There was a very old house in a street. A boy liked this house very much. An old man was living in that house.

The old man always looked out of the window. That's why they made a friendship with each other. The next Sunday morning, the boy visited the old house, and he talked to the old man.

"I have two toy soldiers, and this is one of them. I will give you one, because you look so lonely. ""Little friend, thank you for giving me such a nice gift and visiting me." The old man welcomed the boy and said.

The old man and the boy were so happy together. But the toy soldier started to complain. "I can't stand this house any more. I am too lonely and bored in this house." "Don't be sad. Instead, this house is beautiful, isn't it?"

"I am sick and tired everyday¹ in here."" You have to stay here because you were the gift for my friend. Don't you understand that?" "I will go to a battlefield²." The toy soldier yelled³. The toy soldier fell to the ground, but nobody could find him.

"I will find where he is." But he couldn't find the toy soldier. It was too far away to be found. After dark the boy went back to his house. When the winter came, the old man died. A few days later after the old man's death, the old house was cleared away and a new house was built in that place. After many years, the little boy grew into a young man, and he married⁴. He moved to the old man's house with a beautiful garden.

"Ouch! What is this?" His wife shouted out in pain. There was something sharp⁵ on the ground. Can you guess what it was? It was the toy soldier that he and the old man had been searching for. "Let me see."

The boy, now a grown-up⁶, looked at the toy soldier carefully and smiled.