"A Little Match Girl" is an 1845 story by Hans Christian Andersen. It's one of the most darkest and saddest fairy tales for children and it's set during Christmas time. The story setting is midwinter and it's snowing heavily. While everyone is making ready for the holidays, just one girl is suffering outside in the cold. The only thing that keeps her warm is a box of matches. She was supposed to sell it but as the weather was too cold, and she had nowhere to live, so she lit one match at a time to keep warm until they burned out. Each match she lit, gave her visions of a cooked meal, a warm room, a sparkling indoor tree full of decorations and gifts. People ignored her as this was going on. She saw a shooting star and understood it meant someone had died. She remembered being told this by her grandmother, the only person who ever loved her but who had died a long time ago. She lit a match and saw a vision of her loving grandmother, which made her so happy that she lit all the other matches to keep the vision lasting longer. Then the grandmother lifts her up and holds her, carrying her away. It wasn't until the end of the story that we find out the girl had died of hypothermia. This story is a grim reminder of misery and poverty that innocents have suffered.
Shadow Girl
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