“The Little Match Girl.” Fairy tales from Hans Christian Andersen, Hans Christian Andersen, London: Dent, New York: Dutton, 1904, pp. 178-181.
Tale Summary
One New Year’s Eve, a poor little girl wandered barefoot through the streets in the bitter cold. She was carrying a box of matches to sell, but no one bought any all day, and she dared not go home empty-handed because her father would beat her. She crouched down and lit a match because her hands were almost frozen, and when it lit, she fancied that she was sitting in front of a big stove. The match burnt out just when she imagined that she was stretching her feet out to be warmed. She struck up a new one, and felt that she could see a roast goose on a set table, which waddled across the floor to her until the match went out. She lit another, and found herself under a Christmas tree. When the match burned out she looked at the sky and saw a shooting star, and remembered that her grandmother had told her that when a star falls, a soul is going up to god. The old woman appeared to her with the next match she struck. The girl didn’t want her to disappear and hastily struck a whole bundle of matches to keep her from fading like the oven, the goose, and the christmas tree. She was taken into her grandmother’s arms and together they soared in a halo of light and joy far above the earth to be with god. Her little body was found the next morning, New Year’s Day, frozen to death with a fistful of burnt out matches in her hand. People said she must have tried to warm herself, but no one knew the wonderful visions she had.
Fairy Tale Title
The Little Match Girl
Fairy Tale Author(s)/Editor(s)
Hans Christian Anderson
Fairy Tale Illustrator(s)
Common Tale Type
Tale Classification
Page Range of Tale
pp. 178-181
Full Citation of Tale
“The Little Match Girl.” Fairy tales from Hans Christian Andersen, Hans Christian Andersen, London: Dent, New York: Dutton, 1904, pp. 178-181.
Original Source of the Tale
Tale Notes
Research and Curation
Kaeli Waggener, 2023
Book Title
Fairy tales from Hans Christian Andersen
Book Author/Editor(s)
Hans Christian Andersen
Illustrator(s)
Publisher
Dent, Dutton
Date Published
1904
Decade Published
1900-1909
Publisher City
London, New York
Publisher Country
United Kingdom, United States
Language
English
Rights
Public Domain