"Match Girl" (1995) is a short story by

Anne Bishop Anne Bishop is an American fantasy writer. Her most noted work is the Black Jewels series. She won the Crawford Award in 2000 for the first three Black Jewels books, sometimes called the Black Jewels trilogy: ''Daughter of the Blood'', ''Heir ...

, published in '' Ruby Slippers, Golden Tears'' (edited by

Ellen Datlow Ellen Datlow (born December 31, 1949) is an American science fiction, fantasy, and horror editor and anthologist. She is a winner of the World Fantasy Award and the Bram Stoker Award (Horror Writers Association). Career Datlow began her career ...

and

Terri Windling Terri Windling (born December 3, 1958 in Fort Dix, New Jersey) is an American editor, artist, essayist, and the author of books for both children and adults. She has won nine World Fantasy Awards, the Mythopoeic Fantasy Award, and the Bram Stoke ...

. It is a retelling of the 1845 story "

The Little Match Girl "The Little Match Girl" ( da, Den Lille Pige med Svovlstikkerne, meaning "The little girl with the sulphur-sticks", i.e. matches) is a literary fairy tale by Danish poet and author Hans Christian Andersen. The story, about a dying child's dre ...

" by

Hans Christian Andersen Hans Christian Andersen ( , ; 2 April 1805 – 4 August 1875) was a Danish author. Although a prolific writer of plays, travelogues, novels, and poems, he is best remembered for his literary fairy tales. Andersen's fairy tales, consisti ...

Plot

A girl is traveling with her adopted family. They abuse her viciously and demand that she sell matches along the road. After a brutal assault, and promises of more, she escapes to another world through the light of the matches. The impoverished girl offers her matches for sale. However, the rich passer-bys shun her on a cold wintery night, while they were on their way to a posh party. She stays alone in the snow, lighting up matches to keep herself warm, until she eventually dies of hypothermia. All because no one would buy her matches or feel for her plight. The other world she finds through the light of her matches is in her dreams and imagination after the cruel world abandoned her.

External links

''Locus Magazine''s table of contents for Ruby Slippers, Golden Tears
Fantasy short stories Horror short stories Works based on The Little Match Girl {{1990s-horror-story-stub