It was late on a bitterly1 cold, snowy New Year's Eve. A poor little girl was wandering2 in the dark, cold streets. She was bareheaded3 and barefooted. She certainly had had slippers4 on when she left home, but they were not much good, for they were so huge and had last been worn by her mother. And they fell off the poor little girl's feet when she was running across the street to avoid two carriages that were rolling rapidly by. One of the shoes could not be found at all. And the other was picked up by a boy who ran off with it, saying that it would do for a cradle when he had children of his own.
So the poor little girl had to go on with her little bare feet which were red and blue with the cold. She carried a quantity of matches in her old apron5 and held a packet of them in her hand. Nobody had even given her a copper. The poor little creature was hungry and perishing6 with cold and she looked the picture of misery7. She found a corner where one house projected8 a little beyond the next one, and here, she crouched9, drawing up her feet under her. But she was colder than ever.
Her little hands were almost dead10 with cold. One little match would do some good. Dare she pull one out of the bundle and strike it on the wall to warm her fingers? She pulled one out. Rishhh...How it splattered11, how it blazed. It burnt with a bright clear flame just like a candle when she held her hand on it. It was a very curious candle, too. The little girl fancied that she was sitting in front of a big stove with polished brass12 feet and handles. There was a splendid fire blazing in it and warming her so beautifully. But what happened? Just as she was stretching out13 her feet to warm them, the blaze went out14.
The stove disappeared and she was left sitting with the end of a burnt-out match in her hand. Again she lit another. This time she was sitting under a lovely Christmas tree. It was much bigger and more beautifully decorated than the one she had seen when she peeped15 through the glass doors at the rich merchant's house this very last Christmas. Thousands of lighted candles gleamed upon16 its branches and colored pictures such as she had seen in the shop windows looked down to her. The little girl stretched out both her hands towards them and out went the match.
All the Christmas candles rose higher and higher till she saw that they were only the twinkling17 stars. One of them fell, and made a bright streak18 of light across the sky. “Someone is dying,” thought the little girl. For her own grandmother, the only person who had ever been kind to her, used to say, “When a star falls, a soul is going up to God.”
Now she struck another match against the wall and this time it was her grandmother who appeared in the circle of flame. She saw her quite clearly and distinctly, looking so gentle and happy. “Grandmother!” cried the little creature, “Oh, do take me with you. I know you will disappear when the match goes out. You will disappear like the warm stove, the delicious goose and the beautiful Christmas tree.”
She hurriedly struck a whole bundle of matches because she did so long to keep her grandmother with her. The light of the matches made it as bright as day. Grandmother had never before looked so big or so beautiful. She lifted the little girl up in her arms, and they flew high in a halo19 of light and joy, far, far above the earth where there was no more cold, no hunger, no pain. For they were with God.
In the cold morning light, the poor little girl sat there in the corner between the house, with rosy cheeks and a smile on her face.
Dead.
这是一个寒冷的除夕之夜，天下着雪。已经很晚了。一个小女孩独自漫无目的地走在冷清黑暗的街道上。她光着脑袋，没穿鞋子。离开家时，还穿着拖鞋。可这双鞋一点用也没有。因为它们太大了，而且是妈妈穿旧了的。在横穿马路时，为了躲开两辆飞驰而来的马车，小女孩把鞋给跑掉了。其中一只鞋怎么也找不着。另一只被一个小男孩捡到了。他拿着鞋一边跑，一边说，等他将来有孩子的时候，他要用这只鞋给他们做摇篮。
可怜的小女孩只好赤着脚走路。她的脚冻得青一块，紫一块。在她破旧的围裙里，兜着许多火柴，手里还拿着一盒。可是，整整一天，没有人给过她一个铜板。这个可怜的小生命饥寒交迫，看起来十分凄惨。在一个屋顶伸出来的角落里，小女孩缩着脚坐了下来，这时她感到比原先更冷了。
小女孩的手几乎冻僵了。一根小小的火柴也能给她带来一点点温暖呀！她敢不敢从中抽出一根，就着墙擦着来暖和一下小手指呢？她终于抽出了一根。哧......火花四溅，多么明亮啊！小女孩用手围拢着火柴。明亮的火焰犹如蜡烛。这是只非常奇异的蜡烛。小女孩幻想着自己正坐在一个大火炉前。火炉的铜支架和把手闪闪发亮，里面的炉火熊熊燃烧。多么温暖，多么美妙。可是怎么了？正当小女孩伸出脚来取暖时，火灭了。
火炉消失了，只留下小女孩坐在地上，手里拿着快烧完的火柴梗。她又点燃了一根火柴。这次她坐在一棵可爱的圣诞树下，这棵树比她去年圣诞透过富商家的玻璃门看到的那棵还要大，装饰得还要美，成千上万的蜡烛照亮着树枝。一幅幅彩图，就像她曾经在橱窗里看到的一样，俯视着她。小女孩伸出双手……火柴又熄灭了。
所有的圣诞蜡烛越升越高，最后她看清了：原来那是天空中闪烁的星星。其中有一颗星星落了下来，在空中滑过一道亮光。有人快要死了，小女孩心想。因为奶奶——那惟一疼爱她的亲人——过去常说，“天上一颗星星落下来，地上就有一个灵魂上天了。”
小女孩又在墙上擦亮了一根火柴，这次，奶奶出现在亮光中。小女孩清清楚楚看见了慈祥、快乐的奶奶。“奶奶，”小女孩哭喊着，“奶奶，您带我一起走吧！我知道，火柴一灭，您就会不见了的。就像温暖的火炉、好吃的烤鹅、漂亮的圣诞树一样。”
小女孩急忙点燃那一整把火柴，因为，她多么渴望留住奶奶啊。火柴的亮光把屋角照得如同白昼。奶奶从来没有显得这样高大，这样美丽过。她把小女孩抱起来，在光明的快乐中冉冉飞翔，飞离人间，飞到那不再寒冷、不再饥饿、不再痛苦的天堂去了。
第二天，可怜的小女孩仍然坐在屋角，寒冷的晨曦中，她红扑扑的脸上还带着微笑。
她死了。
1. bitterly adv． 刺骨地
2． wander v． 漫步，徘徊
3． bareheaded adj． 不戴帽子的
bare adj． 赤裸的，无遮蔽的
4． slipper n． 拖鞋
5． apron n． 围裙
6． perish v． 毁灭, 死亡
7． misery n． 痛苦, 悲惨
8． project v． 凸出
9． crouch v． 蜷缩, 蹲伏
10． dead [ded] adj． 麻木的, 无知觉的
11． splatter v． 泼溅
12． brass ] adj． 黄铜的
13． stretch out 伸手／脚
14． go out 熄灭
15． peep v． (从缝隙中)偷看, 窥视
16． gleam upon 使发微光, 使闪烁
17． twinkling adj． 闪烁的
18． streak n． 一道闪光
19． halo n． 晕轮, 光环