What is the title of Hans Christian Andersen’s 1845 tale about a child selling matches in winter?

Hans Christian Andersen’s 1845 tale about a child selling matches in winter is The Little Match Girl.

The story follows a poor girl who walks through the streets on New Year’s Eve, trying to sell matches while avoiding the cold. She lights the matches one by one and sees comforting visions, including a warm stove, a festive meal, and a Christmas tree. Her final vision is of her deceased grandmother.

Andersen first published the tale in Danish as “Den Lille Pige med Svovlstikkerne” in December 1845. It appeared in a collection of his stories alongside “The Fir Tree” and “The Snow Queen.” The original story is notably darker than many modern picture-book adaptations, because its central child does not survive the night.

The title is sometimes shortened in English to “The Match Girl,” but “The Little Match Girl” is the standard English title. It is also sometimes confused with later, more cheerful adaptations that soften the tale’s ending.