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The Tinderbox
'There sat the dog with eyes as big as mill wheels'
Though criticised for their anarchic immorality when first published, Hans Christian Andersen's tales made him an international star, taken to the hearts of children and adults for their beauty, sorrow and strangeness. Included here are 'The Steadfast Tin Soldier' and 'Big Klaus and Little Klaus'.
Introducing Little Black Classics: 80 books for Penguin's 80th birthday. Little Black Classics celebrate the huge range and diversity of Penguin Classics, with books from around the world and across many centuries. They take us from a balloon ride over Victorian London to a garden of blossom in Japan, from Tierra del Fuego to 16th century California and the Russian steppe. Here are stories lyrical and savage; poems epic and intimate; essays satirical and inspirational; and ideas that have shaped the lives of millions.
Though criticised for their anarchic immorality when first published, Hans Christian Andersen's tales made him an international star, taken to the hearts of children and adults for their beauty, sorrow and strangeness. Included here are 'The Steadfast Tin Soldier' and 'Big Klaus and Little Klaus'.
Introducing Little Black Classics: 80 books for Penguin's 80th birthday. Little Black Classics celebrate the huge range and diversity of Penguin Classics, with books from around the world and across many centuries. They take us from a balloon ride over Victorian London to a garden of blossom in Japan, from Tierra del Fuego to 16th century California and the Russian steppe. Here are stories lyrical and savage; poems epic and intimate; essays satirical and inspirational; and ideas that have shaped the lives of millions.
55 pages, Paperback
First published May 8, 1835
35 people are currently reading
2152 people want to read
About the author
Hans Christian Andersen
7,787 books3,546 followersHans Christian Andersen (often referred to in Scandinavia as H.C. Andersen) was a Danish author and poet. Although a prolific writer of plays, travelogues, novels, and poems, Andersen is best remembered for his fairy tales. Andersen's popularity is not limited to children; his stories — called eventyr, or "fairy-tales" — express themes that transcend age and nationality.
Andersen's fairy tales, which have been translated into more than 125 languages, have become culturally embedded in the West's collective consciousness, readily accessible to children, but presenting lessons of virtue and resilience in the face of adversity for mature readers as well. Some of his most famous fairy tales include "The Little Mermaid", "The Ugly Duckling", "The Nightingale", "The Emperor's New Clothes" and many more. His stories have inspired plays, ballets, and both live-action and animated films.
Andersen's fairy tales, which have been translated into more than 125 languages, have become culturally embedded in the West's collective consciousness, readily accessible to children, but presenting lessons of virtue and resilience in the face of adversity for mature readers as well. Some of his most famous fairy tales include "The Little Mermaid", "The Ugly Duckling", "The Nightingale", "The Emperor's New Clothes" and many more. His stories have inspired plays, ballets, and both live-action and animated films.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 362 reviews
October 20, 2021
This is an interesting short fairy tale-esqe story. It is reminiscent of Aladdin/Ali Baba tales, but it is also unique in that it is mostly full of grey areas, rather than being the black/white or good/evil of most fairy tales. It's a bit creepy, and as I read a review of it earlier today I decided to check it out.
I really loved the ambiguousness of the tale, not knowing whether I should like the soldier or not. Overall this is a thought-provoking story that I've been thinking about for a couple of hours since completing it.
I really loved the ambiguousness of the tale, not knowing whether I should like the soldier or not. Overall this is a thought-provoking story that I've been thinking about for a couple of hours since completing it.
June 6, 2018
تصور کنید وقتی دارید از جنگ بر می گردید، یه پیرزن توی جاده بهتون میگه: برو توی این گودال، هر چی خواستی طلا بردار، ولی یه قوطی فندک جادویی اونجاست، اون رو برام بیار.
شما میرید هر چی می خواید طلا بر می دارید، قوطی فندک رو هم بر میدارید و میاید بیرون. با خودتون میگید: چرا بدمش به پیرزنه؟ پس می زنید پیرزن رو می کشید و خودتون فندک رو بر می دارید.
بعد می رید به شهر، عاشق شاهزاده می شید. با استفاده از قوطی فندک جادویی، شاه و ملکه و درباری ها رو می کشید، و با شاهزاده ازدواج می کنید.
و معلوم نیست به چه دلیلی، به جای این که به جرم ده پونزده فقره قتل عمد محکوم بشید، به قهرمان داستان کودکان بدل میشید. /-:
پ ن:
ولی انصافاً داستان خوشمزه ای بود. ((:
شما میرید هر چی می خواید طلا بر می دارید، قوطی فندک رو هم بر میدارید و میاید بیرون. با خودتون میگید: چرا بدمش به پیرزنه؟ پس می زنید پیرزن رو می کشید و خودتون فندک رو بر می دارید.
بعد می رید به شهر، عاشق شاهزاده می شید. با استفاده از قوطی فندک جادویی، شاه و ملکه و درباری ها رو می کشید، و با شاهزاده ازدواج می کنید.
و معلوم نیست به چه دلیلی، به جای این که به جرم ده پونزده فقره قتل عمد محکوم بشید، به قهرمان داستان کودکان بدل میشید. /-:
پ ن:
ولی انصافاً داستان خوشمزه ای بود. ((:
February 22, 2016
I love the fairy tales by Hans Christian Anderson, I think there really quite enchanting. The Tinderbox is one of the short tales in this edition and it depicts the life of a greedy, and quite cunning, solider. A witch has tasked him with fetching her tinderbox from a well, as a reward he gets to keep the silver that has been hidden with it. But, he decides to keep the box for himself and to slay the witch. He later discovers that the box is magical and can summon three dogs to do the holders bidding, so no wonder the witch wanted it back.
Indeed, he orders them to fetch him a princess in which he is arrested for by her farther. He uses his cunning to try and save himself. I like the Tinderbox; however, I don’t think it is the best of the fairy tales in this edition. I don’t feel that the story has an overall morale or meaning like some of his other tales. Indeed, the Nightingale is a much more memorable tale, and the one I think this edition should have been named after. That has a clear cut meaning the reader can interpret and understand rather than a story that just happened for no particular reason.
Also in this edition are several other fairy tales such as The Red Shoes, The Princess on the Pea and a couple of others. I think this is a good selection of his work, and it contains my personal favourite (The Nightingale.) If you’ve never read any of his work then this is a good place to start. My four star rating of this reflects my opinion of the overall pieces together not just the Tinderbox, which on an individual basis I would give a three star rating.
Penguin Little Black Classic- 23
The Little Black Classic Collection by penguin looks like it contains lots of hidden gems. I couldn’t help it; they looked so good that I went and bought them all. I shall post a short review after reading each one. No doubt it will take me several months to get through all of them! Hopefully I will find some classic authors, from across the ages, that I may not have come across had I not bought this collection.
Indeed, he orders them to fetch him a princess in which he is arrested for by her farther. He uses his cunning to try and save himself. I like the Tinderbox; however, I don’t think it is the best of the fairy tales in this edition. I don’t feel that the story has an overall morale or meaning like some of his other tales. Indeed, the Nightingale is a much more memorable tale, and the one I think this edition should have been named after. That has a clear cut meaning the reader can interpret and understand rather than a story that just happened for no particular reason.
Also in this edition are several other fairy tales such as The Red Shoes, The Princess on the Pea and a couple of others. I think this is a good selection of his work, and it contains my personal favourite (The Nightingale.) If you’ve never read any of his work then this is a good place to start. My four star rating of this reflects my opinion of the overall pieces together not just the Tinderbox, which on an individual basis I would give a three star rating.
Penguin Little Black Classic- 23
The Little Black Classic Collection by penguin looks like it contains lots of hidden gems. I couldn’t help it; they looked so good that I went and bought them all. I shall post a short review after reading each one. No doubt it will take me several months to get through all of them! Hopefully I will find some classic authors, from across the ages, that I may not have come across had I not bought this collection.
April 15, 2020
This edition comprised of nine short fairy tales, with The Tinder-Box and Thumbelina being the strongest in this collection.
I'd brought this as a keepsake whilst visiting the Hans Christian Andersen Fairy tale House attraction I Copenhagen a few years ago and thought it would be ideal to read a couple a night to my daughter.
Most were pretty short but ultimately forgettable, I can't recall the selection of books they had available but would have preferred to have read all he's better known tales instead.
I'd brought this as a keepsake whilst visiting the Hans Christian Andersen Fairy tale House attraction I Copenhagen a few years ago and thought it would be ideal to read a couple a night to my daughter.
Most were pretty short but ultimately forgettable, I can't recall the selection of books they had available but would have preferred to have read all he's better known tales instead.
July 6, 2022
Nuostabaus grožio Vladyslavo Jerko iliustracijos... Norisi žiūrėt ir žiūrėt!!!
Pasaka tai apie tai, kaip mafija (Matijošaitis??) valdo :D Kareivis išgirdo iš senutės, kad yra stebuklingas rūsys su 3 šunim ir belekiek pinigų, ir jis gali visus pinigus pasiimt, jei tik atneš jai skiltuvą. Jis prisirinko pinigų, skiltuvą, nukirto senutei galvą, su skiltuvo pagalba pralobo (galėdavo išsikviesti 3 šunis, kurie pildė jo norus). Sužinojo, kad yra graži karalaitė, bet tėvai ją labai saugo, tai pirma su šunų pagalba kelis kartus ją miegančią pagrobė ir "pabučiavo", tada vėl su šunų pagalba atsikratė jos tėvų, tada miestiečiai sako: būk mūsų meras, vesk karalaitę! Ir visi laimingai gyveno. Blemba, kaip bijau savivaldybių rinkimų 2023 m.
Už iliustracijas +100 žvaigždučių, už pasaką -95 žvaigždutės, už tai, kad ant viršelio klaidinga iliustracija - ne grobikiško kareivio, o prieš savo valią transportuojamos princesės -1 žvaigždutė.
Pasaka tai apie tai, kaip mafija (Matijošaitis??) valdo :D Kareivis išgirdo iš senutės, kad yra stebuklingas rūsys su 3 šunim ir belekiek pinigų, ir jis gali visus pinigus pasiimt, jei tik atneš jai skiltuvą. Jis prisirinko pinigų, skiltuvą, nukirto senutei galvą, su skiltuvo pagalba pralobo (galėdavo išsikviesti 3 šunis, kurie pildė jo norus). Sužinojo, kad yra graži karalaitė, bet tėvai ją labai saugo, tai pirma su šunų pagalba kelis kartus ją miegančią pagrobė ir "pabučiavo", tada vėl su šunų pagalba atsikratė jos tėvų, tada miestiečiai sako: būk mūsų meras, vesk karalaitę! Ir visi laimingai gyveno. Blemba, kaip bijau savivaldybių rinkimų 2023 m.
Už iliustracijas +100 žvaigždučių, už pasaką -95 žvaigždutės, už tai, kad ant viršelio klaidinga iliustracija - ne grobikiško kareivio, o prieš savo valią transportuojamos princesės -1 žvaigždutė.
December 28, 2020
A wonderful collection of stories by one of the greatest fairytale/fable writer's of all time!
I grew up with a few of these stories, but it was such a joy to read some new ones!
My personal favorite from this collection, and a longtime favorite of mine is The Steadfast Tin Soldier!
I am hoping to get my hands on a full collection of his stories soon! I look forward to reading many more!
Couldn't recommend these classic stories more! They are a staple in any book nerds library!
I grew up with a few of these stories, but it was such a joy to read some new ones!
My personal favorite from this collection, and a longtime favorite of mine is The Steadfast Tin Soldier!
I am hoping to get my hands on a full collection of his stories soon! I look forward to reading many more!
Couldn't recommend these classic stories more! They are a staple in any book nerds library!
May 12, 2017
The Tinderbox is one of the first fairy tales written by the Danish author Hans Christian Andersen, and remains one of his most popular, possibly because it has echoes of several earlier stories, and conforms to many of the features we expect from fairy tales. It was originally published in 1835, as one of four fairy stories, along with "Little Claus and Big Claus", "The Princess and the Pea", and "Little Ida's Flowers". Except for "Little Ida's Flowers", these early tales were not Hans Christian Andersen's own original ideas. Earlier in the year, he had written a letter stating,
"I have started some 'Fairy Tales Told for Children' and believe I have succeeded. I have told a couple of tales which as a child I was happy about, and which I do not believe are known, and have written them exactly the way I would tell them to a child."
In a later edition, Andersen confirmed his commitment to this "improved" style of writing to his public,
"The style should be such that one hears the narrator. Therefore, the language had to be similar to the spoken word; the stories are for children, but adults too should be able to listen in. The first three fairy tales are ones I heard during childhood, in the spinning room and during the harvesting of the hops."
At the end of this review I will name the Scandinavian folk tale Andersen is referring to. This story, The Tinderbox, may call to mind other fairy stories too, but before going any further, here is a summary of the story.
A poor soldier is returning home from war. He meets a witch, who asks him, "How would you like to be rich?" Of course, the soldier says that he would like this very much. The witch show him a hollow tree, asking him to climb to the top with a rope around his waist. Then, she says, she can lower him down into the hollow space, to retrieve a magic tinderbox for her. She promises the soldier that inside the tree he will find wide passages lit by a hundred lamps. There will be three filled to the brim with with precious coins. The witch assures the soldier that he may keep as much of this treasure as he likes - plus anything else he finds inside the chambers - as long as her gives her the tinderbox. The soldier can't wait to get going.
The witch also warns him, however, that
When The Tinderbox was first published, it was not favourably received by the Danish critics. They disliked the informal, chatty style of Hans Christian Andersen's work. I disagree with those critics, as I personally think his style is part of his charm. But they disliked his lack of morals too, and in this I can concur, especially with stories like this one. It may have many features of a fairy story, but is certainly not a moral tale or a parable, with such a greedy, selfish, brutish "hero". It is, however, very reminiscent of "The Arabian Nights" with its emphasis on haphazard killings, unpredictable and random events, features such as all the princesses being beautiful by definition, the magic of threes, the supernatural, "deus ex machina" endings and so on.
Hans Christian Andersen was familiar with folk and fairy lore, and widely read. He will have known the tales in "The Arabian Nights". The Tinderbox is specifically quite similar to
Perhaps it is in this that our love of this tale lies; our satisfaction that this is a "true fairytale" meeting our expectations, and faintly echoing other well-loved tales we have known since our childhood, and our parents' childhoods, and so on through time immemorial. For I can think of no other reason really why this story should be so perennially popular.
"I have started some 'Fairy Tales Told for Children' and believe I have succeeded. I have told a couple of tales which as a child I was happy about, and which I do not believe are known, and have written them exactly the way I would tell them to a child."
In a later edition, Andersen confirmed his commitment to this "improved" style of writing to his public,
"The style should be such that one hears the narrator. Therefore, the language had to be similar to the spoken word; the stories are for children, but adults too should be able to listen in. The first three fairy tales are ones I heard during childhood, in the spinning room and during the harvesting of the hops."
At the end of this review I will name the Scandinavian folk tale Andersen is referring to. This story, The Tinderbox, may call to mind other fairy stories too, but before going any further, here is a summary of the story.
A poor soldier is returning home from war. He meets a witch, who asks him, "How would you like to be rich?" Of course, the soldier says that he would like this very much. The witch show him a hollow tree, asking him to climb to the top with a rope around his waist. Then, she says, she can lower him down into the hollow space, to retrieve a magic tinderbox for her. She promises the soldier that inside the tree he will find wide passages lit by a hundred lamps. There will be three filled to the brim with with precious coins. The witch assures the soldier that he may keep as much of this treasure as he likes - plus anything else he finds inside the chambers - as long as her gives her the tinderbox. The soldier can't wait to get going.
The witch also warns him, however, that
When The Tinderbox was first published, it was not favourably received by the Danish critics. They disliked the informal, chatty style of Hans Christian Andersen's work. I disagree with those critics, as I personally think his style is part of his charm. But they disliked his lack of morals too, and in this I can concur, especially with stories like this one. It may have many features of a fairy story, but is certainly not a moral tale or a parable, with such a greedy, selfish, brutish "hero". It is, however, very reminiscent of "The Arabian Nights" with its emphasis on haphazard killings, unpredictable and random events, features such as all the princesses being beautiful by definition, the magic of threes, the supernatural, "deus ex machina" endings and so on.
Hans Christian Andersen was familiar with folk and fairy lore, and widely read. He will have known the tales in "The Arabian Nights". The Tinderbox is specifically quite similar to
Perhaps it is in this that our love of this tale lies; our satisfaction that this is a "true fairytale" meeting our expectations, and faintly echoing other well-loved tales we have known since our childhood, and our parents' childhoods, and so on through time immemorial. For I can think of no other reason really why this story should be so perennially popular.
Read
April 22, 2020
December 18, 2016
Well, well, well. I did not like this story.
The writing and art was fine but the story itself was terrible. For a children's book, this is an outrage. This teaches kids (and grown ups, for that matter) absolutely nothing!
Murder, greed, kidnapping, more murder - only for the main character to be rewarded in the end by marrying the princess!
If this was an actual novel intended for an older audience, I may have liked this story... in a grungy kind of way. As a kid's story? No way!
The writing and art was fine but the story itself was terrible. For a children's book, this is an outrage. This teaches kids (and grown ups, for that matter) absolutely nothing!
Murder, greed, kidnapping, more murder - only for the main character to be rewarded in the end by marrying the princess!
If this was an actual novel intended for an older audience, I may have liked this story... in a grungy kind of way. As a kid's story? No way!
June 18, 2018
"I won tears from your eyes the first time I sang. I will never forget that about you."
- Hans Christian Andersen, "The Nightingale"
Vol 23 of my Penguin Little Black Classics Box Set. This represents a collection of Hans Christian Anderson's classic fairy tales, translated by Tiina Nunnally. This collection is short but diverse. Some of the stories I was very familiar with and others I read here for the first time. Here is the list of tales included in this volume, along with a rough star-ranking:
1. The Tinderbox - ✭✭✭
2. Little Claus and Big Claus - ✭✭✭✭
3. The Princess and the Pea - ✭✭✭
4. The Steadfast Tin Soldier - ✭✭
5. The Nightingale - ✭✭✭✭
6. The Red Shoes - ✭✭
- Hans Christian Andersen, "The Nightingale"
Vol 23 of my Penguin Little Black Classics Box Set. This represents a collection of Hans Christian Anderson's classic fairy tales, translated by Tiina Nunnally. This collection is short but diverse. Some of the stories I was very familiar with and others I read here for the first time. Here is the list of tales included in this volume, along with a rough star-ranking:
1. The Tinderbox - ✭✭✭
2. Little Claus and Big Claus - ✭✭✭✭
3. The Princess and the Pea - ✭✭✭
4. The Steadfast Tin Soldier - ✭✭
5. The Nightingale - ✭✭✭✭
6. The Red Shoes - ✭✭
July 10, 2017
Bloody hell, Andersen, are you okay? And what is wrong with me for being able to forget for even a second how many lives are lost in these tales, how many tears wept and how many body parts lost? This Little Black Classic provides us with six of Hans Christian Andersen's dark fairy tales, making up one of in my opinion most beautiful collection of this series (out of those I have read so far).
I knew most of the tales before, like The Steadfast Tin Soldier (my favourite in this book), The Princess and the Pea and The Nightingale, but I thoroughly enjoyed another encounter with them. Andersen stories are strange above anything else, but so many other things as well: Creepy and painful, eery and beautiful. I love them, and this book made me want to read more of them again, too.
I think this book provides a fine selection of the Danish author's work, and definitely gives a good idea of what his writing is like. I get that some people don't find them suitable for children; the characters are greedy and selfish, make bad decisions and act violently, yet I personally enjoyed their enchanting morbidity very much.
In 2015 Penguin introduced the Little Black Classics series to celebrate Penguin's 80th birthday. Including little stories from "around the world and across many centuries" as the publisher describes, I have been intrigued to read those for a long time, before finally having started. I hope to sooner or later read and review all of them!
I knew most of the tales before, like The Steadfast Tin Soldier (my favourite in this book), The Princess and the Pea and The Nightingale, but I thoroughly enjoyed another encounter with them. Andersen stories are strange above anything else, but so many other things as well: Creepy and painful, eery and beautiful. I love them, and this book made me want to read more of them again, too.
I think this book provides a fine selection of the Danish author's work, and definitely gives a good idea of what his writing is like. I get that some people don't find them suitable for children; the characters are greedy and selfish, make bad decisions and act violently, yet I personally enjoyed their enchanting morbidity very much.
In 2015 Penguin introduced the Little Black Classics series to celebrate Penguin's 80th birthday. Including little stories from "around the world and across many centuries" as the publisher describes, I have been intrigued to read those for a long time, before finally having started. I hope to sooner or later read and review all of them!
July 21, 2019
Cute little story out of the old box of Hans Christian Anderson. This story teaches a lot of things in life. Greed, murder, marriage everything comes by in this story. I do however find the story more for children, then for grownups. It also misses something and I can't put my finger on it. It is weird how a murderer can be a king in another day. Life is weird LOL
March 11, 2018
This was interesting. It’s funny how when he ran out of money his friends didn’t see to care about him much
February 4, 2025
آقا این چطور میتونست اینهمه عهد شکن و نامرد باشه؟!
همخوانی بهمن ۱۴۰۳
همخوانی بهمن ۱۴۰۳
September 10, 2016
http://andersen.sdu.dk/moocfiles/tind...
What are you going to use that tinder box for?’ the soldier asked.
‘None of your business!’ the witch said, ‘you’ve got all your money! Just give me the tinderbox'
Stuff and nonsense!’ the soldier said, ‘tell me at once what you’re going to use it for, or I’ll
draw my sword and cut off your head!’
‘No!’ the witch said.
Then the soldier cut off her head. There she lay!
What are you going to use that tinder box for?’ the soldier asked.
‘None of your business!’ the witch said, ‘you’ve got all your money! Just give me the tinderbox'
Stuff and nonsense!’ the soldier said, ‘tell me at once what you’re going to use it for, or I’ll
draw my sword and cut off your head!’
‘No!’ the witch said.
Then the soldier cut off her head. There she lay!
February 3, 2016
After the horrible Hebel and his terrible tales of turgidity here is Andersen the weaver of words, the fairy tale fabulist to show him how it's done.
Andersen's masterful storytelling is sublime. If his stories fail to touch you then you are to old and cynical.
Andersen's masterful storytelling is sublime. If his stories fail to touch you then you are to old and cynical.
March 13, 2016
This was a good collection of short stories. Extremely entertaining fairy tales. Hans Christian Andersen is the master of fairy tales, and he proved it with this one!
September 19, 2021
super fun but morbid at times but that’s what old fairytales were about so I’m not mad about it
May 31, 2018
I've always been a fan of Hans Christian Andersen growing up - my favorites being The Little Mermaid, The Snow Queen and yes, even the Tinderbox.
But honestly, the rest of the stories given here just didn't sit well with me. I liked The Steadfast Tin Soldier, it sort of reminded me of The Nutcracker for a bit but nonetheless I think I liked the melancholy of it. The rest were just violent and seemingly without any reason or lesson? I don't know. Maybe if I had read them as a younger reader I would've liked them. Who knows.
One can say these stories are too violent for children - but then again I think all his stories are violent and extreme. One thing I noticed while re-reading The Tinderbox is how the soldier - the main character - just gets away with everything? He cuts off the witch's head in the beginning without any reason apart from the fact that she didn't tell him why she wants the tinderbox. She just got you a ton gold coin, man. Sheesh. Talk about anger issues.
And then later on, the soldier's friends stopped talking to him when he ran out of money and then making up when he got rich again. And at the end, the princess seemed way too chill about her parents being flung up in the air and dying when striking the ground, just because she could be queen and do whatever she wants now. LOL. What does this instill in a child?
The version I read of The Tinderbox was from A World of Fairy Tales by James Riordan and that one wasn't this harsh for some reason? It was better written. For example, the part where the soldier's friends refuse to come visit him in that book was that they gave the excuse that his new (poorer) apartments had too many stairs. While still petty, it shows some semblance of humanity or logic. It was just a much better retelling, I would definitely recommend you check out Riordan's version of it.
But honestly, the rest of the stories given here just didn't sit well with me. I liked The Steadfast Tin Soldier, it sort of reminded me of The Nutcracker for a bit but nonetheless I think I liked the melancholy of it. The rest were just violent and seemingly without any reason or lesson? I don't know. Maybe if I had read them as a younger reader I would've liked them. Who knows.
One can say these stories are too violent for children - but then again I think all his stories are violent and extreme. One thing I noticed while re-reading The Tinderbox is how the soldier - the main character - just gets away with everything? He cuts off the witch's head in the beginning without any reason apart from the fact that she didn't tell him why she wants the tinderbox. She just got you a ton gold coin, man. Sheesh. Talk about anger issues.
And then later on, the soldier's friends stopped talking to him when he ran out of money and then making up when he got rich again. And at the end, the princess seemed way too chill about her parents being flung up in the air and dying when striking the ground, just because she could be queen and do whatever she wants now. LOL. What does this instill in a child?
The version I read of The Tinderbox was from A World of Fairy Tales by James Riordan and that one wasn't this harsh for some reason? It was better written. For example, the part where the soldier's friends refuse to come visit him in that book was that they gave the excuse that his new (poorer) apartments had too many stairs. While still petty, it shows some semblance of humanity or logic. It was just a much better retelling, I would definitely recommend you check out Riordan's version of it.
February 21, 2019
I admit it, I might be biased. As a Dane, I have grown up with Hans Christian Andersen's fairytales. Where many cite Harry Potter as sparking their love of stories and reading, HCA was that for me. This book contains some of my absolute favourites of his stories (he has written 157 or something in total, I believe), reading them in English was certainly a different experience and sometimes I couldn't help but recall the Danish phrasing without thinking. I will always adore these stories. Childhood magic that's more than readable as an adult as well.
September 15, 2018
There are six fairy tales in this collection: The Tinderbox, Little Claus and Big Claus, The Princess on the Pea, The Steadfast Tin Soldier, The Nightingale and The Red Shoes. Out of those fairy tales I liked The Tinderbox and The Steadfast Tin Soldier the most. I just wished they would have included his most famous fairy tale: The Little Mermaid. However, this is a great collection if you don't know where to start with his work and are not sure yet if you want to read all his fairy tales.
April 3, 2016
Three strikes...
1. A story about a soldier? This is a fairy tale; gimme a prince!
2. The soldier kills an innocent, generous witch who trusts him. Immoral.
3. B-O-R-I-N-G
... and you're out.
1. A story about a soldier? This is a fairy tale; gimme a prince!
2. The soldier kills an innocent, generous witch who trusts him. Immoral.
3. B-O-R-I-N-G
... and you're out.
June 13, 2017
Hans Christian Anderson once again proving that fairy tales most certainly are NOT very children-friendly. They are really eery and almost all were great.
October 19, 2023
God this was so bad like really bad
December 30, 2025
Fun short fairytales that you can read in one sitting
August 12, 2022
why would people read these to kids
February 11, 2019
The Tinderbox, illustrated by Vladyslav Yerko
Vladyslav Yerko, the fabulously talented Ukrainian artist and illustrator, whose edition of The Snow Queen ranks as one of my absolute favorite fairy-tale retellings, returns to the work of Hans Christian Andersen in this marvelous picture-book. Here we have the classic story of a poor soldier, returning home from the wars, who encounters an old witch on his journey and finds his fortunes changed. Agreeing to fetch the eponymous tinderbox for the witch, in return for all the money he can carry away from its underground hiding place, he ends up murdering the witch when she won't tell him how the tinderbox will be used, and keeping both it and the money. Becoming a gentleman of leisure with his newfound wealth, the soldier's fortune holds, until the money runs out. It is then that he discover that the tinderbox controls and summons the three magical guard dogs who watched over the witch's underground treasure - the chest with bronze coins, the one with silver, and the one with gold. Fortune restored, the soldier next uses his magical dogs to kidnap the kingdom's beautiful princess from her bed, so he might look on her in her sleep. When this results in his imprisonment and imminent execution, he uses his dogs to destroy the king and queen and their advisors, marrying the princess and becoming king himself...
I was struck during the course of reading The Tinderbox, as I always am with this story, by how amoral of a tale it is. It doesn't have, like Andersen's The Red Shoes , with its narrative of a girl who is punished for her ingratitude and impiety with a terrible bodily disfigurement and violation, a moral outlike with which I would disagree. Rather, it seems entirely lacking in a moral outlook altogether, and the narrative never seems to question the ethics of the soldier's actions, in violating his agreement with the witch, going back on his word to turn over the tinderbox to her, and eventually murdering her. Nor are his actions, in kidnapping the princess, just so he can look at her sleeping form, ever depicted as problematic. Instead, the reader is apparently meant to sympathize with his change of fortune and to applaud his use of the dogs, whilst ignoring the fact tht he is a word-breaker, a murderer, and a pervet of sorts. I've always found this rather odd, and have never been convinced, despite his one good quality, of giving generously to the poor, that the soldier is a hero worth cheering for.
All that said, this presentation of The Tinderbox is, despite my usual distaste at the tale, so phenomenally gorgeous, that I am rating the book at five stars. Vladyslav Yerko's painting are so beautiful, so marvelously detailed and engrossing, that it was a sheer pleasure to peruse them! From decorative endpaper to decorative endpaper, front to back, this is a visually stunning book. No superlative could do it justice! The detailed indoor scenes, as when the soldier fetches the treasure from its underground lair, or when he first encounters one of the dogs in his room at the inn, have a rich, golden glow, and are crammed with so many little objects of interest, that one could pore over the page endlessly:
The outdoor scenes are lighter in tone, but no less rich in detail. The scene showing the city center is particularly lovely:
I have no idea, of course, how Vladyslav Yerko views this story - presumably he enjoys it, or he would not bother illustrating it! - but the scene in which the dog servant flies through the air with the princess on his back, resonates with my feeling that the soldier is a bit of a villain. Here's the princess, still enough of a little girl to be hugging her stuffed rabbit in her sleep, being ogled by a stranger, and a grown man at that!:
However that may be, there is no question that this is one of the most beautiful fairy-tale picture-books I have encountered. A lovely, lovely volume, one I would recommend wholeheartedly to anyone who loves fairy-tales, or who appreciates gorgeously-illustrated books.
Vladyslav Yerko, the fabulously talented Ukrainian artist and illustrator, whose edition of The Snow Queen ranks as one of my absolute favorite fairy-tale retellings, returns to the work of Hans Christian Andersen in this marvelous picture-book. Here we have the classic story of a poor soldier, returning home from the wars, who encounters an old witch on his journey and finds his fortunes changed. Agreeing to fetch the eponymous tinderbox for the witch, in return for all the money he can carry away from its underground hiding place, he ends up murdering the witch when she won't tell him how the tinderbox will be used, and keeping both it and the money. Becoming a gentleman of leisure with his newfound wealth, the soldier's fortune holds, until the money runs out. It is then that he discover that the tinderbox controls and summons the three magical guard dogs who watched over the witch's underground treasure - the chest with bronze coins, the one with silver, and the one with gold. Fortune restored, the soldier next uses his magical dogs to kidnap the kingdom's beautiful princess from her bed, so he might look on her in her sleep. When this results in his imprisonment and imminent execution, he uses his dogs to destroy the king and queen and their advisors, marrying the princess and becoming king himself...
I was struck during the course of reading The Tinderbox, as I always am with this story, by how amoral of a tale it is. It doesn't have, like Andersen's The Red Shoes , with its narrative of a girl who is punished for her ingratitude and impiety with a terrible bodily disfigurement and violation, a moral outlike with which I would disagree. Rather, it seems entirely lacking in a moral outlook altogether, and the narrative never seems to question the ethics of the soldier's actions, in violating his agreement with the witch, going back on his word to turn over the tinderbox to her, and eventually murdering her. Nor are his actions, in kidnapping the princess, just so he can look at her sleeping form, ever depicted as problematic. Instead, the reader is apparently meant to sympathize with his change of fortune and to applaud his use of the dogs, whilst ignoring the fact tht he is a word-breaker, a murderer, and a pervet of sorts. I've always found this rather odd, and have never been convinced, despite his one good quality, of giving generously to the poor, that the soldier is a hero worth cheering for.
All that said, this presentation of The Tinderbox is, despite my usual distaste at the tale, so phenomenally gorgeous, that I am rating the book at five stars. Vladyslav Yerko's painting are so beautiful, so marvelously detailed and engrossing, that it was a sheer pleasure to peruse them! From decorative endpaper to decorative endpaper, front to back, this is a visually stunning book. No superlative could do it justice! The detailed indoor scenes, as when the soldier fetches the treasure from its underground lair, or when he first encounters one of the dogs in his room at the inn, have a rich, golden glow, and are crammed with so many little objects of interest, that one could pore over the page endlessly:
The outdoor scenes are lighter in tone, but no less rich in detail. The scene showing the city center is particularly lovely:
I have no idea, of course, how Vladyslav Yerko views this story - presumably he enjoys it, or he would not bother illustrating it! - but the scene in which the dog servant flies through the air with the princess on his back, resonates with my feeling that the soldier is a bit of a villain. Here's the princess, still enough of a little girl to be hugging her stuffed rabbit in her sleep, being ogled by a stranger, and a grown man at that!:
However that may be, there is no question that this is one of the most beautiful fairy-tale picture-books I have encountered. A lovely, lovely volume, one I would recommend wholeheartedly to anyone who loves fairy-tales, or who appreciates gorgeously-illustrated books.
December 15, 2015
Magic tinderbox and three dogs, an amoral soldier and a princess under house arrest.
Beautiful and colourful illustrations by an Ukrainian artist Vladyslav Yerko
Утром солдат подошёл к маленькому окошку и стал смотреть сквозь железную решётку на улицу: народ толпами валил за город смотреть, как будут вешать солдата; били барабаны, проходили полки. Все спешили, бежали бегом. Бежал и мальчишка-сапожник в кожаном переднике и туфлях. Он мчался вприпрыжку, и одна туфля слетела у него с ноги и ударилась прямо о стену, у которой стоял солдат и глядел в окошко.
In the morning he could see through the iron grating of the little window how the people were hastening out of the town to see him hanged; he heard the drums beating, and saw the soldiers marching. Every one ran out to look at them. and a shoemaker’s boy, with a leather apron and slippers on, galloped by so fast, that one of his slippers flew off and struck against the wall where the soldier sat looking through the iron grating.
Beautiful and colourful illustrations by an Ukrainian artist Vladyslav Yerko
Утром солдат подошёл к маленькому окошку и стал смотреть сквозь железную решётку на улицу: народ толпами валил за город смотреть, как будут вешать солдата; били барабаны, проходили полки. Все спешили, бежали бегом. Бежал и мальчишка-сапожник в кожаном переднике и туфлях. Он мчался вприпрыжку, и одна туфля слетела у него с ноги и ударилась прямо о стену, у которой стоял солдат и глядел в окошко.
In the morning he could see through the iron grating of the little window how the people were hastening out of the town to see him hanged; he heard the drums beating, and saw the soldiers marching. Every one ran out to look at them. and a shoemaker’s boy, with a leather apron and slippers on, galloped by so fast, that one of his slippers flew off and struck against the wall where the soldier sat looking through the iron grating.
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February 4, 2017
Hans Christian Andersen was a 19th Century Danish writer best know for fairy tales and short fables, though he was a prolific writer of plays, novels and poetry.
This is a selection of the lesser-known fairy tales written by Andersen. I've not read any of his other works though I'm well versed in the outside knowledge and I have to say I was disappointed in how terribly they were written and how blasé they seemed as a whole. Although I'm sure some of their charm must have been lost in translation, I still can't say I enjoyed any of them.
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This is a selection of the lesser-known fairy tales written by Andersen. I've not read any of his other works though I'm well versed in the outside knowledge and I have to say I was disappointed in how terribly they were written and how blasé they seemed as a whole. Although I'm sure some of their charm must have been lost in translation, I still can't say I enjoyed any of them.
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August 4, 2024
Andersen's tales are hard to read, they are so deeply shaded by despair and cynicism: a man murders one woman and violates another woman while she is sleeping (he "couldn't resist...because he was a real soldier") but escapes any punishment; another tale's hero is pushed to his demise in a fire for no reason by a wantonly destructive child; horses and grandmothers are walloped to death as thoughtlessly as if they were flies; being a princess is nothing more meaningful than living such a pampered life that one's skin is sensitive to peas placed under mattresses. Glib trickery and amoral cleverness are rewarded, and the hand of heaven is breathtakingly harsh and cruel if it is present at all. Only in "The Nightingale," an allegory about an artist who forgives an unappreciative patron (an allegory that can be read as uncannily prescient about our current era's struggles with AI!), is there a believable glimpse of true mercy and the possibility of redemption.
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