THE LITTLE MATCH GIRL

CHARACTERS:

NARRATOR

FATHER

LITTLE MATCH GIRL

BOY

WOMAN 1

GIRL

MAN 1

HOMELESS WOMAN

GRANDMOTHER

MAN 2

WOMAN 2

SCRIPT:

ACT I – AT THE LITTLE MATCH GIRL’S HOUSE

(It’s a cold night. It’s snowing)

FATHER: It`s time for you to go and sell these matches, and don`t come home until
you sell them all. Do you understand?.
LITTLE MATCH GIRL: Yes father, I understand.

FATHER: And remember, with the money of these matches all the family will eat
tonight.

LITTLE MATCH GIRL: Oh, I am so hungry!.

FATHER: We are all hungry, take the matches, we will be waiting for you.

LITTLE MATCH GIRL: Good-bye father.

FATHER: Go now before your mother wakes up.

LITTLE MATCH GIRL: Oh, I want to kiss her before I leave, father.

FATHER: She`s sleeping… go now!.

(The Little Match Girl puts on her big mother’s shoes and leaves)

ACT II – IN THE STREET

LITTLE MATCH GIRL: I am so cold and this large slippers don`t protect my feet. I
wish I had my own shoes so I don`t have to wear my mother`s shoes. (crosses the
street in a hurry. Looses her shoes and starts looking for them) Oh no!. What will I
do? I can`t find them… please… somebody help me…
(The Boy enters and approaches her)

BOY: What are you looking for?.

LITTLE MATCH GIRL: I lost my slippers, please help me find them!.

BOY: Sure. (sees a shoe and picks it up) Look…I found one!.

LITTLE MATCH GIRL: Oh thank you!.

BOY: Not so fast … now it belongs to me, I will use it as a cradle when I have my
own children. See you!.

LITTLE MATCH GIRL: Please, no!.

(The Boy runs away with her shoe and leaves. She stands in the sidewalk holding
the matches in her hands. People shopping for christmas gifts pass by her side.
Woman 1 and the Girl approach her)

WOMAN 1: (to the Girl) Sweety, did you like what I bought you in that toy store?.

GIRL: Oh, yes mother, the doll is so pretty, thank you. And the dress, is so lovely.
LITTLE MATCH GIRL: Lady, would you like to buy some matches, please, they are the
best.

WOMAN 1: No, I don`t need matches, and get away from my daughter.

GIRL: Mother, this girl is so dirty, and stinks!.

WOMAN 1: I know darling, come, let`s hurry up. I don`t know why they let these kind
of people to be on the streets among decent persons on this beautiful night.

GIRL: Look at her dress, mother, it`s so old!.

LITTLE MATCH GIRL: I am sorry, but this are the only clothes I have. And I lost my
mother`s shoes.

WOMAN 1: That is not my problem, anyway we don`t have money. We just bought all
our Christmas gifts, and even if I had it, I wasn`t going to buy matches. So, get away.

LITTLE MATCH GIRL: But, they`re only ten cents.

WOMAN 1: No, little girl, I already told you.

(The Little Match Girl trembles. Snow is falling. Man 1 enters and approaches her)

LITTLE MATCH GIRL: Sir, Sir.. please.. would you like to buy some matches?. They
are magical, you know. When you light one, all your wishes come true.
MAN 1: That`s nonsense!. Those are fairy tales. Get away from me.

LITTLE MATCH GIRL: But, sir, please buy one… its light will give you the most
wonderful Christmas.

MAN 1: I told you, no, I don`t need one.

LITTLE MATCH GIRL: It is true, each one is different.

MAN 1: I don`t want matches today. Why don`t you go home?. It`s a cold night.

LITTLE MATCH GIRL: I can`t sir, my father told me not to go home until I sell them all.

MAN 1: Well, I feel sorry for you, maybe somebody else will buy them.

LITTLE MATCH GIRL: Maybe…maybe.

MAN 1: Bye.

(The Little Match Girl shivers with cold. The Homeless Woman approaches her)

HOMELESS WOMAN: Hey, you little girl. What do you sell?.

LITTLE MATCH GIRL: I sell matches. Would you like to buy one?.
HOMELESS WOMAN: Are you kidding me?. Don`t you see that I am as poor as
you?.

LITTLE MATCH GIRL: Oh, sorry. I have to sell them all and take the money to my
father, if I don`t he will beat me.

HOMELSS WOMAN: Poor girl. Well, it`s getting late, and I also have to seek shelter, I
am not feeling very good. Good luck, and I hope you sell all your matches so you
can go home soon.

LITTLE MATCH GIRL: Good-bye, and Merry Christmas.

(The Little Martch Girl tries to sell matches to every person passing by. She sits on
the ground shivering with cold)

LITTLE MATCH GIRL: Oh, I wish I could cover myself with something. My hands and
feet are so cold!…I willI light one of my matches just to warm my fingers a
little. (lights up one match) I feel warm now. Oh, what a wonderful light.. what is that
over there?. It´s a stove!. My feet and hands feel so warm. (the flame of the match
goes out) Oh, I felt so good, I will light up another match… No, I can´t, I need the
money for my brothers. (lights up another match) Oh, I can see a table full of
wonderful things to eat… there´s turkey, lamb, roast goose, fish, apples, cakes… Oh,
I want to eat everything! I feel so comfortable in this place. (the flame of the match
goes out. She lights up another match) Oh, what a wonderful Christmas Tree!. It`s
like the one I see in many houses of rich people. Those lights are bright as stars!.
There are so many gifts under the tree. I wish I had some for my brothers. (tries to
touch the lights but the flame of the match goes out. She looks at the sky and sees
bright lights) Oh, there`s a star falling and it`s leaving behind it a bright streak of fire.
Someone is going to heaven!. A soul is going to God!. It`s true what my grandmother
told me. (lights up another match and she sees her grandmother) Grandmother, oh
take me with you; I know you will go away when the match burns out; you will vanish
like the warm stove, the roast goose, and the large, glorious Christmas-tree (lights
up all the matches).
GRANDMOTHER: Come my little girl, come with me and hug me. We will go to a
place where there´s no hunger, pain, or cold. We will be before God.

(The flame of the matches and the lights go out. The lights are turned on again and
the Little Match Girl is on the ground with all the burnt matches in her hand. Man 2
and Woman 2 enter and approach her)

MAN 2: Poor little girl, she died in the cold… on New Year’s Eve!.

WOMAN 2: It’s so sad… she tried to warm herself with the matches… but now she is
in Heaven.

THE END

Once upon a time… a little girl tried to make a living by selling

matches in the street.
It was New Year’s Eve and the snowy streets were deserted.
From brightly lit windows came the sound of laughter and
singing. People were getting ready to bring in the New Year. But
the poor little match seller, in her ragged dress and worn shawl
sat beside a fountain shivering from the cold. She hadn’t sold
one box of matches all day. The little girl’s fingers were stiff. If
only she could light a match! Her hands shaking, she took out a
match and lit it. What a nice warm flame! The little match seller
cupped her hand over it, and as she did so, she magically saw in
its light a brightly burning stove.
She held out her hands to the heat, but just then the match went
out and the vision faded. The night seemed blacker than before
and it was getting colder.
She struck another match on the wall, and this time, the glimmer
turned the wall into a great sheet of crystal. Beyond that stood a
fine table laden with food. The little match girl held out her arms
towards the plates, but then the match went out and the magic
faded. Poor thing! In just a few seconds she had caught a
glimpse of everything that life had denied her: warmth and good
things to eat. Her eyes filled with tears.
She lit a third match and an even more wonderful thing
happened. There stood a Christmas tree hung with hundreds of
candles, glittering with tinsel and colored balls. “Oh, how lovely!”
exclaimed the little match girl, holding up the match. Then, the
match burned her finger and flickered out. The beautiful
Christmas tree faded into darkness.
Scarcely aware of what she was doing, the little match girl lit yet
another match. This time, she saw her grandmother.
“Granny, stay with me!” she pleaded, as she lit one match after
the other, so that her grandmother could not disappear like all
the other visions. Granny did not vanish, but gazed smilingly at
her. Then she opened her arms and the little girl hugged her
crying: “Granny, take me away with you!”
A cold day dawned and a pale sun shone on the fountain and the
icy road. Close by lay the lifeless body of a little girl surrounded
by burnt-out matches.
But the smile on her face was a sign that the little match girl was
far away, in a place where there is neither cold, hunger, nor pain