“Grandmother!” exclaimed the child, “oh, take me with you! I know thou1 wilt2leave me as soon as the match goes out， thou wilt vanish like warm fire in the stove, like the splendid New Year's feast, like the beautiful large Christmas tree!” and she hastily lighted all the remaining matches in the bundle, last her grandmother should disappear. And the matches burned with such a blaze of splendor, that noon day could scarcely have been brighter. Never had the good old grandmother looked so tall and stately, so beautiful and kind； she took the little girl in her arms, and they both flew together-higher, till they were in that place where neither cold, nor hunger, nor pain, is ever known， they were in paradise.

“奶奶！”小姑娘叫了起来，“啊！把我带走吧！我知道这火柴一熄灭，你就会象炉中温暖的火焰，丰盛的新年饭食，美丽的大圣诞树一样地不见了！”她急忙把剩下的一束火柴都擦着了，生怕祖母走了，这束火柴发出强烈的光芒，照得比白天还要亮。祖母从来没有象现在这样显得高大、美丽和亲切。她把小姑娘抱起来，搂在怀里。她们俩在光明和快乐飞走了，越飞越高，飞到既没有寒冷，又没有饥饿和忧愁的地方——那就是极乐世界。

But in the cold morning hour, crouching in the corner of the wall, the poor little girl was found：her cheeks glowing, her lips smiling， frozen to death on the last night of the old Year. The New Year's sun shone on the lifeless child； motionless she sat there with the matches in her lap, one bundle of them quite burnt out.

“She has been trying to warm herself, poor thing!” the people said， but no one knew of the sweet visions she had beheld, or how gloriously she and her grandmother were celebrating their New Year's festival.

直到寒冷的早晨，人们发现一个可怜的小姑娘蜷缩在墙角里，她双颊通红，嘴唇上带着微笑，她已经在旧年的除夕冻死了。新年的太阳升起来了，照在她那小小的身体上！她一动也不动地坐在那里，手中还捏着火柴，其中一捆已经完全烧光了。
“可怜的孩子！她是想把自己暖一下呀！”然而却没有人知道，她曾看到过多么美妙的东西，她曾多么快乐地跟祖母在一起欢度新年佳节！