e, the story remains one of the most memorable stories of childhood and haunts our cultural imagination.

許多人會認同，一本優秀兒童讀物的一個必要條件是主人公的勝利。

many will agree that the one requirement for a good children’s book is the triumph of the protagonist.

在過去的一個世紀裡，《賣火柴的小女孩》中的死亡場景被多次改編和重寫，最著名的是 1944 年的一個美國版本，它在護封上宣稱：

the death scene in “the Little match Girl” has been adapted and rewritten many times over the last century, most notably in an American edition of 1944 that proclaimed on its dust jacket:

“孩子們會滿懷欣喜地閱讀這個著名的漢斯?克里斯蒂安?安徒生故事的新版本。

“children will read with delight this new version of the famous hans christian Andersen tale.

因為在這個版本中，那個很久以前的平安夜的賣火柴的小女孩沒有死於嚴寒，而是找到了溫暖、歡樂和一個可愛的家，從此過上了幸福的生活。”

For in it, the little match girl on that long ago christmas Eve does not perish from the bitter cold, but finds warmth and cheer and a lovely home where she lives happily ever after.”

安徒生在社會動盪和政治劇變的十年間創作了這個故事，毫無疑問，他會對這個原本旨在有力批判經濟不平等的故事出現的社會救贖性轉變感到痛心。

Andersen wrote this story during a decade of social unrest and political upheaval, and would no doubt have been distressed by the socially redemptive turn in a story that was intended as a powerful critique of economic inequities.

一本近期的自助書籍講述了一位女性的經歷，她童年最喜歡的故事是《賣火柴的小女孩》：

A recent self - help book reports the experience of a woman whose favorite childhood story was “the Little match Girl”:

“當我們問起她這件事時，她解釋說，當賣火柴的小女孩點燃一根火柴時，那微小的火焰在她眼中變成了熊熊燃燒的聖誕爐火，周圍有禮物、朋友和食物。

“whe