true; but they were much too large for her feet,--slippers that her
mother had used until then, and the poor little girl lost them in
running across the street when two carriages were passing terribly
fast. When she looked for them, one was not to be found, and a boy
seized the other and ran away with it, saying he would use it for a
cradle some day, when he had children of his own.

So on the little girl went with her bare feet, that were red and blue
with cold. In an old apron that she wore were bundles of matches, and
she carried a bundle also in her hand. No one had bought so much as a
bunch all the long day, and no one had given her even a penny.

Poor little girl! Shivering with cold and hunger she crept along, a
perfect picture of misery!

The snowflakes fell on her long flaxen hair, which hung in pretty
curls about her throat; but she thought not of her beauty nor of the
cold. Lights gleamed in every window, and there came to her the savory
smell of roast goose, for it was New Year's Eve. And it was of this
which she thought.

In a corner formed by two houses, one of which projected beyond the
other, she sat cowering down. She had drawn under her little feet, but
still she grew colder and colder; yet she dared not go home, for she
had sold no matches, and could not bring a penny of money. Her father
would certainly beat her; and, besides, it was cold enough at home,
for they had only the houseroof above them; and, though the largest
holes had been stopped with straw and rags, there were left many
through which the cold wind whistled.