It was freezing, it was snowing, the street was getting darker and darker. It was just on New Year's Eve. Into this cold and dark, a poor girl, bare-headed and barefoot, made her way through the streets. True, she left the house in her shoes, but where did they go! Huge, enormous! The last one was worn by the girl's mother, and they flew off the baby's feet as she ran across the street, frightened by two carriages rushing past. She never found one shoe, but a boy picked up another and ran away with her, saying that she would make an excellent cradle for his children when he had them.
And so, the girl wandered on barefoot; her legs were completely reddened and blue from the cold. In an old apron she had several packs of sulfur matches; one pack she held in her hand. For the whole day no one bought a match from her; she didn't get a penny out. Hungry, chilled, she walked farther, farther ... It was a pity to look at the poor thing! Snowflakes fell on her beautiful, curly, blond hair, but she did not even think about this beauty. Lights shone in all the windows, and the streets smelled of fried geese; today, after all, was New Year's Eve - that was what she was thinking.
Finally, she sat down in a corner, behind the ledge of a house, cowered and pulled her legs under her in order to warm herself a little. But no, it got even colder, and she did not dare to return home: she, after all, did not sell a single match, did not help out a penny - her father would beat her! And it's not warmer at home! It’s just a roof over your head, otherwise the wind walks all over the house, despite the fact that all the cracks and holes are carefully plugged with straw and rags. Her hands were completely numb. Oh! one tiny match could keep her warm! If only she dared to take at least one from the pack, strike it against the wall and warm her fingers! Finally, she pulled out one. Chirk! How she hissed and burst into flames! The flame was so warm, clear, and when the girl covered it from the wind with a handful, it seemed to her that a candle was burning in front of her. It was a strange candle: the girl fancied that she was sitting in front of a large iron stove with shiny copper legs and doors. How gloriously the fire burned in her, how warm the baby became! She stretched out her legs as well, but ... the fire went out. The stove disappeared, and only the burnt end of the match remained in the girl's hands.
Here she struck another; the match caught fire, its flame fell directly on the wall, and the wall suddenly became transparent, like a muslin. The girl saw the whole room, a table covered with a snow-white tablecloth and a table lined with expensive china, and on it a fried goose stuffed with prunes and apples. What a smell came from him! The best thing was that the goose suddenly jumped off the table and, as it was with a fork and a knife in its back, ran waddling straight to the girl. Then the match went out, and again there was one thick, cold wall in front of the girl.
She lit another match and found herself under a magnificent Christmas tree, much larger and more elegant than the one that the girl saw on Christmas Eve, looking through the window of a rich merchant's house. The tree burned with thousands of lights, and from the green of the branches motley pictures peeped out at the girl, which she had seen before in the windows of shops. The baby held out both hands to the tree, but the match went out, the lights began to rise higher and higher, and turned into clear stars; one of them suddenly rolled across the sky, leaving a long trail of fire behind it.
Someone is dying! - said the baby.
The late grandmother, the only creature who loved her in the world, told her: "An asterisk falls - someone's soul goes to God."
The girl struck a new match against the wall; bright light illuminated the space, and in front of the baby stood all surrounded by radiance, so clear, brilliant, and at the same time so meek and gentle, her grandmother.
Grandmother! - cried the baby: - \u200b\u200bTake me with you! I know that you will leave, as soon as the match goes out, you will leave like a warm stove, a wonderful roast goose and a big, glorious Christmas tree!
And she hastily struck with all the rest of the matches that were in her hands - so she wanted to keep her grandmother. And the matches burst into flame with such a bright flame that it became brighter than day. Never before has my grandmother been so beautiful, so majestic! She took the girl in her arms, and they flew together, in radiance and glitter, high, high, to where there is no cold, no hunger, no fear - to God!
In the cold morning hour, in the corner behind the house, the girl with pink cheeks and a smile on her lips was still sitting, but she was dead. She froze on the last evening of the old year; the New Year's sun lit up a small corpse. The girl was sitting with matches; one pack was almost completely burnt.
She wanted to warm up, poor thing! - people said.
But no one knew what she saw, in what brilliance she ascended, together with her grandmother, to New Year's joys into heaven!
Illustration: Vilhelm Pedersen
» » Girl with matches. G.H. Andersen
The last day of the year was coming to an end. It was getting dark. Snow was falling. Thousands of delicacies were displayed in the glittering shop windows, but pedestrians rarely paid attention to them: everyone wanted to be in warm houses as soon as possible.
A poorly dressed girl, barefoot, wrapped in an old shawl, walked sadly down the street. In the pocket of the little girl's patched apron were matchboxes. The poor woman tried to sell her wares, but people avoided her. For the whole day, the girl did not manage to sell a single box, and she was afraid to return home without money.
I'm so tired, the girl thought, but I can't go home. My stepfather will beat me, because today I did not earn anything. How lonely I am ... There is no longer either my dear mother or my dear grandmother ... "
The girl stopped at the tavern and looked out the window. Ah, what a juicy fried chicken was on the table! The girl imagined how nice it would be now to drink a cup of hot chicken broth ... But then the owner came to the threshold of the tavern and shouted rudely:
- Get out! Beggars have nothing to do here. Go away, ragged girl!
The poor thing stepped aside, and a richly dressed gentleman with a girl in a beautiful cloak came out of the tavern. They got into a carriage that had pulled up, and it soon disappeared from sight.
The little girl was completely cold. Trying to hide from the wind and snow, she hid in a corner behind the ledge of the house, pressed herself against the cold stone wall and hid her frozen legs under a torn skirt.
“I'll light one match and get a little warm,” she decided. “The stepfather won't notice. One match is so little ...
A faint light lit up her pale face, then it flared up more, and a large cast-iron stove appeared in its flame. The girl even felt her heat.
- How good! Finally I get warm! - she exclaimed.
But at that moment the light went out, and with it the stove disappeared. The poor thing became dark and cold again.
- So I dreamed everything? The girl said sadly. - I'll light another match. Maybe the dream will return?
A timid blue light flared up, and in its radiance the girl saw the set table. A stuffed turkey lay on a platter in the center of the table, a basket of candied fruit and a huge cream cake towered beside it.
Logs crackled comfortably in the fireplace, and two chairs, upholstered in green velvet, seemed to be waiting for someone to sit in them.
- What a beautiful house! What a delicious meal! Exclaimed the little match-seller. - Maybe there is a place at this table for me too?
But then the match went out and the room disappeared. Cold and gloom surrounded the girl again.
“We must quickly light a new match! I want to get into that wonderful world again, at least for a little while, ”the baby decided.
She lit another match and waited with a beating heart. But the flame flared up and went out.
The girl quickly lit another one, and a Christmas tree appeared in front of her, tall and elegant, much higher than the one that the little girl had seen in the window of a wealthy pharmacist. Intricate decorations hung on its branches, red candles were burning, and below there were small and large boxes wrapped in colored paper.
The girl wanted to touch the tree, unfold the gifts, admire them ... But the match fell out of her hands, and the vision disappeared.
Only red candles glowed for a moment in the cold air, and then rose into the sky and melted among the stars. The girl looked up, fascinated by this sight. Suddenly one star separated from the others and flew to the ground, leaving behind a silver train.
"Someone is dying ... - thought the girl, - If a star falls, then the soul of a good person rises to heaven - so my grandmother said."
Without hesitation, she struck another match. The flame ignited, and her grandmother appeared in its glow.
- Grandma, dear, I know you will disappear as soon as the match burns out. But please, do not disappear, do not leave me alone in the dark and cold! - begged the girl.
And, trying to hold back the beautiful vision, the poor thing began to get matches. She lit them all, and the corner between the houses lit up as brightly as if it was day. The grandmother became even more beautiful and touched her granddaughter's face with her warm hand.
The girl suddenly stopped feeling cold and hungry, her grief disappeared. And the grandmother hugged her to her, and they began to rise higher and higher - to the sky, fortunately.
On the morning of the first day of the new year, a little girl was found in a corner behind the ledge of the house. Her body was completely cold, her face turned white, but a happy smile froze on her lips.
“She froze and died,” one man said.
- Poor thing! She tried to keep warm, ”said another. - Look how many burnt matches there are.
Passers-by nodded sympathetically, and none of them realized how much joy these matches gave the girls.
Name Match Girl
Author G.H. Andersen
Illustrator Blair Lent
The year of publishing 1968
Publisher Houghton mifflin
Name Andersen's Tales
Author G.H. Andersen
Illustrator Takeo takei
The year of publishing 1928
Publisher ???
Name Match Girl
Author G.H. Andersen
Illustrator N. Demidova
The year of publishing 2010
Publisher ABC classic
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Name The little match girl
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Name Tales of H.H. Andersen
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Name Fairy Tales of Hans Andersen
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Name Fairy tales and stories
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Name Fairy tales
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Name おやゆび姫 : アンデルセン童話
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It was frosty, it was snowing, and it was getting darker and darker outside. It was just on New Year's Eve. Into this cold and dark, a poor girl, bare-headed and barefoot, made her way through the streets. True, she left the house in her shoes, but where did they go! Huge, enormous! The last one was worn by the girl's mother, and they flew off the baby's feet when she ran across the street, frightened by two carriages rushing past. She never found one shoe, but a boy picked up the other and ran away with her, saying that she would make an excellent cradle for his children when he had them.
And so the girl wandered on barefoot; her legs were completely reddened and blue from the cold. In her old apron lay several packs of sulfur matches; one pack she held in her hand. For the whole day, no one bought a match from her - she did not help out a penny. Hungry, chilled, she walked farther and farther ... It was a pity to look at the poor thing! Flakes of snow fell on her beautiful, curly blond hair, but she did not think about this beauty. Lights shone in all the windows, and the streets smelled of fried geese: it was New Year's Eve - that was what she was thinking about.
Finally, she sat down in a corner, behind the ledge of a house, cowered and pulled her legs under her in order to warm herself up a little. But no, it got even colder, and she did not dare to return home, because she did not sell a single match, did not help out a penny - her father would beat her! And it's not warmer at home! Just a roof over your head, and the wind still walks all over the house, despite the fact that all the cracks and holes are carefully plugged with straw and rags. Her hands were completely numb. Oh! One tiny match could keep her warm! If only she dared to take at least one from the pack, strike it against the wall and warm her fingers! Finally she pulled out one. Chirk! How she hissed and burst into flames! The flame was so warm, clear, and when the girl covered it from the wind with a handful, it seemed to her that a candle was burning in front of her. It was a strange candle: the girl fancied that she was sitting in front of a large iron stove with shiny copper legs and doors. How gloriously the fire burned in her, how warm the baby became! She stretched out her legs as well, but ... the fire went out. The stove disappeared, and only the burnt end of the match remained in the girl's hands.
Here she struck another; the match caught fire, its flame fell directly on the wall, and the wall suddenly became transparent, like a muslin. The girl saw the whole room, a table covered with a snow-white tablecloth and a table lined with expensive china, and on it a roast goose stuffed with prunes and apples. What a smell came from him! The best thing was that the goose suddenly jumped off the table and, as it was with a fork and a knife in its back, ran waddling straight to the girl. Then the match went out, and the girl again faced one thick, cold wall.
She lit another match and found herself under a splendid tree, much larger and more elegant than the one that the girl had seen on Christmas Eve when she looked through the window of a wealthy merchant's house. The tree burned with thousands of lights, and from the green of the branches motley pictures peeped out at the girl, which she had seen before in the windows of shops. The baby stretched out both hands to the tree, but the match went out, the lights began to rise higher and higher and turned into clear stars; one of them suddenly rolled across the sky, leaving a long trail of fire behind it.
- Someone is dying! - said the baby.
The late grandmother, the only creature who loved her in the world, told her: "An asterisk falls - someone's soul goes to God."
The girl struck a new match against the wall; bright light illuminated the space, and in front of the baby stood all surrounded by radiance, so clear, brilliant and at the same time so meek and gentle, her grandmother.
- Grandmother! - cried the baby. - Take me with you! I know that you will leave, as soon as the match goes out, you will leave like a warm stove, a wonderful roast goose and a big, glorious Christmas tree!
And she hastily struck with all the rest of the matches in her hands - so she wanted to keep her grandmother. And the matches flared up with such a bright flame that it became brighter than day. Never before has my grandmother been so beautiful, so majestic! She took the girl in her arms, and they flew together in radiance and glitter high-high, to where there is no cold, no hunger, no fear: to God!
In the cold morning hour, a girl with pink cheeks and a smile on her lips was still sitting in the corner behind the house, but she was dead. She froze on the last evening of the old year; the New Year's sun lit up a small corpse. The girl was sitting with matches; one pack was almost completely burnt.
- She wanted to warm up, poor thing! - people said. But no one knew that she saw in what splendor she ascended to heaven with her grandmother to the New Year's joys!
“Girl with matches” dreamed of eating a roast goose with her loving family more than anything else, but the author has prepared something better for her. Yes, yes, this is a fairy tale with a happy ending
Folk and author's tales without adaptation often amaze the unprepared reader with their cruelty and hopelessness. If in the first case we are dealing with archetypal images, fears and superstitions of entire nations, then in the second the personality of the author plays an important role.
Hans Christian Andersen, although considered a children's writer, wrote not only and not so much for children. It would be a stretch to call his fairy tales cute reading for children.
"The Girl with the Matches" is one of his harshest and saddest stories. This is not even a fairy tale, but a parable, a Christmas story. The action takes place on New Year's Eve - the traditional time of miracles and the fulfillment of desires. The little heroine (the author does not name her name) wanders home after an unsuccessful day at work - she has not sold a single match. Andersen contrasts the miserable appearance of the girl (beggar, bareheaded, barefoot) to the surrounding brightness and celebration. And even the beauty of the girl herself no longer matters - neither for her, nor for those around her.
Snowflakes sat down on her long blond curls, beautifully crumbled by shouldersbut she, right the sameand not suspected about Tom, what they beautiful... Iso of all windows poured shine, on the street delicious smelled fried goose - after all was eve New of the year... Here about than she thought!
Illustration by Natalia Demidova
Beautiful blond curls do not mean anything, fried goose is much more important. For a girl, this is forgivable, she is hungry, but the author clearly shows the triumph of the material world over the spiritual, the inverted idea of \u200b\u200bthe holiday. Miracles happen on New Year's Eve, but no one wants to do a miracle for the poor girl, even buy a box of matches from her, everyone is busy with their household chores, decorations, gifts, treats, tinsel that overshadowed real beauty and real grief.
In reality, she has only hunger, cold and a father, who, instead of protecting and protecting, will beat her up for not helping out a penny
The girl herself dreams of getting into this rich beautiful world. Under the flames of a match flame, which does not warm, but gives hope, she imagines beautiful pictures: a warm stove, snow-white tablecloths, expensive porcelain, a luxurious Christmas tree and all the same roasted goose. In reality, she only has hunger, cold and a father, who, instead of protecting and protecting, will beat her up for not helping out a penny. The only person who has ever loved a girl - her grandmother - recently died.
Most fairy tales are based on the principle "bad \u003d\u003e good" or "good \u003d\u003e bad \u003d\u003e good", that is, a hero who finds himself in a difficult situation usually has a happy ending. If the ending is unhappy, it means that the hero did not understand anything, did not take life lessons from the situation. Guided by such ideas, the reader subconsciously expects a miracle to happen to the girl. Some of the passers-by, running about their holiday business, must definitely notice the poor thing, regret it and warm it up. Or maybe the father himself realizes how wrong he is and will not scold the baby? No wonder the action takes place on New Year's Eve! This is a time for celebration, not for suffering and death. Especially childish.
Illustration by Natalia Demidova
But the only thing that adults do when they find her dead body in the morning is indifferently state: "The girl wanted to warm up."
What is the point in this short, not festively bitter story, which in its essence is the story of the death of the only hero of the story - a girl?
The very image of the child is important, as opposed to the well-fed and indifferent world of adults
Andersen, who himself survived a difficult impoverished childhood, an ugly duckling, not understood by those around him, mourns not only the nameless girl, but also all the children offended and forgotten by adults. It is not for nothing that he does not give his heroine a name. Her name could be Mary, Gerda, Katya, Polina, it could be a boy. The very image of the child is important, as opposed to the well-fed and indifferent world of adults.
And yet, the ending of the story cannot be called unequivocally sad. Yes, the New Year's miracle does not happen to the girl in the common sense. She doesn't sit by the fireplace at the table, doesn't eat a roast goose with family and friends, and doesn't open presents. But, according to the author, a much more important and beautiful miracle is happening to her.
AND matches broke out So dazzlingly, what became lighterthan in the afternoon... Grandmother at life never not was such beautiful, such stately... She took girl on armsandilluminated light and joy, both they ascended high-high - therewhere not nor hungernor coldnor fear, - they ascended to god.
- Girl wanted warm, - said people... AND no one not knew, what kind wonders she saw, among which one beauty they together from grandmother met New Year Happiness.
Illustration by Natalia Demidova
Andersen was a believer, so the death of the hero is not the end of his story. On the contrary, it is the beginning of something more beautiful, more important and more perfect than the difficult earthly life full of hardships and hardships. It seems that only after death can a person experience real happiness. Perhaps, according to Andersen, death was the best way out for the girl. After all, if she were at the festive table, she would eventually herself could join the ranks of indifferent adults. So the fairy-tale principle "from bad to good" works in this fairy tale as well. Even if not in a completely familiar way.
Why do children need this story? To learn to sympathize, do not forget to look around and remember that on the sidelines of the most grandiose event, the most solemn holiday, there is always a girl with matches.
