Chapter 26 Soldiers and Tinderbox
Tinderbox!
The familiar term suddenly awakened Rhine's memories.
"Call her back!"
Rhine was reminded of the classic Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale "The Tinderbox," sometimes called "The Soldier and the Tinderbox."
In this story, an ordinary soldier, with the help of a witch, obtains gold and a magic tinderbox from a tree hole.
But the soldier did not hand over the tinderbox to the witch as agreed. Instead, he killed the witch who told him the secret and kept the tinderbox for himself.
Later, with the help of the magic power of the tinderbox, he gained wealth, killed the old king, became the new king, and married the old king's daughter, a beautiful princess who was imprisoned deep in the palace.
The plot is a standard "loser counterattack after picking up the golden finger" plot, and the ending is not unexpected.
And the witch who went to find the tinderbox now was Granny Rosa!
"I saw it. I saw a dangerous future. Grandma Rosa might be in danger!" Rhine said seriously.
"But she has been gone for a while...she may not be able to catch up..." The Violet Fairy's face was clouded with gloom.
…
Most of the day ago.
On the road at the border of the kingdom.
A hunchbacked, white-haired old witch looked at the hollow of a tree beside the road and shouted, "Did you get the tinderbox?"
This old witch was none other than Granny Rosa.
This 173-year-old witch has lived in the forest for a long time, rarely going out, and rarely shows up in front of the public in the kingdom. Only other witches and princes and nobles know her.
Among the 13 good witches in the kingdom, Rosa's magic is the least good at fighting.
But she also had her own strengths—from time to time she could hear some wonderful whispers that contained useful knowledge.
Not long ago, a whisper told Granny Rosa a secret involving a secret room left by an ancient legendary magician and a powerful magical item in the secret room - a tinderbox.
This secret room is guarded by three magical and terrifying creatures, and the tinderbox is the prop that controls them. Its value far exceeds all the gold and silver in the secret room. It is a priceless treasure! "Her Royal Highness Princess Aurora is destined to become a heroic rider. Ordinary war horses cannot withstand her battles. The magical creatures summoned by the tinderbox are just suitable to be her mount! "Hahaha, I didn't expect that I, an old thing who has lived for hundreds of years and has no strengths, also contributed to defeating the black witch Maleficent.
"When I get the tinderbox, I will give it to Aurora as a present for her tenth birthday. Oh, I wonder how happy she will be when she receives this present."
Granny Rosa imagined the process of giving the tinderbox to Aurora, and suddenly smiled. Her wrinkles were squeezed together by the smile, and became deeper, like the marks left by the wind and frost of the years.
In her mind, Aurora's beautiful face and the girl's beautiful singing voice like the sound of nature emerged.
——Aurora's voice, which makes people indulge in it and cannot be extricated, was the gift she personally gave to the little princess at the baptism ceremony 10 years ago.
The voice in her ear also told Granny Rosa the method to "pass" the secret room, which involves a strange magic ritual - as long as she finds the first person dressed as a soldier she sees on this road on the right day and gives him the blue plaid apron after the spell is cast, the magical creatures guarding the secret room will be kept in check and they can take the money and tinderbox without hindrance.
Of course, Grandma Rosa wouldn't ask others to help her for nothing.
As long as they can get the tinderbox, it doesn't matter if they give all the money in the tree hole to the soldiers.
"The gold in the tree hole is definitely a windfall for an ordinary soldier!
"He can live a good life, eat good food, live in a good house, and use the remaining money to marry a wife who is in love with him, have his own family and children, and live a carefree life like this."
There were sporadic noises coming from under the tree hole, and from time to time there were soldiers' exclamations and laughter.
It seems that everything is progressing in an orderly manner... Grandma Rosa thought.
At this moment, the soldier's voice came from under the tree hole: "I got the tinderbox, pull me up quickly!"
Granny Rosa pulled the soldier out.
The soldiers' pockets, boots, marching bags, and hats were all filled with gold and silver coins.
"Well, thank you, handsome and strong soldier. Now all the gold belongs to you, and give me the tinderbox." Grandma Rosa smiled.
The next second, Granny Rosa's eyes widened.
The soldier's sword pierced her chest.
As a 173-year-old woman, Rosa was too slow to even react.
The soldier drew his sword with all his might.
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The crimson blood gushed out like a fountain, hot as fire.
"This old witch cares so much about this tinderbox, it must be a good thing! Now it belongs to me!"
The soldier laughed.
Then, taking the tinderbox and money, humming a cheerful tune, he went straight to the city.
Lying in a pool of blood, the 173-year-old man had his mouth open, not yet recovered from the shock of the sudden attack.
Her eyes bulged and widened wider than ever.
The soldier's back was reflected in her pupils, and she watched him walk further and further away with the tinderbox.
She didn't expect that the soldiers could be so greedy.
The soldier walked further and further away, muttering quietly as he walked:
"If what the Ender prisoner said is true, and the kingdom is really cursed, and disaster will strike in a few years, then I can only enjoy it for a year or two, and then I will have to start escaping from this doomed country..."
Ten minutes later.
After making sure that the soldiers had completely gone away, the old witch, who was lying in a pool of blood and should have been dead, suddenly opened her eyes again.
Rewrote this chapter and completely changed the perspective.
(End of this chapter)