儿童英语小故事：卖火柴的小女孩

　　THE LITTLE MATCH GIRL

　　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 thestreet a poor little girl, bareheaded, and with naked feet. When she left homeshe had slippers on, it is true; but what was the good of that? They were verylarge slippers, which her mother had hitherto worn; so large were they; andthe 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 anurchin, and off he ran with it; he thought it would do capitally for a cradlewhen he some day or other should have children himself. So the little maidenwalked 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 ofthem in her hand. Nobody had bought anything of her the whole livelong day; noone had given her a single farthing.