“The Little Match Girl” is one of the most classic stories in Hans Christian Andersen’s fairy tales. It tells the tragic story of a poor little girl who sells matches barefoot in the street on a cold Christmas Eve, and eventually freezes to death on the street corner. However, in the last moments of her life, the glimmer of light from the matches allowed her to see images of warmth and happiness. This story is both heartbreaking and full of hope and imagination.
A cold Christmas night
It was a particularly cold winter night, and it was Christmas Eve. It was snowing heavily outside, and the streets were full of snowflakes. The rich people were celebrating the holiday at home, the windows were glowing with warm light, and the air was filled with the aroma of roast goose. But on such a night, there was a little girl walking alone in the street.
She is wearing thin clothes and has no shoes on her feet. When she went out in the morning, she was wearing a pair of big slippers – they were her mother’s old shoes. But when she crossed the road, a horse-drawn carriage suddenly rushed over, scaring her and making her lose one shoe. The other shoe was snatched away by a little boy, who joked, “When I grow up, I can use this shoe to make a cradle.”
The little girl’s feet were red and purple from the cold, and her hands were also frozen. Her apron pocket was full of matches, and she was clutching a bunch in her hand. But all day long, no one bought her matches, and she didn’t earn a single copper coin.
Despair without a home
It was getting dark and the wind was getting colder. The little girl felt exhausted and could no longer walk. She sat down in the corner between two houses and curled up. Despite this, she still felt the cold piercing her to the bone, and there was no warmth at all.
She was afraid to go home, because her father was grumpy and would beat her if he found out she had not earned any money that day. Besides, the house was leaking and as cold as the outside.
The helpless little girl finally took out a match and rubbed it against the wall. “Pfft!” The match ignited a bright flame, which brought her a moment of warmth. She carefully protected the precious flame with her hand, as if she were sitting in front of a warm stove. The stove was burning so fiercely that she even felt herself beginning to sweat.
But just as she reached out to warm her feet, the match went out. The warm stove disappeared, leaving only the cold reality.
The illusion of the match
In order to feel warm again, the little girl quickly polished the second match. This time, she saw the walls become transparent, as if she could see everything in the room. The table was covered in a white tablecloth, and it was full of delicate plates, bowls, and a fragrant roast goose.
The goose, which had a knife and fork stuck in it, jumped off the plate and staggered towards her! The little girl was so excited, she was ready to enjoy a sumptuous dinner. But at that moment, the match went out. All that was left was a cold wall and snowflakes falling from the sky.
Then the little girl struck a third match. This time, she found herself sitting under a beautiful Christmas tree. Thousands of candles were twinkling on the green branches. The tree was decorated with sparkling gifts, just like the ones in the shop windows.
The little girl reaches out to touch the presents, but the match goes out again. The candles on the tree grow higher and higher, until they become countless bright little stars. One of the stars streaks across the sky, leaving a long red trail.
“Someone is going to die,” the little girl whispers. She remembers what her grandmother once told her: when a star falls from the sky, someone on earth will die.
One last wish
Thinking of this, the little girl struck a fourth match. This time, her kind old grandmother appeared in the light. She was the only person in the world who loved the little girl, but she had sadly passed away long ago.
“Grandma! Please take me with you!” the little girl cried excitedly. ”I know that when the match goes out, you will disappear too, just like the warm stove, the delicious roast goose and the beautiful Christmas tree.”
In order to keep her grandmother, the little girl quickly struck all the remaining matches. The matches gave off a strong light that illuminated the whole world. The old grandmother bent down, smiled and picked up the little girl in her arms. Together they slowly rose up into the air and flew to a place where there was no more cold, no more hunger and no more pain.
Morning discovery
The next morning, the New Year’s sun rose. People found a little girl sitting in the corner, already frozen to death. A smile hung on her lips, and she was holding a few burnt matchsticks in her hand.
The sun shone on her small, cold body, making it look even more miserable. Someone sighed, “Poor child, she must have wanted to warm herself a little.”
But no one knew what the little girl had seen just before she died. She had already flown with her grandmother to a happy paradise, where she would never feel cold or lonely.
A message for children: Treasure the happiness you have
Dear friends, this story is sad, but it reminds us to treasure the present. We may have a warm house, enough food, and a family that loves us. These may seem like ordinary things, but for some people they are dreams that are far out of reach.
At the same time, this story also makes us understand that even if life is difficult, we must believe in the existence of hope. Just as the little girl saw beautiful visions through the matches, we can also use our imagination to find the light and warmth in life.
If you like this story, please share it with more people so that more people can understand its meaning.
