The Tinderbox

The Tinderbox is a literary fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen about a soldier who acquires a magic tinderbox capable of summoning three powerful dogs to do his bidding. When the soldier has one of the dogs transport a sleeping princess to his room, he is sentenced to death but cunningly summons the dogs to save his life.

The tale has its source in a Scandinavian folk tale Andersen learned in his childhood, but similarities with Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp and other tales have been noted. The story was one of Andersen's first fairy tales, and was published on 8 May 1835.