卖火柴的小女孩英文版

The Little Match Girl

by Hans Christian Anderson

Once

upon

a

time

.

.

.

a

little

girl

tried

to

make

a

living

by

selling

matches

in the street.

It

was New

Year's

Eve

and

the

snowclad

streets

were

deserted.

From

brightly

lit windows came the tinkle of laughter and the sound of singing. People

were

getting

ready

to

bring

in

the

New

Year.

But

the

poor

little

matchseller

sat sadly beside the fountain.

Her ragged

dress and worn shawl did not keep

out the cold and she tried to keep her bare feet from touching the frozen

ground. She hadn't sold one box of matches all day and she was frightened

to go home, for her father would certainly be angry. It wouldn't be much

warmer anyway, in the draughty attic that was her home. The little girl's

fingers

were

stiff

with

cold.

If

only

she

could

light

a

match!

But

what

would

her father say at such a waste! Falteringly she took out a match and lit

it. What a nice

warm flame!

The little

matchseller cupped her hand over it,

and as she did so, she magically saw in its light a big brightly burning

stove.

She held out her hands to the heat, but just then the match went out and

the vision faded. The night seemed blacker than before and it was getting

colder. A shiver ran through the little girl's thin body.

After hesitating

for

a long

time,

she struck

another match on the wall, and

this

time,

the

glimmer

turned

the

wall

into

a

great

sheet

of

crystal.

Beyond

that stood a fine table laden with food and lit by a candlestick. Holding

out her arms towards the plates, the little matchseller seemed to pass

through the glass, but then the match went out and the magic faded. Poor

thing: in just a few seconds she had caught a glimpse of everything that

life had denied her: warmth and good things to eat. Her eyes filled with

tears

and

she

lifted

her

gaze

to

the

lit

windows,

praying

that

she

too

might

know a little of such happiness.

She lit the third match and an even more wonderful thing happened. There

stood

a

Christmas

tree

hung

with

hundreds

of

candles,

glittering

with

tinsel

and coloured balls.