《打火匣》，1835 年

the tinder-box, 1835

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安徒生早期的童話故事借鑑了口頭講故事的傳統，這些傳統熱衷於殘酷、暴力、粗俗和低俗，並且以一種滑稽的模式發展，這與《賣火柴的小女孩》這類故事的虔誠基調非常不同。

Andersen’s early fairy tales draw on oral storytelling traditions that revel in cruelty, violence, earthiness, and vulgarity and move in a burlesque mode very different from the pious tone of tales like “the Little match Girl.”

因為其荒謬的過度情節（《打火匣》中計程車兵犯了從忘恩負義、殺人到盜竊和弒君等一切罪行），但也因為其極為迷人的時刻（三條狗對婚禮充滿驚奇），這個故事保留了一定的吸引力，使其儘管有許多暴力情節轉折卻依然流傳。

In part because of its preposterous excesses (the soldier in “the tinderbox” is guilty of everything from ingratitude and homicide to theft and regicide) but also its exquisitely charming moments (the three dogs filled with wonder at the wedding), the story has retained a certain appeal that allows it to stay alive despite its many violent turns.

《打火匣》是安徒生《童話集》的開篇故事，是他童話的第一部分。

“the tinderbox” was the opening tale of Andersen’s Eventyr, the first installment of his fairy tales.

它基於一個名為《蠟燭精靈》的丹麥民間故事，並且多次暗指其他童話故事 ——《長髮公主》（塔中的公主）、《漢賽爾與格萊特》（穀粒的蹤跡）和《阿里巴巴和四十大盜》（門的標記）。

It is based on a danish folktale known as “the Spirit of the candle” and has multiple allusions to other fairy tales—“Rapunzel” (the princess in the tower), “hansel and Gretel” (the trail of grain), and “Ali baba and the Forty thieves” (the marking of doors).

在他早期的兒童故事中，安徒生從不同文化的口頭講故事傳統中借用了故事的片段，將它們拼湊在一起形成一個完整的敘述。

In his early stories for children, Andersen borrowed bits and pieces of tales fr