Girl with matches

Abstract to the book “The Little Match Girl” by G. H. Andersen: “The Little Match Girl” is the most poignant of the stories told by G. H. Andersen. It's about a poor little orphan who is forced to sell matches... to passers-by on the street. On the last day of the old year, the girl does not manage to sell a single match, she has not been given a penny all day, and the little girl does not dare to return home to the cold room in the attic, where her father will probably beat her. Undressed and barefoot, she sits behind the ledge of the house directly in the snow and begins to light unsold matches and candles one after another. In the reflections of the flame, the girl sees beautiful pictures that have never existed in her life: a hot oven, a festive table with a Christmas goose, a luxurious Christmas tree with thousands of candles... With these imaginary pictures the girl ascends to Heaven - “where there is neither cold nor hunger, no fear”... The artist Lyudmila Pipchenko, who created the drawings specifically for the current edition, managed to convey this poignant New Year's story. Bright tears of compassion come to the throat, as soon as you open the book...