《卖火柴的小女孩》，1846 年
the little atch-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 atch girl\" (written durg a onth - long stay with the duke of augtenb) was spired by ilstrations andersen received fro the editor of an alanac, with the reest that he write a story about one of the
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 ia, pated by the danish artist johan thoas ndbye, showed a girl sellg atches
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 popurized through its appearance 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 ter recalled his travel diaries, “ this ti of xury and plenty, a publisher sent three woodcuts askg 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 ragd little girl with a handful of atches—‘the little atch - girl’—the ntrast beeen our life at augtenb 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 sufferg with the kd of passion brought to the tale of the atch - seller, and nerations of children have adired 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 thg of a cultural in
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 victi of a brutal father (far ore cruel than the ogres of fairy tales) and of a heartless cial 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, offerg neither shelter nor stenance
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 agic is absent, and rescue es only the for of dive tervention
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 atch girl’s story takes to the heroe’s ntal world, allog to feel her pa as the teperature drops and the d 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 al share her visions, first of warth, then of nourishnt, beauty, and fally huan 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 fal ia of the story gives a frozen rpse, the little atch girl’s death is still a “beautiful death,” the site of radiant spirituality and transcendent ang
无论我们将她的苦难解读为 “伪装成虔诚的折磨”（就像 pl 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 suffergs as “tortures, disguised as pieties” (as did pltravers) or nsider her wretchedness as the prendition for transtion to a higher sphere, the story reas one of the ost orable stories of childhood and haunts our cultural iagation
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。
any will agree that the one reirent for a good children’s book is the triuph 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 “the little atch girl” has been adapted and rewritten any tis over the st century, ost notably an arican edition of 1944 that procid on its dt 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 fao 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 it, the little atch girl on that long ago christas eve does not perish fro the bitter ld, but fds warth and cheer and a lovely ho 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 durg a decade of cial unrest and political upheaval, and would no doubt have been distressed by the cially redeptive turn a story that was tended as a powerful critie of enoic eities
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 woan whose favorite childhood story was “the little atch 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 exped that, when the little atch girl lit a atch, the ty f beca for her a roarg christas fire with gifts, friends and food around
这也是她最深切的愿望。”
this was al 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 ld and nearly dark on the st eveng of the old year, and the snow was fallg 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。
the ld and the darkness, a poor little girl, with bare head and naked feet, road 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 ho, but they were not of uch e
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 r, r, deed, that they had belond to her other, and the poor little creature had lost the runng across the street to avoid o carrias that were rollg 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 uld not fd, and a boy seized upon the other and ran away with it, sayg that he uld e 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。
the little girl went on with her little naked feet, which were ite red and be with the ld
她在一条旧围裙里装着许多火柴，手里还拿着一捆。
an old apron she carried a nuber of atches, and had a bundle of the 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 anythg 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；
shiverg with ld and hunr, 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 isery
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 snowfkes fell on her long, fair hair, which hung curls on her shoulders, but she regarded the 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 shg fro every dow, and there was a savory sll of roast goose, for it was new - year’s eve — yes, she rebered 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。
a rner, beeen o hoes, one of which projected beyond the other, she sank down and huddled herself tother
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 uld not keep off the ld;
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 ho, for she had ld no atches, and uld not take ho even a penny of oney
她的父亲肯定会打她的；
her father would certaly 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 alost as ld at ho as here, for they had only the roof to ver the, through which the d howled, although the rst holes had been sped up with straw and rags
她的小手几乎被冻僵了。
her little hands were alost frozen with the ld
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 burng atch ight be good, if she uld draw it fro the bundle and strike it agast the wall, jt to war her frs
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 war, 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 seed to the little girl that she was sittg by a r iron stove, with polished brass feet and a brass ornant
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 seed beautifully war that the child stretched out her feet as if to war the, when, lo! the f of the atch went out, the stove vanished, and she had only the reas of the half - burnt atch her hand
她又在墙上擦了一根火柴。
she rubbed another atch 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 to a f, and where its light fell upon the wall it beca as transparent as a veil, and she uld see to the roo
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 vered with a snowy white table - cloth, on which stood a splendid dner service, and a steag roast goose, stuffed with apples and dried ps
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 ore wonderful, the goose juped down fro the dish and waddled across the floor, with a knife and fork 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 atch went out, and there reaed nothg but the thick, dap, ld 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 atch, and then she found herself sittg under a beautiful christas - 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 rr and ore beautifully derated than the one which she had seen through the gss door at the rich rchant’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。
thoands of tapers were burng upon the green branches, and lored pictures, like those she had seen the show - dows, 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 the, and the atch 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 christas lights rose higher and higher, till they looked to her like the stars 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, leavg behd 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。
“ one is dyg,” thought the little girl, for her old grandother, the only one who had ever loved her, and who was now dead, had told her that when a star falls, a ul was gog up to god
她又在墙上擦了一根火柴，光照在她周围；
she aga rubbed a atch 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。
the brightness stood her old grandother, clear and shg, yet ild and lovg her appearance
“奶奶，” 小女孩叫道，“啊，带我走吧；
“grandother,” cried the little one, “o take with you;
我知道火柴一灭您就会离开；
i know you will go away when the atch 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 war stove, the roast goose, and the r, glorio christas - 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 ade haste to light the whole bundle of atches, for she wished to keep her grandother 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 atches glowed with a light that was brighter than the noon - day, and her grandother had never appeared r or 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 her ars, and they both flew uards brightness and joy far above the earth, where there was neither ld nor hunr nor pa, 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；
the dawn of orng there y the poor little one, with pale cheeks and silg outh, leang agast 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 st eveng 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 rpse! the child still sat, the stiffness of death, holdg the atches her hand, one bundle of which was burnt
“她想暖和一下自己，” 有人说。
“she tried to war herself,” said
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 iaged what beautiful thgs she had seen, nor to what glory she had entered with her grandother, on new - year’s day
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