Once there was a discharged soldier marching down a country road, keeping time with his boots as he called out, “One, two. One, two.” He owned nothing of value except the sword at his side and an empty backpack on his shoulders. He had fought for years, yet now he walked alone, with no home and no money, guided only by habit and hunger.
Along the way, he met a hideous old witch with sharp eyes and a crooked smile. She stopped him and promised him more money than he could ever spend if he dared to climb down into the hollow trunk of a giant tree. Inside, she explained, he would pass through three underground chambers, each guarded by a terrifying dog. In the first room stood a chest of copper coins watched by a dog whose eyes were as large as teacups. In the second room lay a chest of silver guarded by a dog with eyes as big as mill wheels. In the third room rested a chest overflowing with gold, protected by a monstrous dog whose eyes were as large as the round towers of Copenhagen. The witch gave him a magical apron, telling him that if he placed any dog on it, the creature would become harmless. She wanted only one thing in return, an old tinderbox her grandmother had once left behind in the depths of the tree.
The soldier climbed down without hesitation. He followed the witch’s instructions exactly, placing each dog gently on the apron and opening the chests without fear. Greed overcame caution, and instead of taking a little, he filled his pockets with gold. He found the tinderbox as promised and climbed back up. When the witch demanded it without explaining why it mattered so much, the soldier made a ruthless choice. He drew his sword and killed her, then walked away with the tinderbox and all the gold.
In the city, the soldier lived like a nobleman. Money opened every door. He wore fine clothes, stayed in the best hotels, gave generously to the poor, and surrounded himself with smiling friends. For a time, life felt perfect. But gold disappears faster than people expect. Soon his wealth was gone. He was forced to leave luxury behind for a dark attic room, and every friend he once had vanished without a word. Left alone and penniless, he discovered how shallow his fortune had been.
One evening, unable to afford even a candle, the soldier remembered the old tinderbox. On impulse, he struck it once. Instantly, the dog with teacup eyes appeared and stood ready to obey. He struck it twice, and the dog with mill wheel eyes emerged. When he struck it a third time, the giant dog with tower-sized eyes thundered into the room. At that moment, the soldier realized the truth. The tinderbox was not ordinary. It commanded powerful supernatural forces capable of granting any wish.
News spread through the city of a beautiful princess kept locked away by her father. A prophecy had warned that she would marry a common soldier, and the king, terrified of losing power, hid her from the world. Curiosity and desire drove the soldier. He ordered one of the dogs to bring the princess to him while she slept. Night after night, she was carried through the air, unaware. The soldier fell deeply in love with her beauty and kissed her as she slept. Eventually, the queen grew suspicious. She scattered flour on the floor to track where the princess went, and the footprints led straight to the soldier.
He was arrested and sentenced to death. On the day of execution, standing beneath the gallows, the soldier asked for one final smoke, a small request the king allowed. Calmly, he took out the tinderbox and struck it once, twice, three times. All three dogs appeared at once, more terrifying than ever. They attacked the guards, seized the king and queen, and hurled them high into the air until they fell to their deaths. The crowd, shocked and afraid, had no leader left. They proclaimed the soldier king, and he married the princess. Their wedding lasted eight days, with the three dogs sitting proudly at the banquet, their eyes wider than ever.
Beneath the magic and spectacle, the story reveals a harsh truth. When money is present, friendship follows; when money disappears, so do the friends. Andersen does not present a perfect hero. The soldier is ambitious, violent, and morally flawed, willing to kill and seize power when opportunity appears. This realism reflects a world where fate favors the bold, not the virtuous. The tinderbox symbolizes sudden power, capable of lifting a man from poverty to the throne, yet dangerous enough to destroy everything in its path. The tale leaves readers with an unsettling question about power, luck, and the cost of getting everything one desires.