om the oral storytelling traditions of various cultures, cobbling them together to form a plete narrative.

直到 1837 年《小美人魚》出版之後，他才完全依靠自己的想象力來創作童話故事。

It was only after the publication of “the Little mermaid” in 1837 that he relied fully on his own powers of imagination to construct fairy tales.

《打火匣》中計程車兵主角與格林兄弟和其他歐洲收集者的故事中的退伍軍人有許多共同特徵。

the soldier - hero of “the tinderbox” shares many traits with war veterans found in stories by the Grimms and other European collectors.

他殘忍、貪婪又衝動，對於聽這個故事的孩子來說，他算不上是個好榜樣。

brutal, greedy, and impetuous, he is not much of a role model for children listening to the story.

事實上，關於戰後歸來士兵的故事通常是面向成年觀眾而非兒童的，不過安徒生新增了足夠的魔法和奇思妙想，使這個故事對老少都有吸引力。

Indeed, stories about soldiers returning from war were generally intended for adult audiences rather than for children, although Andersen adds enough magic and whimsy to make the tale attractive for young and old.

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一個士兵正沿著大路行軍：

A soldier came marching along the high road:

“左，右 —— 左，右。”

“Left, right — left, right.”

他揹著揹包，腰間佩劍；

he had his knapsack on his back, and a sword at his side;

他參加過戰爭，現在正在回家的路上。

he had been to the wars, and was now returning home.

當他繼續前行時，在路上遇到了一個長相非常可怕的老巫婆。

As he walked on, he met a very frightful - looking old witch in the road.

她的下唇耷拉到胸前，她停下來說道：“晚上好，士兵；

her under - lip hung quite down on her breast, and she stopped and said, “Good evening, soldier