The Little Match Girl

This story, one of Andersen’s best known, tells the tale of a poor little girl who was sent by her parents to sell matches in the street. It is Christmas Even and it is very cold, but she dare not return home empty-handed. Instead, to try and warm herself, she lights one match at a time, revealing an extraordinary, but ephemeral, world with each one.



Hans Christian Andersen (1805-1875) was a Danish author, poet and artist. Celebrated for children’s literature, his most cherished fairy tales include "The Emperor's New Clothes", "The Little Mermaid", "The Nightingale", "The Steadfast Tin Soldier", "The Snow Queen", "The Ugly Duckling" and "The Little Match Girl". His books have been translated into every living language, and today there is no child or adult that has not met Andersen's whimsical characters. His fairy tales have been adapted to stage and screen countless times, most notably by Disney with the animated films "The Little Mermaid" in 1989 and "Frozen", which is loosely based on "The Snow Queen", in 2013.

Thanks to Andersen's contribution to children's literature, his birth date, April 2, is celebrated as International Children's Book Day.