History Literature / TheTinderBox

A young soldier meets an old witch who promises him as much money as he can carry, if only he will retrieve her tinderbox from inside an oak tree. The soldier goes down and finds three enormous dogs, each larger than the next and guarding a chest of money (copper, silver, and gold). He helps himself to as much gold as he can carry, but his suspicions are roused when the witch demands the tinderbox and nothing else. She won't tell him what she wants with it, even upon threat of beheading, so he kills her, takes the gold and the tinderbox, and goes into town, where he lives like a lord until the money is gone.

Eventually the soldier learns the secret of the tinderbox: it can summon the three dogs, who will obey him and bring him money from their respective coffers. Hearing rumors that the kingdom's princess is surpassingly beautiful, he sends a dog to fetch her from the copper palace in which she is imprisoned (the King and Queen have heard a prophecy that she will marry a mere common soldier and are having none of that). She is indeed lovely, and he steals a kiss before sending her back. He sends for her again the following night. The King and Queen discover that someone has been spiriting the Princess away, and eventually trace her path back to the soldier's house. He is promptly arrested and sentenced to hanging.

A Creator/HansChristianAndersen FairyTale published in May 1835 about a soldier who comes upon a witch who tells him how to obtain lots and lots of money, if only he will bring her a tinderbox from inside an old oak tree. The soldier goes down and finds three enormous dogs, guarding in turn a chest of copper coins, a chest of silver coins, and a chest of gold coins. He helps himself to as much gold as he can carry, but his suspicions are roused when the witch demands the tinderbox and nothing else. She won't tell him what she wants with it, even upon threat of beheading, so he kills her, takes his money and the tinderbox, and goes into town, where he lives like a lord until the money is gone.

Eventually the soldier learns the secret of the tinderbox: it can summon the three dogs, who will obey him. Hearing rumors that this kingdom's princess is surpassingly beautiful, he sends a dog to fetch her from the copper palace in which she is imprisoned (the King and Queen have heard a prophecy that she will marry a mere common soldier and are having none of that). She is indeed lovely, and he steals a kiss before sending her back. Then he sends for her again the following night. The King and Queen discover that someone has been spiriting the Princess away, and eventually trace her path back to the soldier's house. He is promptly arrested and sentenced to hanging.

The soldier bribes a boy to go to his apartment and bring him the tinder-box. When he's brought to the gallows, he asks for one last smoke, and uses the tinderbox to summon all three dogs. The dogs throw the judges and councillors so high into the air that they are killed when they hit the ground. The King is unmoved by this, so the dogs do the same to him and the Queen. The people proclaim the soldier to be the king, and he marries the princess, who is only too pleased to be free of the copper palace.

* FairWeatherFriend: When he becames rich by the first time, the soldier gets many "friends" which quickly abandon him after his money is depleted.

* OneLastSmoke: {{Exploited| Trope}}. The Soldier banks on the King probably not denying a man about to be executed his last smoke. It allows him to turn the tables on the King.

A Creator/HansChristianAndersen FairyTale published in May 1835 about a soldier who comes upon a witch who tells him how to obtain lots and lots of money, if only he will bring her a tinderbox that got left down inside a passageway under an old oak tree by mistake. The soldier goes down and finds three enormous dogs, guarding in turn a chest of copper coins, a chest of silver coins, and a chest of gold coins. When he brings up some gold, he is reminded of the tinderbox and goes to get it. But the witch won't tell him what is so special about the tinderbox, even upon threat of beheading. So the soldier beheads the witch. It isn't until later that he discovers by accident that the tinder-box can be used to summon the dogs, who can bring him more money.

Eventually the soldier finds that he's fallen in love with a princess, but the King and Queen have heard a prophecy that she will marry a mere common soldier and are having none of that, so they keep the Princess locked away in a Copper Palace all the time. He utilizes the summoning tinderbox to get a dog to bring the princess to him. Eventually the King and Queen figure out that someone has been spiriting the Princess away overnight, and have someone follow the dog. When they find the house, they mark it with chalk. The dog sees the chalk mark and marks all the doors on that street. Eventually the Queen fashions a bag that she fills with flour, out of which there has been cut a small hole, and ties it to the princess so that there will be a flour trail that they can follow. The dog doesn't notice the flour trail, and the soldier is arrested and sentenced to hanging.

He doesn't have his tinderbox, so he gets a boy to go to his apartment and bring him the tinder-box. When he's to be hanged, he asks to be allowed one last smoke, and uses the tinderbox to summon all three dogs. The dogs throw the judges and councillors so high into the air that they are killed when they hit the ground. The King is unmoved by this, so the dogs do the same to him and the Queen. The people proclaim the soldier to be the king, and he marries the princess and gets her out of that Copper Castle.

A Creator/HansChristianAndersen FairyTale published in May 1835 about a soldier who comes upon a witch who tells him how to obtain lots and lots of money, if only he will bring her a tinderbox that got left down inside a passageway under an old oak tree by mistake. The soldier goes down and finds three enormous dogs, guarding in turn a chest of copper coins, a chest of silver coins, and a chest of gold coins. When he brings up some gold, he is reminded of the tinderbox and goes to get it. But the witch won't tell him what is so special about the tinderbox, even upon threat of beheading. So the soldier beheads the witch. It isn't 'til later that he discovers by accident that the tinder-box can be used to summon the dogs, who can bring him more money.

* SociopathicHero[=/=]VillainProtagonist: The soldier murders the witch for not telling him how the box works, kidnaps a princess, and certainly doesn't seem too bothered when his dogs tear apart an ''entire courtroom'' '''and two monarchs'''.

* CanisMajor: The three dogs. The smallest has eyes the size of teacups, the middle one has eyes the size of millstones, and the largest has eyes the circumference of a tower. Now think about the size of a dog relative to the size of its eyes.