It was late on a bitterly cold New Year's Eve.The snow was falling.A poor little girl was wandering in the dark cold streets；she was bareheaded and barefoot.She had of course had slippers on when she left home，but they were not much good，for they were so huge.They had last been worn by her mother，and they fell off the poor little girl's feet when she was running across the street to avoid two carriages that were rolling rapidly by.One of the shoes could not be found at all，and the other was picked up by a boy who ran off with it，saying that it would do for a cradle when he had some children of his own.
So the poor little girl had to walk on with her little bare feet，which were red and blue with the cold.She carried a quantity of matches in her old apron，and held a packet of them in her hand.
Nobody had bought any of her during all the long day，and nobody had even given her a copper.The poor little creature was hungry and perishing with cold，and she looked the picture of misery.
The snowflakes fell on her long yellow hair，which curled so prettily round her face，but she paid no attention to that.Lights were shining from every window，and there was a most delicious odor of roast goose in the streets，for it was New Year's Eve.She could not forget that！She found a corner where one house projected a little beyond the next one，and here she crouched，drawing up her feet under her，but she was colder than ever.She did not dare to go home，for she had not sold any matches and had not earned a single penny.Her father would beat her，and besides it was almost as cold at home as it was here.They had only the roof over them，and the wind whistled through it although they stuffed up the biggest cracks with rags and straw.