So many years had gone by that the
little boy had grown up to a whole man. And he had just been married
and had brought his wife to live in the house here, where the garden
was. She had brought a wild flower with her that she found very pretty
and he stood by her as she planted it in the garden and pressed the
earth around it with her fingers.
Oh, what was that? She had pricked her finger. There sat something
pointed, sticking straight out of the soft mould.
It was--yes, guess--it was the toy soldier who had tumbled and turned
about among the timber and the rubbish, and had lain for many years in
the ground.
The young wife wiped the dirt off the soldier, first with a green
leaf, and then with her fine handkerchief. It was just as if the toy
soldier had awakened from a dream. Then the young man told his wife
about the old house and the old man and the toy soldier that he had
sent over because the old man had been so lonely.
"Very, very lonely!" said the toy soldier, "but it is delightful not
to be forgotten!"
THE LITTLE BOY WHO WANTED A CASTLE
There was once a boy who thought a great deal about castles. He had a
very beautiful picture book with coloured pictures of castles that
showed how large and different and fine they were, and, presently,
after thinking a long time about it, the boy decided that a castle
was where he would like, most of all, to live.
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