The tale “The Girl with Matches”, a brief summary of which will be presented below, has become one of the most touching stories of Hans Andersen. A Christmas story that does not have a happy ending can teach every reader to appreciate what you have and look at the world with an exclusively real look.
Christmas night begins
Summary of “Girls with Matches” we will start from the very beginning. The little girl, the main character of the tale, was returning home on a dark Christmas Eve on a dark night. She was very tired. The main character wanted to eat, and was very cold. The girl was walking barefoot in the snow, her head was bare. She had shoes, but they were too big.
When a carriage passed by, the main character was frightened and ran to the side. At that moment, she lost her shoes. One of them was seized by a passing boy, and she could not find the second.
The girl walked home slowly, reluctantly, because a very strict father was waiting for her there. The girl was supposed to sell matchboxes, but could not do this - no one needed this product.
The little girl walked along the street and dreamed of lighting one match and warming her hands a little. In the end, she made up her mind and lit a small block of wood against the wall.
Holiday miracle
Summary of Andersen's “Girls with Matches” ends with touching and dramatic events.
While the whole city was preparing for the celebration of Christmas, the girl stood with a lit match in her hand. It seemed to her that it was a candle that once stood on the fireplace in the hall.
The girl suddenly saw next to her grandmother, who died several years ago. She held out her hands to her granddaughter. The girl was very afraid that the match would burn out and the vision would disappear.
Then the main character lit many matches at once, and those who met rushed up, where there is no more pain or grief.
The next morning, people found the girl’s dead body with many burned matches around. Everyone was very sympathetic to such a death. But no one guessed about the magic that happened with the main character on the night before Christmas.