A Christmas Tale

As evenings dark began to close in a little girl wipes her nose on her sleeve. Listless and hungry she walks in the snow a poor and lost soul, one cold New Year’s Eve. Her dead mothers slippers were much to large, they were flip flopping while crossing the street, two wild carriages coming full speed made her lose them, now she walks in bare feet. She glances in windows as she walks by, families eating and making good cheer, her pains from hunger she tries to ignore, she’s starving and freezing, poor little dear. The north winds cold breeze keeps blowing her face catches her breath as it blows back her hair. She spots a dark alley where she can lay, Tired and windblown she can no longer care. She curls in a ball tucking frozen feet carefully under her old blanket cloak, she leans on the building, closing her eyes now given up and her spirits are broke. A shaggy old dog, nudges her gently she hugs him and draws him close to her heart, smiling she whispers, we’ll go together when Jesus finds us, we’ll never more part Then both of their eyes close, she bathes in dreams, sitting at a fire, with food on the hearth. When she awakes, a lady stands smiling, pats the old dog saying, good boy old Barth. The Little Match Girl by H.C. Anderson Most terribly cold it was; it snowed, and was nearly quite dark, and evening-- the last evening of the year. In this cold and darkness there went along the street a poor little girl, bareheaded, and with naked feet. When she left home she had slippers on, it is true; but what was the good of that? They were very large slippers, which her mother had hitherto worn; so large were they; and the poor little thing lost them as she scuffled away across the street, because of two carriages that rolled by dreadfully fast. Written by Brenda Meier-Hans 12.03.2014 Contest: A Christmas Tale Sponsor Debbie Guzzi