When Tad reached the home of Dick and Dorothy and found neither of the children was in, and when he saw his mother and Dorothy’s mother talking together, Tad wandered about by himself to find something with which he could have fun. And the first thing he saw was the box of Tin Soldiers.
“Oh, now I can have some fun!” cried Tad.
He opened the box and took out the Bold Tin Captain. Then he took out the other Soldiers, the Sergeant, the Corporal and all the men.
‘’Ha! Now I can have a battle!’’ cried Tad, and he threw all the Soldiers in a heap on the floor.
“Oh, my, this little fellow is a dreadful chap!” thought the Captain. “If he isn’t careful he will break some of us.”
“I’m glad we don’t belong to him!” thought the Sergeant.
Still the Soldiers could do nothing, nor could they say anything, as Tad was there looking at them with his big, blue eyes. And Tad did more than look. He handled the Tin Soldiers very roughly.
The carpet was so soft that when they were thrown out of their box they were not hurt, but as Tad grew rougher and rougher as he handled the Captain and his men, the Bold Tin Soldier began to be very much worried.
“Stand up there!” cried Tad, and he jabbed the Soldiers, one after the other, down very hard on the carpet. Now the carpet, being soft and thick, was not a very good place for the Soldiers to stand on. They fell over very easily, and, seeing this, Tad cried:
“Stand up there!”