Little Match-Girl

A concept caused by Narrativium. Sarah, the poor little match girl who dies on Hogswatchnight but gets taken by angels to go to paradise. A story to remind us to be thankful for what we've got, or a thinly-veiled propaganda for laissez-faire economics (take your pick: Death made a political choice at this point).

In the book Hogfather, there was a real match girl whose fate was to die out in the snow, at the doorway of Thimble's Pipe and Tobacco Shop, Money Trap Lane. But Death, who was appalled by the idea, and at the time fixated on the idea of fairness to all on Hogswatchnight despite all prevailing social and economic realities, refilled her hourglass and put her in the care of Nobby Nobbs and Visit. (It should be mentioned at this point that Albert complained that it was against the Rules to do this, but Death pointed out that, in his capacity as temporary Hogfather, he was allowed; "The Hogfather gives presents. There's no better present than a future.") This didn't half annoy the angel who descended to take her to Heaven, when he/she realised there wasn't a soul there in need of comforting and had to return to base empty-handed. To add to his/her annoyance, the angel was struck by a snowball from some greasy, heartless soul (i.e., Albert).

It is thought that this might be a reason for Nobby’s regular thievery from the Widows and Orphans fund. Not that he’d admit it.

Annotation

"The Little Match Girl" is a Danish fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen about a young girl who dies selling matches during the cold winter. It was first published in 1848 as part of his fifth volume of Nye Eventyr (New Fairy Tales) as Den Lille Pige Med Svovlstikkerne ("The Little Girl with the Sulphur-sticks").