《卖火柴的小女孩》，1846 年
the Little match-Seller, 1846
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《卖火柴的小女孩》（在奥古斯滕堡公爵处逗留长达一个月期间创作）的灵感源于安徒生从一本历书编辑那里收到的插图，编辑请求他根据其中一幅写一个故事。
\"the Little match Girl\" (written during a month - long stay with the duke of Augustenborg) was inspired by illustrations Andersen received from the editor of an almanac, with the request that he write a story about one of them.
有一幅由丹麦画家约翰?托马斯?伦德比所画的图像，画的是一个卖火柴的女孩。
one image, painted by the danish artist Johan thomas Lundbye, showed a girl selling matches.
这幅画通过出现在 1843 年的一本日历上而广为人知，日历上的标题是 “施予时请行善”。
It had been popularized through its appearance in an 1843 calendar with the caption, “do good when you give.”
“当我在格洛鲁普的时候，” 安徒生后来在他的旅行日记中回忆道，“在这个奢华富足的时期，一个出版商寄来了三幅木刻画，让我挑出一幅并围绕它写一个小故事。
“while I was at Glorup,“ Andersen later recalled in his travel diaries, “in this time of luxury and plenty, a publisher sent three woodcuts asking me to pick out one and write a little story around it.
我选择了一个描绘贫穷和匮乏的场景，一个衣衫褴褛、手拿几根火柴的小女孩 ——《卖火柴的小女孩》—— 奥古斯滕堡的我们的生活和她的世界之间的反差。”
I chose a scene that depicted poverty and deprivation, a ragged little girl with a handful of matches—‘the Little match - girl’—the contrast between our life at Augustenborg and her world”.
很少有儿童故事像《卖火柴的小女孩》这样饱含激情地展现苦难，一代又一代的孩子都钦佩她，并为她的死亡而哭泣。
Few children’s stories celebrate suffering with the kind of passion brought to the tale of the match - seller, and generations of children have admired her and wept over her death.
这个在新年前夜冻死的瘦弱流浪儿已经成为一种文化偶像。
the frail waif who freezes to death on New Year’s Eve has bee something of a cultural icon.
她是一个残忍的父亲（比童话故事中的食人魔还要残忍得多）和一个无情的社会的受害者；
She is the victim of a brutal father (far more cruel than the ogres of fairy tales) and of a heartless social world;
甚至大自然也背弃了她，既不提供庇护也不给予食物。
even nature turns its back on her, offering neither shelter nor sustenance.
童话故事中的魔法消失了，救援仅仅以神的干预这种形式到来。
the fairy - tale magic is absent, and rescue es only in the form of divine intervention.
讲述卖火柴小女孩故事的叙述者把我们带入女主人公的精神世界，让我们在气温下降、寒风呼啸时感受到她的痛苦。
the narrator of the match girl’s story takes us into the heroine’s mental world, allowing us to feel her pain as the temperature drops and the wind howls.
我们也能体会到她的幻想，首先是温暖，接着是食物、美丽，最后是人间的喜爱和同情。
we also share her visions, first of warmth, then of nourishment, beauty, and finally human affection and passion.
如果故事的最后画面呈现给我们的是一具冻僵的尸体，这个卖火柴的小女孩的死亡仍然是一种 “美丽的死亡”，是闪耀着灵性和超凡意义的所在。
If the final image of the story gives us a frozen corpse, the little match girl’s death is still a “beautiful death,” the site of radiant spirituality and transcendent meaning.
无论我们将她的苦难解读为 “伪装成虔诚的折磨”（就像 p.L. 特拉弗斯所做的那样），还是认为她的悲惨境遇是升入更高境界的先决条件，这个故事仍然是童年最令人难忘的故事之一，并且萦绕在我们的文化想象之中。
whether we read her sufferings as “tortures, disguised as pieties” (as did p.L.travers) or consider her wretchedness as the precondition for translation into a higher sphere, the story remains one of the most memorable stories of childhood and haunts our cultural imagination.
许多人会认同，一本优秀儿童读物的一个必要条件是主人公的胜利。
many will agree that the one requirement for a good children’s book is the triumph of the protagonist.
在过去的一个世纪里，《卖火柴的小女孩》中的死亡场景被多次改编和重写，最着名的是 1944 年的一个美国版本，它在护封上宣称：
the death scene in “the Little match Girl” has been adapted and rewritten many times over the last century, most notably in an American edition of 1944 that proclaimed on its dust jacket:
“孩子们会满怀欣喜地阅读这个着名的汉斯?克里斯蒂安?安徒生故事的新版本。
“children will read with delight this new version of the famous hans christian Andersen tale.
因为在这个版本中，那个很久以前的平安夜的卖火柴的小女孩没有死于严寒，而是找到了温暖、欢乐和一个可爱的家，从此过上了幸福的生活。”
For in it, the little match girl on that long ago christmas Eve does not perish from the bitter cold, but finds warmth and cheer and a lovely home where she lives happily ever after.”
安徒生在社会动荡和政治剧变的十年间创作了这个故事，毫无疑问，他会对这个原本旨在有力批判经济不平等的故事出现的社会救赎性转变感到痛心。
Andersen wrote this story during a decade of social unrest and political upheaval, and would no doubt have been distressed by the socially redemptive turn in a story that was intended as a powerful critique of economic inequities.
一本近期的自助书籍讲述了一位女性的经历，她童年最喜欢的故事是《卖火柴的小女孩》：
A recent self - help book reports the experience of a woman whose favorite childhood story was “the Little match Girl”:
“当我们问起她这件事时，她解释说，当卖火柴的小女孩点燃一根火柴时，那微小的火焰在她眼中变成了熊熊燃烧的圣诞炉火，周围有礼物、朋友和食物。
“when we asked her about it, she explained that, when the little match girl lit a match, the tiny flame became for her a roaring christmas fire with gifts, friends and food around.
这也是她最深切的愿望。”
this was also her deepest desire”.
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旧年的最后一个夜晚，天气非常寒冷，天几乎黑了，雪下得很大。
It was terribly cold and nearly dark on the last evening of the old year, and the snow was falling fast.
在寒冷和黑暗中，一个可怜的小女孩，光着头赤着脚在街上徘徊。
In the cold and the darkness, a poor little girl, with bare head and naked feet, roamed through the streets.
她离开家的时候确实穿着一双拖鞋，但它们没什么用。
It is true she had on a pair of slippers when she left home, but they were not of much use.
拖鞋很大，非常大，实际上，那是她妈妈穿过的，这个可怜的小家伙在跑过马路去躲避两辆疾驰的马车时把拖鞋弄丢了。
they were very large, so large, indeed, that they had belonged to her mother, and the poor little creature had lost them in running across the street to avoid two carriages that were rolling along at a terrible rate.
她找不到其中一只拖鞋了，一个男孩捡起另一只就跑了，还说等他自己有了孩子，可以把这只拖鞋当摇篮用。
one of the slippers she could not find, and a boy seized upon the other and ran away with it, saying that he could use it as a cradle, when he had children of his own.
于是小女孩就光着她的小脚继续走，小脚被冻得又红又青。
So the little girl went on with her little naked feet, which were quite red and blue with the cold.
她在一条旧围裙里装着许多火柴，手里还拿着一捆。
In an old apron she carried a number of matches, and had a bundle of them in her hands.
一整天都没有人买她的东西，甚至没有一个人给她一个便士。
No one had bought anything of her the whole day, nor had any one given here even a penny.
她又冷又饿，哆哆嗦嗦地向前挪动；
Shivering with cold and hunger, she crept along;
可怜的孩子，她看上去一副悲惨的样子。
poor little child, she looked the picture of misery.
雪花落在她那长长的金发上，金发卷曲地披在她的肩上，但她并没有在意。
the snowflakes fell on her long, fair hair, which hung in curls on her shoulders, but she regarded them not.
每扇窗户都透出灯光，还飘出烤鹅诱人的香味，因为这是新年前夜 —— 是的，她记得这个。
Lights were shining from every window, and there was a savory smell of roast goose, for it was New - year’s eve — yes, she remembered that.
在两座房子之间的一个角落里，其中一座比另一座突出一些，她坐了下来，缩成一团。
In a corner, between two houses, one of which projected beyond the other, she sank down and huddled herself together.
她把小脚缩到身子下面，但还是无法抵御寒冷；
She had drawn her little feet under her, but she could not keep off the cold;
她不敢回家，因为她一根火柴都没卖掉，连一个便士都没法带回家。
and she dared not go home, for she had sold no matches, and could not take home even a penny of money.
她的父亲肯定会打她的；
her father would certainly beat her;
此外，家里几乎和这里一样冷，因为他们只有屋顶遮身，风呼啸着穿过屋顶，尽管最大的洞已经用稻草和破布堵住了。
besides, it was almost as cold at home as here, for they had only the roof to cover them, through which the wind howled, although the largest holes had been stopped up with straw and rags.
她的小手几乎被冻僵了。
her little hands were almost frozen with the cold.
啊！如果她能从那捆火柴里抽出一根，在墙上擦燃的话，也许一根燃烧的火柴会有点用处，哪怕只是暖暖手指也好。
Ah! perhaps a burning match might be some good, if she could draw it from the bundle and strike it against the wall, just to warm her fingers.
她抽出一根 ——“哧！” 火柴燃烧时发出多么大的响声啊！当她把手放在火柴上方时，它发出温暖、明亮的光，就像一支小蜡烛。
She drew one out - ”scratch!” how it sputtered as it burnt! It gave a warm, bright light, like a little candle, as she held her hand over it.
这真是一道奇妙的光。
It was really a wonderful light.
在小女孩看来，她正坐在一个大铁炉旁，铁炉有擦得发亮的黄铜脚和一个黄铜装饰品。
It seemed to the little girl that she was sitting by a large iron stove, with polished brass feet and a brass ornament.
火烧得多么旺啊！看起来是那么的温暖，孩子伸出脚去，好像要取暖似的，可是，瞧！火柴的火焰熄灭了，火炉消失了，她手里只剩下那根烧了一半的火柴梗。
how the fire burned! and seemed so beautifully warm that the child stretched out her feet as if to warm them, when, lo! the flame of the match went out, the stove vanished, and she had only the remains of the half - burnt match in her hand.
她又在墙上擦了一根火柴。
She rubbed another match on the wall.
火柴燃起来了，火光落在墙上的地方变得像面纱一样透明，她能看到房间里面。
It burst into a flame, and where its light fell upon the wall it became as transparent as a veil, and she could see into the room.
桌上铺着雪白的桌布，上面摆着一套精美的餐具，还有一只热气腾腾的烤鹅，肚子里填满了苹果和葡萄干。
the table was covered with a snowy white table - cloth, on which stood a splendid dinner service, and a steaming roast goose, stuffed with apples and dried plums.
更奇妙的是，那只鹅从盘子里跳下来，胸前插着刀叉，摇摇摆摆地穿过地板向小女孩走来。
And what was still more wonderful, the goose jumped down from the dish and waddled across the floor, with a knife and fork in its breast, to the little girl.
然后火柴熄灭了，她面前只剩下又厚又湿又冷的墙。
then the match went out, and there remained nothing but the thick, damp, cold wall before her.
她又点燃了一根火柴，然后发现自己坐在一棵美丽的圣诞树下。
She lighted another match, and then she found herself sitting under a beautiful christmas - tree.
这棵圣诞树比她在那个富商家透过玻璃门看到的那棵更大、装饰得更漂亮。
It was larger and more beautifully decorated than the one which she had seen through the glass door at the rich merchant’s.
成千上万支小蜡烛在绿色的树枝上燃烧着，彩色的画片，就像她在商店橱窗里看到的那些，俯瞰着这一切。
thousands of tapers were burning upon the green branches, and colored pictures, like those she had seen in the show - windows, looked down upon it all.
小女孩向它们伸出手去，火柴又熄灭了。
the little one stretched out her hand towards them, and the match went out.
圣诞树上的烛光越升越高，直到在她看来就像天上的星星。
the christmas lights rose higher and higher, till they looked to her like the stars in the sky.
然后她看到一颗星星落下来，身后留下一道明亮的火光。
then she saw a star fall, leaving behind it a bright streak of fire.
“有人要死了，” 小女孩想，因为她的老祖母，唯一一个曾经爱过她、现在已经去世的人，告诉过她，当一颗星星落下时，一个灵魂正在升向上帝。
“Some one is dying,” thought the little girl, for her old grandmother, the only one who had ever loved her, and who was now dead, had told her that when a star falls, a soul was going up to God.
她又在墙上擦了一根火柴，光照在她周围；
She again rubbed a match on the wall, and the light shone round her;
在亮光中站着她的老祖母，清晰而明亮，面容温和而慈爱。
in the brightness stood her old grandmother, clear and shining, yet mild and loving in her appearance.
“奶奶，” 小女孩叫道，“啊，带我走吧；
“Grandmother,” cried the little one, “o take me with you;
我知道火柴一灭您就会离开；
I know you will go away when the match burns out;
您会像温暖的火炉、烤鹅和那棵大而华丽的圣诞树一样消失。”
you will vanish like the warm stove, the roast goose, and the large, glorious christmas - tree.”
于是她急忙点燃整捆火柴，因为她想让祖母留在这儿。
And she made haste to light the whole bundle of matches, for she wished to keep her grandmother there.
火柴发出比正午还要明亮的光，她的祖母从来没有显得如此高大或如此美丽。
And the matches glowed with a light that was brighter than the noon - day, and her grandmother had never appeared so large or so beautiful.
她把小女孩抱在怀里，她们俩在光明和欢乐中高高地飞离大地，那里既没有寒冷，也没有饥饿，也没有痛苦，因为她们和上帝在一起。
She took the little girl in her arms, and they both flew upwards in brightness and joy far above the earth, where there was neither cold nor hunger nor pain, for they were with God.
清晨，可怜的小女孩躺在那里，脸色苍白，嘴角带着微笑，靠在墙上；
In the dawn of morning there lay the poor little one, with pale cheeks and smiling mouth, leaning against the wall;
她在一年的最后一个夜晚被冻死了；
she had been frozen to death on the last evening of the year;
新年的太阳升起来了，照在一具小小的尸体上！孩子仍然僵硬地坐着，已经死去，手里还握着火柴，其中一捆已经烧过了。
and the New - year’s sun rose and shone upon a little corpse! the child still sat, in the stiffness of death, holding the matches in her hand, one bundle of which was burnt.
“她想暖和一下自己，” 有人说。
“She tried to warm herself,” said some.
没有人想象得到她看到过多么美丽的东西，也没有人知道在新年那天她和她的祖母一起进入了怎样的荣耀之中。
No one imagined what beautiful things she had seen, nor into what glory she had entered with her grandmother, on New - year’s day.