It was so 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. Of course, when she had left her house, she’d had slippers on, but what good had they been? They were very big slippers, way too big for her, for they belonged to her mother.
The little girl had lost them running across the road, where two carriages had rattled by terribly fast. One slipper she’d not been able to find again, and a boy had run off with the other, saying he could use it very well as a cradle some day when he had children of his own.
And so the little girl walked on her naked feet, which were quite red and blue with the cold. In an old apron, she carried several packages of matches, and she held a box of them in her hand. 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, poor little girl! The snowflakes fell on her long, fair hair, which hung in pretty curls over her neck. In all the windows, lights were shining, and there was a wonderful smell of roast goose, for it was New Year’s Eve. Yes, she thought of that!
In a corner formed by two houses, one of which projected farther out into the street than the other, she sat down and drew up her little feet under her. She was getting colder and colder, but did not dare to go home, for she had sold no matches, nor earned a single cent, and her father would surely beat her. Besides, it was cold at home, for they had nothing over them but a roof through which the wind whistled, even though the biggest cracks had been stuffed with straw and rags.
Her hands were almost dead with cold. Oh, how much one little match might warm her! If she could only take one from the box and rub it against the wall, and warm her hands. She drew one out. R-r-ratch! How it sputtered and burned! It made a warm, bright flame, like a little candle, as she held her hands over it, but it gave a strange light! It seemed to the little girl as if she were sitting before a great iron stove with shining brass knobs and a brass cover. How wonderfully the fire burned! How comfortable it was! The youngster stretched out her feet to warm them too; then the little flame went out, the stove vanished, and she had only the remains of the burnt match in her hand.
She struck another match against the wall. 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.
And what was still better, the goose jumped down from the dish and waddled along the floor with a knife and fork right over to the little girl. Then the match went out, and she could see only the thick, cold wall. She lit another match. Then she was sitting under the most beautiful Christmas tree. It was much larger and much more beautiful than the one she had seen last Christmas through the glass door at the rich merchant’s home.
Meditation: “Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.” – Galatians 6:2
Also Read:
- Understanding God: God of Delegation
- Purpose: Sent to Redeem and Upgrade (1)
- The Pencil Story
- Delivered From a Sinful Lifestyle
- An Easter Reflection
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