在他的確有錢了。他把狗兒又放到箱子上去，鎖好了門，在樹里朝上面喊一聲：“把我拉上來呀，老巫婆!”
“你取到打火匣沒有?”巫婆問。
“一點也不錯!”兵士說?！拔野阉浀靡桓啥簟！庇谑撬肿呦氯?，把打火匣取來。巫婆把他拉了出來。所以他現(xiàn)在又站在大路上了。他的衣袋、皮靴、行軍袋、帽子，全都盛滿了錢。
“你要這打火匣有什么用呢?”兵士問。
“這與你沒有什么相干，”巫婆反駁他說，“你已經(jīng)得到錢——你只消把打火匣交給我好了?！?BR> “廢話!”兵士說?！澳阋惺裁从?，請你馬上告訴我。不然我就抽出劍來，把你的頭砍掉?！?BR> “我可不能告訴你!”巫婆說。
兵士一下子就把她的頭砍掉了。她倒了下來!他把他所有的錢都包在她的圍裙里，像一捆東西似的背在背上;然后把那個打火匣放在衣袋里，一直向城里走去。
這是一個頂漂亮的城市!他住進一個的旅館里去，開了最舒服的房間，叫了他最喜歡的酒菜，因為他現(xiàn)在發(fā)了財，有的是錢。替他擦皮靴的那個茶房覺得，像他這樣一位有錢的紳士，他的這雙皮鞋真是舊得太滑稽了。但是新的他還來不及買。第二天他買到了合適的靴子和漂亮的衣服。現(xiàn)在我們的這位兵士成了一個煥然一新的紳士了。大家把城里所有的一切事情都告訴他，告訴他關于國王的事情，告訴他這國王的女兒是一位非常美麗的公主。
“在什么地方可以看到她呢?”兵士問。
“誰也不能見到她，”大家齊聲說?！八≡谝淮睂挻蟮你~宮里，周圍有好幾道墻和好幾座塔。只有國王本人才能在那兒自由進出，因為從前曾經(jīng)有過一個預言，說她將會嫁給一個普通的士兵，這可叫國王忍受不了?！?BR> “我倒想看看她呢，”兵士想。不過他得不到許可。
他現(xiàn)在生活得很愉快，常常到戲院去看戲，到國王的花園里去逛逛，送許多錢給窮苦的人們。這是一種良好的行為，因為他自己早已體會到，沒有錢是多么可怕的事!現(xiàn)在他有錢了，有華美的衣服穿，交了很多朋友。這些朋友都說他是一個稀有的人物，一位豪俠之士。這類話使這個兵士聽起來非常舒服。不過他每天只是把錢花出去，卻賺不進一個來。所以最后他只剩下兩個銅板了。因此他就不得不從那些漂亮房間里搬出來，住到頂層的一間閣樓里去。他也只好自己擦自己的皮鞋，自己用縫針補自己的皮鞋了。他的朋友誰也不來看他了，因為走上去要爬很高的梯子。
有一天晚上天很黑。他連一根蠟燭也買不起。這時他忽然記起，自己還有一根蠟燭頭裝在那個打火匣里——巫婆幫助他到那空樹底下取出來的那個打火匣。他把那個打火匣和蠟燭頭取出來。當他在火石上擦了一下，火星一冒出來的時候，房門忽然自動地開了，他在樹底下所看到的那條眼睛有茶杯大的狗兒就在他面前出現(xiàn)了。它說：
“我的主人，有什么吩咐?”
“這是怎么一回事兒?”兵土說。“這真是一個滑稽的打火匣。如果我能這樣得到我想要的東西才好呢!替我弄幾個錢來吧!”他對狗兒說。于是“噓”的一聲，狗兒就不見了。一會兒，又是“噓”的一聲，狗兒嘴里銜著一大口袋的錢回來了。 現(xiàn)在士兵才知道這是一個多么美妙的打火匣。只要他把它擦一下，那只狗兒就來了，坐在盛有銅錢的箱子上。要是他擦它兩下，那只有銀子的狗兒就來了。要是他擦三下，那只有金子的狗兒就出現(xiàn)了?，F(xiàn)在這個兵士又搬到那幾間華美的房間里去住，又穿起漂亮的衣服來了。他所有的朋友馬上又認得他了，并且還非常關心他起來。
有一次他心中想：“人們不能去看那位公主，也可算是一樁怪事。大家都說她很美;不過，假如她老是獨住在那有許多塔樓的銅宮里，那有什么意思呢?難道我就看不到她一眼嗎?——我的打火匣在什么地方?”他擦出火星，馬上“噓”的一聲，那只眼睛像茶杯一樣的狗兒就跳出來了。
“現(xiàn)在是半夜了，一點也不錯，”兵士說。“不過我倒很想看一下那位公主哩，哪怕一忽兒也好。”
狗兒立刻就跑到門外去了。出乎這士兵的意料之外，它一會兒就領著公主回來了。她躺在狗的背上，已經(jīng)睡著了。誰都可以看出她是一個真正的公主，因為她非常好看。這個兵士忍不住要吻她一下，因為他是一個不折不扣的丘八呀。
狗兒又帶著公主回去了。但是天亮以后，當國王和王后正在飲茶的時候，公主說她在晚上做了一個很奇怪的夢，夢見一只狗和一個兵，她自己騎在狗身上，那個兵吻了她一下?！斑@倒是一個很好玩的故事呢!”王后說。
因此第二天夜里有一個老宮女就得守在公主的床邊，來看看這究竟是夢呢，還是什么別的東西。
那個兵士非常想再一次看到這位可愛的公主。因此狗兒晚上又來了，背起她，盡快地跑走了。那個老宮女立刻穿上套鞋，以同樣的速度在后面追趕。當她看到他們跑進一幢大房子里去的時候，她想：“我現(xiàn)在可知道這塊地方了?！彼驮谶@門上用白粉筆畫了一個大十字。隨后她就回去睡覺了，不久狗兒把公主送回來了。不過當它看見兵士住的那幢房子的門上畫著一個十字的時候，它也取一支粉筆來，在城里所有的門上都畫了一個十字。這件事做得很聰明，因為所有的門上都有了十字，那個老宮女就找不到正確的地方了。
早晨，國王、王后、那個老宮女以及所有的官員很早就都來了，要去看看公主所到過的地方。
當國王看到第一個畫有十字的門的時候，他就說：“就在這兒!”
但是王后發(fā)現(xiàn)另一個門上也有個十字，所以她說：“親愛的丈夫，不是在這兒呀?”
這時大家都齊聲說：“那兒有一個!那兒有一個!”因為他們無論朝什么地方看，都發(fā)現(xiàn)門上畫有十字。所以他們覺得，如果再找下去，也不會得到什么結果。
不過王后是一個非常聰明的女人。她不僅只會坐四輪馬車，而且還能做一些別的事情。她取出一把金剪刀，把一塊綢子剪成幾片，縫了一個很精致的小袋，在袋里裝滿了很細的蕎麥粉。她把這小袋系在公主的背上。這樣布置好了以后，她就在袋子上剪了一個小口，好叫公主走過的路上，都撒上細粉。
晚間狗兒又來了。它把公主背到背上，帶著她跑到兵士那兒去。這個兵士現(xiàn)在非常愛她;他倒很想成為一位王子，和她結婚呢。
狗兒完全沒有注意到，面粉已經(jīng)從王宮那兒一直撒到兵士那間屋子的窗上——它就是在這兒背著公主沿著墻爬進去的。早晨，國王和王后已經(jīng)看得很清楚，知道他們的女兒曾經(jīng)到什么地方去過。他們把那個兵士抓來，關進牢里去。
他現(xiàn)在坐在牢里了。嗨，那里面可夠黑暗和悶人啦!人們對他說：“明天你就要上絞架了。”這句話聽起來可真不是好玩的，而且他把打火匣也忘掉在旅館里。第二天早晨，他從小窗的鐵欄桿里望見許多人涌出城來看他上絞架。他聽到鼓聲，看到兵士們開步走。所有的人都在向外面跑。在這些人中間有一個鞋匠的學徒。他還穿著破圍裙和一雙拖鞋。他跑得那么快，連他的一雙拖鞋也飛走了，撞到一堵墻上。那個兵士就坐在那兒，在鐵欄桿后面朝外望。
“喂，你這個鞋匠的小鬼!你不要這么急呀!”兵士對他說?！霸谖覜]有到場以前，沒有什么好看的呀。不過，假如你跑到我住的那個地方去，把我的打火匣取來，我可以給你四塊錢。但是你得使勁地跑一下才行。”這個鞋匠的學徒很想得到那四塊錢，所以提起腳就跑，把那個打火匣取來，交給這兵士，同時——唔，我們馬上就可以知道事情起了什么變化。在城外面，一架高大的絞架已經(jīng)豎起來了。它的周圍站著許多兵士和成千成萬的老百姓。國王和王后，面對著審判官和全部陪審的人員，坐在一個華麗的王座上面。
那個兵士已經(jīng)站到梯子上來了。不過，當人們正要把絞索套到他脖子上的時候，他說，一個罪人在接受他的裁判以前，可以有一個無罪的要求，人們應該讓他得到滿足：他非常想抽一口煙，而且這可以說是他在這世界上最后抽的一口煙了。
對于這要求，國王不愿意說一個“不”字。所以兵士就取出了他的打火匣，擦了幾下火。一——二——三!忽然三只狗兒都跳出來了——一只有茶杯那么大的眼睛，一只有水車輪那么大的眼睛——還有一只的眼睛簡直有“圓塔”那么大。
“請幫助我，不要叫我被絞死吧!”兵士說。
這時這幾只狗兒就向法官和全體審判的人員撲來，拖著這個人的腿子，咬著那個人的鼻子，把他們?nèi)酉蚩罩杏泻脦渍筛撸麄兟湎聛頃r都跌成了肉醬。
“不準這樣對付我!”國王說。不過的那只狗兒還是拖住他和他的王后，把他們跟其余的人一起亂扔，所有的士兵都害怕起來，老百姓也都叫起來：“小兵，你做咱們的國王吧!你跟那位美麗的公主結婚吧!”
這么著，大家就把這個兵士擁進國王的四輪馬車里去。那三只狗兒就在他面前跳來跳去，同時高呼：“萬歲!”小孩子用手指吹起口哨來;士兵們敬起禮來。那位公主走出她的銅宮，做了王后，感到非常滿意。結婚典禮舉行了足足八天。那三只狗兒也上桌子坐了，把眼睛睜得比什么時候都大。