It was so terribly cold. Snow was falling, and it was almost dark. Evening came on, the last evening of the year. In the cold and gloom a poor little girl, bareheaded and barefoot, was walking through the streets. She’d left home in slippers, but they belonged to her mother and were still too big for her tiny feet. The little girl, Lina, had lost them running across the road, but she didn’t stop and continued barefoot through the snow, her frostbitten feet slowly turning blue. In an old apron she carried several boxes of matches. No one had bought any from her all day long, and no one had given her a cent.

Shivering with cold and hunger, she crept along, a picture of misery. The snowflakes fell on her long fair hair, which hung in pretty curls over her neck. She passed by beautifully decorated windows, glowing with every colour. People were laughing inside, warm. Soon, the tables would be filled up further with tasty dishes. Families would gather around them, celebrating together and sharing gifts.

In a corner formed by two houses, she sat down and drew up her little feet under her. Lina shivered violently but did not dare to go home, for she had not sold a single match, and her father would surely beat her. Besides, it was almost as cold at home as here, for they had nothing over them but a roof through which the wind howled. Oh, how nice it would be to light a match and feel just a tiny bit of warmth. Just one...

Her hands were almost dead with cold. She had no choice. Lina took a single match and struck it against the wall of the house. It burned brightly, and when the light fell upon the wall it became transparent like a thin veil, and she could see through it into a room. On the table a snow-white cloth was spread, and on it stood a shining dinner service. The roast goose steamed gloriously, stuffed with apples and prunes. Then the match went out, and she could see only the thick, cold wall.

She lighted another match and saw herself sitting under the most beautiful Christmas tree she had ever seen. There were tiny golden bells that gently tinkled and thousands of colourful lights shimmered on the green branches. Lina tried to reach up for the bells, but the match burned out, and she realized that the lights were just stars twinkling in the dark sky. One of them fell down, forming a long line of fire.

"Now someone is dying,"

whispered Lina to herself with sadness in her voice. When a star fell down a soul went up to God. She knew this from her late grandmother, the only person who had loved her.

With trembling fingers, she struck another match against the wall. For a brief second, she saw her grandmother's kind face smiling at her. But the flame extinguished in a puff of smoke, leaving her in darkness once again. Her heart leapt. Had that really been her grandma? But as her eyes adjusted to the gloom, she realized it was not her grandmother after all. Someone else was approaching her in the night, boots crunching through the icy snow.

"H-hello?"