The girl with the matches. Christmas story for children
The little match, also known as The little matchmaker or The little match seller is a classic tale for children written by the Danish poet Hans Christian Andersen. The story happens at Christmas, and although of a sad ending, we can extract a moral from the story. It is a lesson in compassion about
The little match, also known as The little matchmaker or The little match seller is a classic tale for children written by the Danish poet Hans Christian Andersen.
The story happens at Christmas, and although of a sad ending, we can extract a moral from the story. It is a lesson in compassion about those people who are less fortunate than us.
The little match seller. Christmas stories
How cold it was! It was snowing and beginning to get dark; It was the last night of the year, the night of San Silvestre. Under that cold and in that darkness, a poor girl walked by the street, barefoot and with her head uncovered ... Truth is that when she left her house she wore slippers, but what did they do for her?
It was a pair of slippers that his mother had worn recently, and the baby was so big that she lost them running across the street to get rid of two cars that were coming at full speed.
There was no way to find one of the shoes, and the other one had been put on by a boy, who said he would make her a cradle on the day she had children. And so the poor thing went barefoot with the bare feet completely bruised by the cold.
In an old apron was a handful of matches, and a package in one hand. All day nobody had bought him anything, nor had he given him a miserable shilling; she went home hungry and half frozen, and she looked so dejected, poor thing!
The snowflakes fell on her long blonde hair, whose beautiful curls covered her neck. At an angle formed by two houses-one more salient than the other-he sat on the floor and curled up in a ball .I shrugged my feet as much as possible, but the cold was invading her, and, on the other hand, I did not dare to go home, since I had not sold a match or collected a sad penny. His father would beat him, besides that it was cold at home too; only the roof sheltered them, and the wind came in everywhere, despite the straw and rags with which they had tried to cover the cracks.
My hands were almost cold with cold. Oh, a match would surely relieve her! If he dared to take one out of the bunch, rub it against the wall and warm his fingers! And he got one: "Ritch!" How it sparkled and how it burned! He gave a clear flame, warm, like a little light, when he waved it with his hand;
a wonderful light. It seemed to the little girl who was sitting by a large iron stove, with brass bells and feet; the fire burned magnificently inside, and it warmed so well!
The girl extended her feet to warm them in turn , but the flame went out, the stove vanished, and she remained seated, with the rest of the consumed match in her hand.He lit another, which, as it burned and cast its light on the wall, returned to this transparent as if it were gauze, and the girl could see the interior of a room where the table was placed, covered with a white cloth and fine porcelain .
A roasted duck steamed deliciously, stuffed with plums and apples. And the best part of the case was that the duck jumped out of the fountain and, swinging on the ground with a fork and a knife behind his back, went to the poor little girl. But at that moment the phosphorus was extinguished, leaving only the thick, cold wall visible.
The girl lit a third match, and found herself sitting under a beautiful Christmas tree. He was even taller and more beautiful than the one who saw the last Christmas Eve, through the glass door, in the house of the rich merchant. Thousands of candles burned on the green branches, and painted pictures hung from them, similar to those that adorned the shop windows. The little girl raised both arms ... and then the match went out.
All the little lights went back to the top, and she realized that they were the shining stars of the sky; one of them detached itself and traced a long trail of fire in the sky. Al - Someone is dying- the girl thought, because her grandmother, the only person who had loved her, but who was already dead, had said to her:
- When a star falls, a soul rises towards God.
He rubbed a new match against the wall; the immediate space was illuminated, and the old granny appeared, radiant, sweet and affectionate.
- Granny! exclaimed the little girl. Take me with you! I know you'll leave too when the match goes out, just like the stove, the roast and the Christmas tree went.
He hastened to light the matches he had left, eager not to lose his grandmother; and the matches shone brighter than daylight. N
unca granny had been so tall and so beautiful; took the girl in the arm and wrapped in a great glow, filled with joy, took flight to the heights, without the small felt cold, hunger or fear. They were in the mansion of God Our Lord. En But in the corner of the house, the cold dawn discovered the little girl, cheeks red, and smiling mouth ... Dead, dead of cold on the last night of the Old Year.
The first morning of the New Year illuminated the little corpse, sitting, with its matches, a small packet of which appeared almost completely consumed. "He wanted to warm up!" People said. Nadie But nobody knew the wonders he had seen, nor the splendor with which, in the company of his elderly grandmother, had risen to the glory of the New Year.
FIN
