天气非常非常冷,雪下得很大,夜幕已降临。这是旧年最后的一夜--除夕之夜。尽管天气是那么的寒冷和黑暗,一个贫穷的小女孩,光头赤脚仍在大街上徘徊。当她离家出门的时候,脚上穿着一双拖鞋,那是一双相当大的拖鞋--的确太大了,那是她妈妈穿着合适的一双拖鞋。当她匆忙横穿马路的时候,两辆马车飞快地闯过来,吓得她把拖鞋跑丢了。一只怎么也找不到,另一只被一个小男孩抢跑了。他想,这只鞋可以当做玩具娃娃睡觉的摇篮。
So the little girl now walked on, her bare feet quite red and blue with the cold. She carried a small bundle of matches in her hand, and a good many more in her tattered apron. No one had bought any of them the live long day; no one had given her a single penny. Trembling with cold and hunger crept she on, the picture of sorrow: poor little child!
The snow-flakes fell on her long, fair hair, which curled in such pretty ringlets over her shoulders; but she thought not of her own beauty, or of the cold. Lights were glimmering through every window, and the savoir of roast goose reached her from several houses; it was New Year's eve, and it was of this that she thought.
现在这小女孩只好光着脚在街上行走,一双脚步冻得又红又青。她那破旧的围裙兜着许多火柴,手里还拿着一小捆。可整整一天谁也没有向她买过一根--谁也没有给她一个铜板。她又饿又冷,哆哆嗦嗦地向前走着,这是一幅非常凄惨的景象:可怜的小姑娘!
雪花落在她那金黄色的头发上--长长的卷发披散在肩上,看起来十分美丽,可她想不到自己的漂亮。从每扇窗子透出的亮光和飘出的烤鹅肉香味,使她想起的只是今天是除夕之夜。