先讀課文 SHORT STORY﹕
The Little Match Girl 賣火柴的小女孩
by Hans Christian Andersen 安徒生
Most terribly cold it was; it snowed, and was nearly quite dark, and evening-
-the last evening of the year. In this cold and darkness there went along
the street a poor little girl, bareheaded, and with naked feet. When she
left home she had slippers on, it is true; but what was the good of that?
They were very large slippers, which her mother had hitherto worn; so large
were they; and the poor little thing lost them as she scuffled away across
the street, because of two carriages that rolled by dreadfully fast.
One slipper was nowhere to be found; the other had been laid hold of by
an urchin, and off he ran with it; he thought it would do capitally for
a cradle when he some day or other should have children himself. So the
little maiden walked on with her tiny naked feet, that were quite red and
blue from cold. She carried a quantity of matches in an old apron, and she
held a bundle of them in her hand. Nobody had bought anything of her the
whole livelong day; no one had given her a single farthing.
She crept along trembling with cold and hunger--a very picture of sorrow,
the poor little thing!
The flakes of snow covered her long fair hair, which fell in beautiful curls
around her neck; but of that, of course, she never once now thought. From
all the windows the candles were gleaming, and it smelt so deliciously of
roast goose, for you know it was New Year's Eve; yes, of that she thought.
In a corner formed by two houses, of which one advanced more than the other,
she seated herself down and cowered together. Her little feet she had drawn
close up to her, but she grew colder and colder, and to go home she did
not venture, for she had not sold any matches and could not bring a farthing
of money: from her father she would certainly get blows, and at home it
was cold too, for above her she had only the roof, through which the wind
whistled, even though the largest cracks were stopped up with straw and
rags.
Her little hands were almost numbed with cold. Oh! a match might afford
her a world of comfort, if she only dared take a single one out of the bundle,
draw it against the wall, and warm her fingers by it. She drew one out.
"Rischt!" how it blazed, how it burnt! It was a warm, bright flame, like
a candle, as she held her hands over it: it was a wonderful light. It seemed
really to the little maiden as though she were sitting before a large iron
stove, with burnished brass feet and a brass ornament at top. The fire burned
with such blessed influence; it warmed so delightfully. The little girl
had already stretched out her feet to warm them too; but--the small flame
went out, the stove vanished: she had only the remains of the burnt-out match
in her hand.
She rubbed another against the wall: it burned brightly, and where the light
fell on the wall, there the wall became transparent like a veil, so that
she could see into the room. On the table was spread a snow-white tablecloth;
upon it was a splendid porcelain service, and the roast goose was steaming
famously with its stuffing of apple and dried plums. And what was still more
capital to behold was, the goose hopped down from the dish, reeled about
on the floor with knife and fork in its breast, till it came up to the poor
little girl; when--the match went out and nothing but the thick, cold, damp
wall was left behind. She lighted another match. Now there she was sitting
under the most magnificent Christmas tree: it was still larger, and more
decorated than the one which she had seen through the glass door in the
rich merchant's house. Thousands of lights were burning on the green branches,
and gaily-colored pictures, such as she had seen in the shop-windows, looked
down upon her. The little maiden stretched out her hands towards them when--the
match went out. The lights of the Christmas tree rose higher and higher,
she saw them now as stars in heaven; one fell down and formed a long trail
of fire.
"Someone is just dead!" said the little girl; for her old grandmother, the
only person who had loved her, and who was now no more, had told her, that
when a star falls, a soul ascends to God.
She drew another match against the wall: it was again light, and in the
lustre there stood the old grandmother, so bright and radiant, so mild,
and with such an expression of love.
"Grandmother!" cried the little one. "Oh, take me with you! You go away
when the match burns out; you vanish like the warm stove, like the delicious
roast goose, and like the magnificent Christmas tree!" And she rubbed the
whole bundle of matches quickly against the wall, for she wanted to be quite
sure of keeping her grandmother near her. And the matches gave such a brilliant
light that it was brighter than at noon-day: never formerly had the grandmother
been so beautiful and so tall. She took the little maiden, on her arm, and
both flew in brightness and in joy so high, so very high, and then above
was neither cold, nor hunger, nor anxiety--they were with God.
But in the corner, at the cold hour of dawn, sat the poor girl, with rosy
cheeks and with a smiling mouth, leaning against the wall--frozen to death
on the last evening of the old year. Stiff and stark sat the child there
with her matches, of which one bundle had been burnt. "She wanted to warm
herself," people said. No one had the slightest suspicion of what beautiful
things she had seen; no one even dreamed of the splendor in which, with
her grandmother she had entered on the joys of a new year
1) 生詞自查。
2) 作者介紹﹕Hans Christian Andersen (April 2, 1805 -- August 4, 1875) was
a Danish author, fairy tale writer and poet noted for his children's stories.
These include "The Steadfast Tin Soldier," "The Snow Queen," "The Little
Mermaid," "Thumbelina," "The Little Match Girl," and "The Ugly Duckling."
During his lifetime he was acclaimed for having delighted children worldwide,
and was feted by royalty. His poetry and stories have been translated into
more than 150 languages. They have inspired motion pictures, plays, ballets,
and animated films.
The Little Match Girl (Danish: Den Lille Pige med Svovlstikkerne, meaning
"The little girl with the matchsticks") is a short story by Danish poet
and author Hans Christian Andersen. The story is about a dying child's dreams
and hope, and was first published in 1845. It has been adapted to various
media including animated film, and a television musical.
3) 讀完這個故事﹐你應該同情這可憐的孩子。請想起世界上還有許多同樣可憐的孩
子。4) 這是一個有名的安徒生童話故事。按理說﹐每個人在小時候都會讀過或聽到
過。童話故事的寫作就有點對小孩講話的語氣。
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