📝 Description
Characters & Their Appearance
🪖 Tin Soldier – A shiny, silver soldier with one leg, dressed in a red and blue uniform with gold buttons and a tall black hat. His eyes are determined and brave.
🎀 Paper Ballerina – Delicately crafted from paper, she wears a pink tutu and has her arms gracefully extended. She stands on one leg, looking elegant and gentle.
👾 Goblin in the Jack-in-the-box – A mischievous figure with a green face, red eyes, and a big mouth full of sharp teeth. He has springy arms and pops out unexpectedly.
🐟 Fish – A big-eyed river fish with shiny blue scales who swallows the tin soldier by accident.
🧸 Little Boy – A cheerful boy with curly hair and bright eyes who owns the toys and loves to play pretend battles with his soldiers.
📜 Script
Narrator:
Once upon a time, in a box of twenty-five tin soldiers, there was one special soldier with only one leg. He had been cast last and there wasn’t enough tin left for both legs. Still, he stood tall and proud 🪖.
Among the toys, he saw a beautiful paper ballerina 🎀 standing on one foot. He thought she was just like him—brave and strong, standing with grace and courage.
🪖 Tin Soldier (thinking): “She must be a princess, and I must protect her.”
But not all the toys were kind. The goblin inside the jack-in-the-box 👾 saw the tin soldier watching the ballerina and grew jealous.
👾 Goblin: “Stay away from her! She is not for you!”
Narrator:
The tin soldier didn’t reply. That night, as the clock struck midnight, strange things began to happen. The lid of the jack-in-the-box slowly creaked open, and the goblin shouted again.
👾 Goblin: “You’ve been warned!”
The next day, the soldier was mysteriously thrown out of the window by an unseen force. He fell into the street and was swept away by rainwater into the gutter.
Narrator:
Through many adventures, the tin soldier kept thinking of the ballerina. He floated in a paper boat, braved a rat-guarded sewer, and ended up in the river.
There, a big fish 🐟 came along and swallowed him whole! But fate was kind—the fish was caught and taken to the market, and when it was cut open, the tin soldier was found!
He was returned to the same home. There she was—the paper ballerina, still standing on one leg 🎀.
Narrator:
But before he could rejoice, the jealous goblin caused a fire. The tin soldier and the ballerina were both caught in the flames.
When the ashes cooled, all that remained was a tiny tin heart and a bit of the ballerina’s ribbon 💔.
Narrator:
Though their bodies were gone, their love and bravery would never fade.
📚 Vocabulary
-
Jealous – feeling upset or angry because someone else has something you want.
-
Ballerina – a female ballet dancer.
-
Brave – showing courage, not afraid.
-
Gutter – a channel along the edge of a street that carries rainwater.
-
Ashes – the grey powder left after something is burned.
💬 Useful Expressions
-
“He stood tall and proud.” – He was confident and unafraid.
-
“You’ve been warned!” – A threat or caution given to someone.
-
“Their love and bravery would never fade.” – Their courage and affection will always be remembered.
❓ Comprehension Questions
-
Why did the tin soldier only have one leg?
-
What made the tin soldier admire the paper ballerina?
-
How did the goblin try to stop the tin soldier?
-
What happened after the tin soldier was swallowed by the fish?
-
What was left after the fire at the end of the story?