As dusk came on a cold Russian Christmas Eve, a little match girl was out on the streets selling matches. Although she was cold and hungry, she didn't dare go home because her father would beat her when he found out she hadn't sold any matches. In a nook between two buildings, she tried to warm herself by lighting a match. In the light of the match, she saw a warm iron stove, but when the match went out, the stove went with it. She lit a second match, and a dinner table laden with a roasted goose appeared, but it too disappeared when the-match went out. By the light of the third match she saw a beautiful Christmas Tree lit with a million candles. She lit a fourth match and saw her smiling grandmother, the only person who ever loved her. So that her grandmother wouldn't vanish, too, she lit the whole bundle of matches. The light from the matches didn't last long enough to keep her warm, but it saved her anyhow in a surprising way.
