she exclaimed, as something pricked her. Outof the soft earth something was sticking up. It was- only think!- itwas really the tin soldier, the very same which had been lost up inthe old man's room, and had been hidden among old wood and rubbish fora long time, till it sunk into the earth, where it must have beenfor many years. And the young wife wiped the soldier, first with agreen leaf, and then with her fine pocket-handkerchief, that smeltof such beautiful perfume. And the tin soldier felt as if he wasrecovering from a fainting fit. "Let me see him," said the youngman, and then he smiled and shook his head, and said, "It can scarcelybe the same, but it reminds me of something that happened to one of mytin soldiers when I was a little boy." And then he told his wife aboutthe old house and the old man, and of the tin soldier which he hadsent across, because he thought the old man was lonely; and he relatedthe story so clearly that tears came into the eyes of the young wifefor the old house and the old man. "It is very likely that this isreally the same soldier," said she, and I will take care of him, andalways remember what you have told me; but some day you must show methe old man's grave."
  "I don't know where it is," he replied; "no one knows. All hisfriends are dead; no one took care of him, and I was only a littleboy."
  "Oh, how dreadfully lonely he must have been," said she.
  "Yes, terribly lonely," cried the tin soldier; "still it isdelightful not to be forgotten."
  "Delightful indeed," cried a voice quite near to them; no onebut the tin soldier saw that it came from a rag of the leather whichhung in tatters; it had lost all its gilding, and looked like wetearth, but it had an opinion, and it spoke it thus:-
  "Gilding will fade in damp weather,
  To endure, there is nothing like leather."
  But the tin soldier did not believe any such thing.
  THE END.
  1872
  FAIRY TALES OF HANS CHRISTIAN ANDERSEN
  THE OLD STREET LAMP
  by Hans Christian Andersen
  DID you ever hear the story of the old street lamp? It is notremarkably interesting, but for once in a way you may as well listento it. It was a most respectable old lamp, which had seen many, manyyears of service, and now was to retire with a pension. It was thisevening at its post for the last time, giving light to the street. Hisfeelings were something like those of an old dancer at the theatre,who is dancing for the last time, and knows that on the morrow shewill be in her garret, alone and forgotten. The lamp had very greatanxiety about the next day, for he knew that he had to appear forthe first time at the town hall, to be inspected by the mayor andthe council, who were to decide if he were fit for further serviceor not;- whether the lamp was good enough to be used to light theinhabitants of one of the suburbs, or in the country, at some factory;and if not, it would be sent at once to an iron foundry, to bemelted down. In this latter case it might be turned into anything, andhe wondered very much whether he would then be able to remember thathe had once been a street lamp, and it troubled him exceedingly.Whatever might happen, one thing seemed certain, that he would beseparated from the watchman and his wife, whose family he lookedupon as his own. The lamp had first been hung up on that veryevening that the watchman, then a robust young man, had entered uponthe duties of his office. Ah, well, it was a very long time sinceone became a lamp and the other a watchman. His wife had a littlepride in those days; she seldom condescended to glance at the lamp,excepting when she passed by in the evening, never in the daytime. Butin later years, when all these,- the watchman, the wife, and the lamp-had grown old, she had attended to it, cleaned it, and supplied itwith oil. The old people were thoroughly honest, they had nevercheated the lamp of a single drop of the oil provided for it.
  This was the lamp's last night in the street, and to-morrow hemust go to the town-hall,- two very dark things to think of. No wonderhe did not burn brightly. Many other thoughts also passed throughhis mind. How many persons he had lighted on their way, and how muchhe had seen; as much, very likely, as the mayor and corporationthemselves!