There was once a tin soldier who stood firmly on only one leg. He had been made last, and there hadn’t been enough melted tin to finish him. The table where he stood was covered with other playthings, but the most beautiful was a paper castle with the prettiest little lady, standing at the open door. She was also made of paper, and she wore a dress with a blue ribbon. In front was fixed a glittering tinsel rose. The lady was a dancer, and she stretched out her arms and raised one leg so high that the tin soldier thought that she also had only one leg. That is the wife for me, he thought. He hid behind a box so that he could secretly admire her.
When evening came, the people of the house went to bed, and the playthings began to play. Only the tin soldier and the dancer remained still. The tin soldier never took his eyes from the dancer. Suddenly, a black goblin jumped up.
“Tin soldier,” said the goblin, “don’t wish for what does not belong to you.”
But the tin soldier pretended not to hear.
“Very well, wait until tomorrow,” said the goblin.
The next morning, the children placed the tin soldier in the window. It might have been the wind or the goblin, but the window flew open, and out fell the tin soldier. The children searched but could not find him.
A storm came, but when it ended, two boys passed and noticed the tin soldier. They made a boat out of a newspaper and sent the soldier sailing down the gutter. The boat shot under a bridge, and then it was dark.
The soldier heard a terrible roaring sound. At the end of the tunnel, the drain fell into a large canal over a steep place, which made it as dangerous as a waterfall. He couldn’t stop, so the boat rushed on. The boat filled with water, and the paper became soft and loose until the water closed over the soldier’s head. He thought of the elegant little dancer, who he thought he would never see again.
When the soldier sank into the water, he was immediately swallowed by a fish. It was darker there than in the tunnel, but the tin soldier remained firm. The fish swam to and fro but then became quite still. After a while, the soldier saw light, and a voice cried, “Here is the tin soldier!”
The fish had been caught and sold to the cook, who had just cut him open. She carried the soldier into a room. Many were anxious to see this soldier who had traveled inside a fish. The cook placed him on a table, and there he was in the very same room from the window of which he had fallen! There was the pretty castle with the elegant little dancer at the door. The tin soldier was so happy to see her that he almost wept. He looked at her but remained silent.
Then, for no reason at all, one boy took up the tin soldier and threw him into the stove. The flames engulfed the tin soldier. He looked at the dancer, and she looked at him. Suddenly the door of the room flew open, and the air caught up the dancer. She fluttered right into the stove beside the soldier and was instantly in flames and gone. The tin soldier melted down into a lump, and the next morning, when the maid took the ashes out of the stove, she found him in the shape of a tin heart. Of the little dancer, only the tinsel rose remained.
adapted from "The Steadfast Tin Soldier" by Hans Christian Andersen
Which sentence shows an idea that would be important to include in a summary of this passage?
A.
"It was darker there than in the tunnel, but the tin soldier remained firm."
B.
"When evening came, the people of the house went to bed, and the playthings began to play."
C.
"Then, for no reason at all, one boy took up the tin soldier and threw him into the stove."
D.
"He had been made last, and there hadn't been enough melted tin to finish him."