
audiobook
A weary father, torn between duty and the aching pull of home, wanders the rain‑slick streets of an industrial city. His young son, bright‑faced in a makeshift officer’s uniform, bursts with the simple demand for toy soldiers, pulling the man from a somber reverie about war, desertion, and the weight of his own obligations. The father’s steps lead him past crumbling storefronts and a modest boarding school, where a shy glance from a delicate young woman hints at an unexpected connection amidst the gloom.
As he reaches the unassuming toy shop, the promise of miniature soldiers and imagined battles offers a fleeting escape for both father and son. The shop becomes a quiet crossroads where the harsh realities of conflict meet the tender yearning for innocence, friendship, and perhaps a budding romance. Listeners are drawn into a world where the clatter of toy soldiers masks deeper questions about duty, love, and the longing for peace.
Language
en
Duration
~40 minutes (39K characters)
Publisher of text edition
Project Gutenberg
Credits
Produced by David Edwards, Paula J. Franzini and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive)
Release date
2012-05-28
Rights
Public domain in the USA.

1870–1939
A Washington, D.C.–born novelist and short-story writer, she is especially remembered for fiction and nonfiction tied to Abraham Lincoln. Her career also reached beyond books: she later served on the Board of Education in Washington, D.C.
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