Section 152 New Year’s Eve. I.1
It was dreadfully cold; it snowed, and was beginning to grow dark; it was the last evening of the year,—New-year’s Eve. In this cold, a poor little girl was wandering about the streets with2 bare head and bare feet. She had slippers on when she left home (Haus, with the def. art.), but what was the good of them? They (Es) were the large, old slippers of her mother’s—so large that they fell off the little girl’s feet as she hurried across the street to3 escape a carriage, which came4 galloping along at a great rate. The one slipper was not to be found, and a boy ran off with the other.
So the little girl wandered about barefooted, with a quantity5 of matches in an old apron, whilst she held a box6 of them in her (S. 43, N. 9, A) hand. No one had bought any matches of her through7 the whole livelong day—no one had given her a single farthing8. Hungry, and pinched9 with cold, the poor little girl crept10 along, the large flakes of snow covering (S. 55, N. 1; use während) her yellow hair, which11 curled round her face.
In12 a corner between two houses, one projecting beyond the other, she sought shelter. Huddling13 herself up, she drew her poor little feet, which were red and blue with cold, under her (sich) as well as she could, but she14 was colder than ever, and15 dared not go home (S. 63, N. 8), for, as she had sold no matches, her cruel16 father would beat her. Besides17, it was cold at home (S. 63, N. 8), for they lived just18 under the roof, and19 the wind blew in, though straw and rags had been stuffed in the large cracks. Her little hands were quite benumbed with cold. Oh20, how much good one match would do, if she dared but (nur) take it out of the box and draw21 it across the wall to warm her fingers in the flames!
Notes
1 Der Sylvesterabend.
2 with — feet, barfuß und unbedeckten Hauptes, which place before ‘about (durch) the streets’.
3 to escape a carriage, einem Wagen aus dem Weg laufen. For the translation of the conjunction ‘to’ in this clause compare S. 19, N. 7.
4 to come galloping along at a great rate, in vollem Galopp die Straße entlang kommen.
5 a quantity = some.
6 Schachtel, f.; of them = of the same.
7 through — day, den ganzen Tag lang, which is best placed at the commencement of the period.
8 Heller, m.
9 to be pinched with cold, vor Kälte erstarrt sein.
10 to creep along, sich weiter schleppen.
11 Say ‘which in curls surrounded (umwallen, insep. comp. w. v.) her face’.
12 In — other, In einem durch ein hervorspringendes Haus gebildeten Winkel.
13 Say ‘She huddled herself up (nie´derkauern, sep. comp. w. v.) and drew her’, etc.
14 I am cold, es friert mich.
15 Say ‘and yet she (App. § 24, B) dared (wagen, w. v.) not to go home’.
16 ‘cruel’, here = severe.
17 Say ‘And also (App. § 14) at home it was cold’.
18 ‘just’, here = immediately.
19 Say ‘through which the wind blew, although the large cracks (Spalte, f.) were stuffed (verstopfen, insep. comp. w. v.) with straw and rags’.
20 Say, ‘Oh (Ach), how nice (schön) must (Imperf. Subj.) a match be’.
21 Ein Zündhölzchen an der Mauer an´reiben, to draw a match across the wall.