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The Little Match-Seller

It was terribly cold and nearly dark on the last evening of the old year, and the snow was falling fast. In the cold and the darkness, a poor little girl, with bare head and naked feet, roamed through the streets. It is true she had on a pair of slippers when she left home, but they were not of much use. They were very large, so large, indeed, that they had belonged to her mother, and the poor little creature had lost them in running across the street to avoid two carriages that were rolling along at a terrible rate. One of the slippers she could not find, and a boy seized upon the other and ran away with it, saying that he could use it as a cradle, when he had children of his own. So the little girl went on with her little naked feet, which were quite red and blue with the cold.

In an old apron she carried a number of matches, and had a bundle of them in her hands. No one had bought anything of her the whole day, nor had any one given here even a penny. Shivering with cold and hunger, she crept along; poor little child, she looked the picture of misery. The snowflakes fell on her long, fair hair, which hung in curls on her shoulders, but she regarded them not.

Lights were shining from every window, and there was a savory smell of roast goose, for it was New-year's eve - yes, she remembered that. In a corner, between two houses, one of which projected beyond the other, she sank down and huddled herself together. She had drawn her little feet under her, but she could not keep off the cold; and she dared not go home, for she had sold no matches, and could not take home even a penny of money. Her father would certainly beat her; besides, it was almost as cold at home as here, for they had only the roof to cover them, through which the wind howled, although the largest holes had been stopped up with straw and rags.

Her little hands were almost frozen with the cold. Ah! perhaps a burning match might be some good, if she could draw it from the bundle and strike it against the wall, just to warm her fingers.

She drew one out - "scratch!" how it sputtered as it burnt! It gave a warm, bright light, like a little candle, as she held her hand over it. It was really a wonderful light. It seemed to the little girl that she was sitting by a large iron stove, with polished brass feet and a brass ornament. How the fire burned! and seemed so beautifully warm that the child stretched out her feet as if to warm them, when, lo! the flame of the match went out, the stove vanished, and she had only the remains of the half-burnt match in her hand.

She rubbed another match on the wall. It burst into a flame, and where its light fell upon the wall it became as transparent as a veil, and she could see into the room. The table was covered with a snowy white table-cloth, on which stood a splendid dinner service, and a steaming roast goose, stuffed with apples and dried plums. And what was still more wonderful, the goose jumped down from the dish and waddled across the floor, with a knife and fork in its breast, to the little girl. Then the match went out, and there remained nothing but the thick, damp, cold wall before her.

She lighted another match, and then she found herself sitting under a beautiful Christmas-tree. It was larger and more beautifully decorated than the one which she had seen through the glass door at the rich merchant's. Thousands of tapers were burning upon the green branches, and colored pictures, like those she had seen in the show-windows, looked down upon it all. The little one stretched out her hand towards them, and the match went out.

The Christmas lights rose higher and higher, till they looked to her like the stars in the sky. Then she saw a star fall, leaving behind it a bright streak of fire. "Some one is dying," thought the little girl, for her old grandmother, the only one who had ever loved her, and who was now dead, had told her that when a star falls, a soul was going up to God.

She again rubbed a match on the wall, and the light shone round her; in the brightness stood her old grandmother, clear and shining, yet mild and loving in her appearance.

"Grandmother," cried the little one, "O take me with you; I know you will go away when the match burns out; you will vanish like the warm stove, the roast goose, and the large, glorious Christmas-tree."

And she made haste to light the whole bundle of matches, for she wished to keep her grandmother there. And the matches glowed with a light that was brighter than the noon-day, and her grandmother had never appeared so large or so beautiful. She took the little girl in her arms, and they both flew upwards in brightness and joy far above the earth, where there was neither cold nor hunger nor pain, for they were with God.

In the dawn of morning there lay the poor little one, with pale cheeks and smiling mouth, leaning against the wall; she had been frozen to death on the last evening of the year; and the New-year's sun rose and shone upon a little corpse! The child still sat, in the stiffness of death, holding the matches in her hand, one bundle of which was burnt.

"She tried to warm herself," said some.

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No one imagined what beautiful things she had seen, nor into what glory she had entered with her grandmother, on New-year's day.

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Average: 3.5 (4 votes)

Comments

Submitted by admin on Wed, 06/30/2004 - 10:24

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Laughing at the last comment..ha ha ha... she didnt deserve it, she was a little girl from a troubled home... I know exactly what it was like to run away from a troubled home..been there, done that.. great story...

Submitted by admin on Tue, 07/27/2004 - 00:03

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I think the story is kinda horrible..! yes very well written, descriptively and showing the imagination of a young girl, but I would never want to read it to kids! thers possibly some symbolism im not getting..

Submitted by admin on Sat, 06/25/2005 - 07:16

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H. Andersen The Little Match Seller. I have heard some time about this story, but I never read. After, I read. It realy tuoch my heart that like one raped my heart. It made me think more about poor and young peoples in the world have left away. They are hungry, thirst,desease... Why so many rich people never think about this. Yuo are so rich , but when you pass away, you bring nothing with you. "POOR" RICH PERSON. FROM bILL VO.

Submitted by admin on Sun, 11/06/2005 - 06:23

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it is a very beautiful and diferent story not everything in the life has happy end and i like anderson`s taled for this reason because they are realistic and filled with hope for better life and compassion.They learn us to be better and not thinking only for ourselves.

Submitted by admin on Sun, 11/20/2005 - 23:05

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I think it is a great story. I think the ending is a happy ending in its own way. The little girl gets to go be with her grandmother. She said herself that her grandmother was the only one that loved her. I think it would have been sadder for her to wake up and be back at home with her mean dad that would have beaten her for not selling the matches. Specially for using them herself.

Submitted by admin on Tue, 08/01/2006 - 22:47

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the little match girl was a story wrote and meant for that century, to say she deserved it is harsh, i wonder and would like to find out if the man himself, hans, saw this kind of thing in his life to write so poignantly about it. its my best story ever because in those days of story writing they oviously wrote to the core without the guidlines of today, it is sad and thats what its meant to be of that time and i have cried whenever ive read it and i wud read it to my daughter and she would appreciate the horror of living in those times but also the loveliness of the extended family member that came to bring the girl to heaven.
the story is harsh but deals with what we all have to face at some time in life, the death of a child and i have been through that so found it strangely comforting also the thought that my gran is taking care of my son in heaven, Dont be so critical it was written in the 18th century remember!!!

Submitted by admin on Tue, 09/26/2006 - 16:32

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I loved this story! I really loved how every time the little girl lit a different match a new image would appear. Finally, when she found one she enjoyed over the others she lit the entire batch in order for her grandma to stay! I really enjoyed the ending as well.

Great Job!

Submitted by admin on Tue, 07/03/2007 - 08:41

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It was good and quite different. Only one piece of action but the story was quite sad. Thought it was a bit slow which made it bit boring. A bit dull with only the one character. A bit predictable at times. Thought it was quite clever how it was written.
From class 5 Crofon

Submitted by admin on Wed, 07/04/2007 - 08:29

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Nice

Submitted by admin on Mon, 07/23/2007 - 16:30

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I think it is a very touching story that supports the idea of being grateful for what you have beacuse some people dont have anything at all. This is a story that reaches your heart and that is extremely difficult to forget.

Submitted by admin on Fri, 10/26/2007 - 14:10

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This is a heart warming story,i hope that the author
write more stories just like this one.Well i think he/she
did already but i didnt get to see/hear about them
just yet.Well,here is some advice to a new reader:
1.)read it ,
2.)and love it.

THANKS FOR LISTENING:
CRYSTAL

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