The Little Match Seller

by Hans Christian Andersen (1846) 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 !oor little girl, with bare head and naked feet, roa"ed thro#gh the streets It is tr#e she had on a !air of sli!!ers when she left ho"e, b#t they were not of "#ch #se $hey were very large, so large, indeed, that they had belonged to her "other, and the !oor little creat#re had lost the" in r#nning across the street to avoid two carriages that were rolling along at a terrible rate %ne of the sli!!ers she co#ld not find, and a boy sei&ed #!on the other and ran away with it, saying that he co#ld #se it as a cradle, when he had children of his own 'o the little girl went on with her little naked feet, which were (#ite red and bl#e with the cold In an old a!ron she carried a n#"ber of "atches, and had a b#ndle of the" in her hands )o one had bo#ght anything off her the whole day, nor had any one given here even a !enny 'hivering with cold and h#nger, she cre!t along* !oor little child, she looked the !ict#re of "isery $he snowflakes fell on her long, fair hair, which h#ng in c#rls on her sho#lders, b#t she regarded the" not +ights were shining fro" every window, and there was a savory s"ell of roast goose, for it was )ew ,ear-s .ve / yes, she re"e"bered that In a corner, between two ho#ses, one of which !ro0ected beyond the other, she sank down and h#ddled herself together 'he had drawn her little feet #nder her, b#t she co#ld not kee! off the cold* and she dared not go ho"e, for she had sold no "atches, and co#ld not take ho"e even a !enny of "oney Her father wo#ld certainly beat her* besides, it was al"ost as cold at ho"e as here, for they had only the roof to cover the", thro#gh which the wind howled, altho#gh the largest holes had been sto!!ed #! with straw and rags Her little hands were al"ost fro&en with the cold Ah1 !erha!s a b#rning "atch "ight be so"e good, if she co#ld draw it fro" the b#ndle and strike it against the wall, 0#st to war" her fingers 'he drew one o#t / 2scratch13 how it s!#ttered as it b#rnt1 It gave a war", bright light, like a little candle, as she held her hand over it It was really a wonderf#l light It see"ed to the little girl that she was sitting by a large iron stove, with !olished brass feet and a brass orna"ent How the fire b#rned1 and see"ed so bea#tif#lly war" that the child stretched o#t her feet as if to war" the", when, lo1 the fla"e of the "atch went o#t, the stove vanished, and she had only the re"ains of the half4b#rnt "atch in her hand 'he r#bbed another "atch on the wall It b#rst into a fla"e, and where its light fell #!on the wall it beca"e as trans!arent as a veil, and she co#ld see into the roo" $he table was covered with a snowy white table4cloth, on which stood a s!lendid dinner service, and a stea"ing roast goose, st#ffed with a!!les and dried !l#"s And what was still "ore wonderf#l, the goose 0#"!ed down fro" the dish and waddled across the floor, with a knife and fork in its breast, to the little girl $hen the "atch went o#t, and there re"ained nothing b#t the thick, da"!, cold wall before her 'he lighted another "atch, and then she fo#nd herself sitting #nder a bea#tif#l Christ"as tree It was larger and "ore bea#tif#lly decorated than the one which she had seen thro#gh the glass door at the rich "erchant-s $ho#sands of ta!ers were b#rning #!on the green branches, and colored !ict#res, like those she had seen in the show4windows, looked down #!on it all $he little one stretched o#t her hand towards the", and the "atch went o#t $he Christ"as lights rose higher and higher, till they looked to her like the stars in the sky $hen she saw a star fall, leaving behind it a bright streak of fire 2'o"e one is dying,3 tho#ght the little girl, for her old grand"other, the only one who had ever loved her, and who was now dead, had told her that when a star falls, a so#l was going #! to 5od 'he again r#bbed a "atch on the wall, and the light shone ro#nd her* in the brightness stood her old grand"other, clear and shining, yet "ild and loving in her a!!earance 25rand"other,3 cried

the little one, 2% take "e with yo#* I know yo# will go away when the "atch b#rns o#t* yo# will vanish like the war" stove, the roast goose, and the large, glorio#s Christ"as tree 3 And she "ade haste to light the whole b#ndle of "atches, for she wished to kee! her grand"other there And the "atches glowed with a light that was brighter than the noon4day, and her grand"other had never a!!eared so large or so bea#tif#l 'he took the little girl in her ar"s, and they both flew #!wards in brightness and 0oy far above the earth, where there was neither cold nor h#nger nor !ain, for they were with 5od In the dawn of "orning there lay the !oor little one, with !ale cheeks and s"iling "o#th, leaning against the wall* she had been fro&en to death on the last evening of the year* and the )ew ,ear-s s#n rose and shone #!on a little cor!se1 $he child still sat, in the stiffness of death, holding the "atches in her hand, one b#ndle of which was b#rnt 2'he tried to war" herself,3 said so"e )o one i"agined what bea#tif#l things she had seen, nor into what glory she had entered with her grand"other, on )ew ,ear-s day