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"The Little Match Girl"

Short Story


Author: Hans Christian Andersen
Year: 1845

Summary:
In a very dark and cold weather on the last day of the year, there walked a little girl. She was walking with no slippers on because she lost her slippers once she tried to scuffle away from a train. She tried to sell her matches to anyone who passed her but nobody wanted to buy her matches. She wanted to come back to her home but she was afraid that her father would be mad at her because she had not sold any single matches. Besides, her room was always cold, just like here on the street. The snow was falling through her hair but all she thought about is the warm food inside those houses. 

She sat on a corner between two buildings and tucked her feet underneath herself to try to keep warm.  She thought a single match could warm her body. She hesitated a while then lit a match. The match reminded her of a fireplace, but not for so long the match vanished and the cold remained again. She drew another match. She put her hand near the wall. There, a projection of a beautiful set table with a lot of food, a roasted goose with a knife and a fork on its chest appeared and approached her. It felt so real that she wanted to eat it. Not so long the match vanished. The projection disappeared. 
She lit another match. Then, appeared a giant Christmas tree full of decorations and candles. She held her hands to reach it but then it disappeared. The candles left a mark on the sky then she saw a single stars fell down. She remembered her grandma once told her that means somebody died. 
She drew another match. Her grandma appeared. She did not want her grandma leave her after the match burned down. She lit all of her matches. The next morning, she was found dead. Everybody commented that she just wanted to warm herself.

Moral Value:
A great story by Hans Christian Andersen. It is a good children story with a sad and wonderful ending. It reminds us to always take care of the children. There are lots of children out there who remained unknown, died from hunger, cold, and violence. Something that I learn from this story is that our mind is the strongest power to give us hope when life gets hard. Have a strong mind so you can beat the world and make it into a better place.




Mulia Wikan Subekti/16202241068

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