by Hans Christian Andersen
Chapter One: A Cold Night
It is a cold night. Snow falls. The wind blows. It is the last day of the year.
A little girl walks in the street. She has no hat. She has no shoes. She is very cold. Her feet are red and blue.
She has big slippers, but she loses them. One slipper falls in the snow. A boy takes the other one and runs away.
The girl has many matches in her apron. She holds one bundle in her hand. She tries to sell them.
“Do you want a match?” she asks.
“No, thank you,” people say.
No one buys a match. No one gives her money. She eats nothing all day.
She is cold. She is hungry. She sits in a corner near a wall. She puts her feet close to her body. She does not want to go home.
“Father hits me if I sell nothing,” she says. The house is also cold. The roof is broken.
She takes out one match. She lights it. “Rischt!” The match burns. It is warm.
“Oh, this is nice,” she says. She sees a big stove. The stove is hot. Her hands are warm. She puts out her feet.
But then the match goes out. The stove is gone. She holds only a used match.
Chapter 2: The Roast Goose and the Tree
The little girl lights a second match. The wall becomes like glass. She sees a table.
A white cloth is on the table. A roast goose is on a big plate. It smells good.
The goose jumps from the plate. It has a knife and fork in it. It walks to the girl.
“Oh! It is for me!” she says. But the match goes out. The goose is gone.
She lights a third match. Now she sees a big Christmas tree. It has lights. It has pictures.
The lights go up. They are stars in the sky. One star falls.
The girl says, “Someone dies. My grandmother tells me this.” Her grandmother is the only person who loves her. But now she is gone.
The girl lights another match. Her grandmother comes. She is bright and kind.
“Grandmother!” says the girl.
“Please, take me with you!”
Chapter 3: The Last Match
The little girl holds the match. She looks at her grandmother. Her grandmother smiles.
“Please don’t go,” says the girl.
“Take me with you! I don’t want to stay here.”
She lights all the matches at once. They shine bright like the sun. Now the girl is warm.
Her grandmother takes her hand. She picks her up. They fly into the sky.
They go higher and higher. The girl is not cold. She is not hungry. She is not afraid.
They are with God.
In the morning, people see her. She sits in the corner. She has red cheeks. She smiles. She is dead.
“She wants to warm herself,” people say.
They do not know her dream. They do not know her joy. No one sees her fly with her grandmother.