Synopsis of 'The Tinder Box'
A marching soldier back from the wars comes across an old, frightened looking woman who is a witch in the road. The witch asks the soldier to climb up and inside a hollow tree and he will be rewarded with money, the money is in three chambers, in chests guarded by three dogs. He has to get the money by placing down a blue checked apron on which he must place the dogs to get the money out of the chests. The only thing the witch asks for is an old tinder-box that her grandmother left behind when she was there last.
The witch ties a rope around the soldier and he goes into the hollow which opens into a large hall full of burning lamps, he encounters the first dog which has eyes as large as teacups, he collects copper after placing the dog on the apron. Onto the second hall he sees a dog with eyes as big as mill-wheels, he repeats the process of placing the dog, seeing that the chest is full of silver, he throws away the copper and takes the silver instead. Going to the final hall he sees the last dog with eyes as big as towers, again he repeats the process from the last two halls but sees the chest is full of gold. Thinking of all the things he could buy with that amount of gold he throws the silver away and loads up of the gold so much so that he can barely walk.
Having replaced the dog he asks for the witch to pull him out of the tree, when she asks him if he has the tinder-box, the soldier says he forgot about it and goes back, retrieves the tinder-box and the witch pulls him out of the hollow tree. The soldier asks what she is going to do with the tinder-box and the witch says it is nothing to do with him. The soldier threatens to cut off her head if she doesn't tell him and she refuses, so he cuts off her head and takes the tinder-box from her. Tying up the money in her apron he goes to the nearest town and goes to the best inn, ordering his favourite meals. He soon hears about the Kings beautiful daughter, the Princess who is locked in a large copper castle by her parents as there is a prophecy that she will marry a common soldier.
The soldier soon spends all of his money, he has to leave all his trappings of rich living behind, he didn’t have any money to buy candles, he remembers that the tinder-box had a candle still stuck in it. Striking up the tinder-box several times he discovers that the dogs from the halls come out and fulfill his requests, he asks for more money, then realises with this magical item he can meet the Princess. He summons up one of the dogs and commands that it bring him the Princess, the dog does and the Soldier is entranced by her beauty, giving her a kiss. The dog takes her back home.
In the morning the Princess tells her mother, the Queen that she had a dream about meeting a soldier and being carried around by a dog, she also recalls that in the dream she was kissed by this soldier, the Queen sets people to watch the Princess as she sleeps, The soldier summons the dogs to bring him the Princess again, as the dog takes her away the lady set to watch the Princess follows the dog to the house where the Soldier lives and puts a large cross on the door to remember what house she had been taken to. In the morning the King and Queen go to try and find the Soldiers house but he was very sneaky and put crosses on all the doors around his house. Not deterred the Queen fills a bag with wheat flour around the Princesses neck so a trail would be left behind. Once again the soldier summons the Princess, but the dog doesn’t notice the trail left behind by the flour. In the morning the King and Queen found the house of the Soldier where their daughter had been taken, the Soldier was arrested and sentenced to death by hanging. The next day the Soldier is taken out to be hung where he meets a shoemakers boy, who he asks to fetch his tinder-box for some money.
The shoemakers boy gets the tinder-box and brings it to the Soldier, who is taken to the gibbet, he asks that his last request is to have a smoke before he died, his request is granted, he strikes the tinder-box three times summoning the three dogs, he asks them for help so that he won't be hung. The dogs attack everyone at the hanging throwing people into the air. The King says he will not be touched, but the largest dog attacks him as well as the Queen, killing them. The people who had not been killed asked that the Soldier become their new King and marry the Princess. The Soldier marries the Princess who is very pleased by this.
A marching soldier back from the wars comes across an old, frightened looking woman who is a witch in the road. The witch asks the soldier to climb up and inside a hollow tree and he will be rewarded with money, the money is in three chambers, in chests guarded by three dogs. He has to get the money by placing down a blue checked apron on which he must place the dogs to get the money out of the chests. The only thing the witch asks for is an old tinder-box that her grandmother left behind when she was there last.
The witch ties a rope around the soldier and he goes into the hollow which opens into a large hall full of burning lamps, he encounters the first dog which has eyes as large as teacups, he collects copper after placing the dog on the apron. Onto the second hall he sees a dog with eyes as big as mill-wheels, he repeats the process of placing the dog, seeing that the chest is full of silver, he throws away the copper and takes the silver instead. Going to the final hall he sees the last dog with eyes as big as towers, again he repeats the process from the last two halls but sees the chest is full of gold. Thinking of all the things he could buy with that amount of gold he throws the silver away and loads up of the gold so much so that he can barely walk.
Having replaced the dog he asks for the witch to pull him out of the tree, when she asks him if he has the tinder-box, the soldier says he forgot about it and goes back, retrieves the tinder-box and the witch pulls him out of the hollow tree. The soldier asks what she is going to do with the tinder-box and the witch says it is nothing to do with him. The soldier threatens to cut off her head if she doesn't tell him and she refuses, so he cuts off her head and takes the tinder-box from her. Tying up the money in her apron he goes to the nearest town and goes to the best inn, ordering his favourite meals. He soon hears about the Kings beautiful daughter, the Princess who is locked in a large copper castle by her parents as there is a prophecy that she will marry a common soldier.
The soldier soon spends all of his money, he has to leave all his trappings of rich living behind, he didn’t have any money to buy candles, he remembers that the tinder-box had a candle still stuck in it. Striking up the tinder-box several times he discovers that the dogs from the halls come out and fulfill his requests, he asks for more money, then realises with this magical item he can meet the Princess. He summons up one of the dogs and commands that it bring him the Princess, the dog does and the Soldier is entranced by her beauty, giving her a kiss. The dog takes her back home.
In the morning the Princess tells her mother, the Queen that she had a dream about meeting a soldier and being carried around by a dog, she also recalls that in the dream she was kissed by this soldier, the Queen sets people to watch the Princess as she sleeps, The soldier summons the dogs to bring him the Princess again, as the dog takes her away the lady set to watch the Princess follows the dog to the house where the Soldier lives and puts a large cross on the door to remember what house she had been taken to. In the morning the King and Queen go to try and find the Soldiers house but he was very sneaky and put crosses on all the doors around his house. Not deterred the Queen fills a bag with wheat flour around the Princesses neck so a trail would be left behind. Once again the soldier summons the Princess, but the dog doesn’t notice the trail left behind by the flour. In the morning the King and Queen found the house of the Soldier where their daughter had been taken, the Soldier was arrested and sentenced to death by hanging. The next day the Soldier is taken out to be hung where he meets a shoemakers boy, who he asks to fetch his tinder-box for some money.
The shoemakers boy gets the tinder-box and brings it to the Soldier, who is taken to the gibbet, he asks that his last request is to have a smoke before he died, his request is granted, he strikes the tinder-box three times summoning the three dogs, he asks them for help so that he won't be hung. The dogs attack everyone at the hanging throwing people into the air. The King says he will not be touched, but the largest dog attacks him as well as the Queen, killing them. The people who had not been killed asked that the Soldier become their new King and marry the Princess. The Soldier marries the Princess who is very pleased by this.
Overall I don't feel like there is much of a positive moral to the story. The soldier character comes off as someone who is quite greedy and doesn't have much respect for people around him. Even though I feel this way about the Soldier I chose this character because of the way he is, it strikes me as a very Piratey character, in that he will take all the money for himself. The only character I feel sorry for is the Witch who was killed just because she wouldn't answer the question asked by the Soldier. Even the Princess is slightly immoral in the way she doesn't seem to be fazed that her parents were killed by her husband, I understand that she might have been annoyed about being locked in her room all the time, but even so you would think she would feel something for her parents and their death. The only moral of the story I can think of is never say no to someone carrying a sword.
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