賣火柴的女孩

餓著肚子回家，路經「太興」。只見裡頭燈火通明，食客臉上帶笑，有的拿著餐牌討論要點什麼菜，有的在埋頭大吃，餸菜蒸氣滾滾上升。飯店裡的熱鬧，與街道的淒冷形成強列對比。

百物騰貴，早已覺得食店的食物「貴咗但難食咗」。在太興，一碟叉燒飯要50元，其他菜式都是又貴又細。也不是每一間都好吃。曾吃過極難食的太興燒味外賣。

我雖衣食充足，但臨近聖誕，市面越是繁華，越是感覺到和街上的人格格不入。為何SOGO美容化妝部永遠擠滿人？一個女人擁有少首飾才足夠？為何捨得花近一千元吃一餐？（不過又可能有人問我，要看多少戲、買多少書犯才足夠，為何花幾百蚊去看演唱會、舞台劇。）為何一對平底鞋要八百多元？一件上衣要四百多元？我已不再在德福商場和沙田廣場這些地方消費。有趣的是，剛剛畢業時花在買衣服的錢還要比現在多。現在，只要沒有煮飯，便要在街外吃，便要消費。

食物便宜又好吃的食店買少見少，悶透的連鎖店越開越多，food court食店越來越豪華，快餐店也一直加價。

這叫窮人怎麼吃得起？望著餐廳內的人大吃大喝，心裡又是什麼滋味？

突然想起安徒生童話《賣火柴的女孩》。故事帶你回到百多年前的冬天。那年代沒有社會福利，小孩沒有權益，沒書讀之餘還要在冬夜穿著不合腳的鞋子去賣火迆。有錢人吃除夕大餐，貧窮小女孩則希望快點離開這個悲慘世界。在安徒生筆下，這殘酷故事，悲傷但美麗。

《賣火柴的女孩》，很適合聖誕節看。節錄原文The Little Match Girl尾段：

She rubbed another against the wall: it burned brightly, and where the light fell on the wall, there the wall became transparent like a veil, so that she could see into the room. On the table was spread a snow-white tablecloth; upon it was a splendid porcelain service, and the roast goose was steaming famously with its stuffing of apple and dried plums. And what was still more capital to behold was, the goose hopped down from the dish, reeled about on the floor with knife and fork in its breast, till it came up to the poor little girl; when--the match went out and nothing but the thick, cold, damp wall was left behind. She lighted another match. Now there she was sitting under the most magnificent Christmas tree: it was still larger, and more decorated than the one which she had seen through the glass door in the rich merchant's house.

Thousands of lights were burning on the green branches, and gaily-colored pictures, such as she had seen in the shop-windows, looked down upon her. The little maiden stretched out her hands towards them when--the match went out. The lights of the Christmas tree rose higher and higher, she saw them now as stars in heaven; one fell down and formed a long trail of fire.

"Someone is just dead!" said the little girl; for her old grandmother, the only person who had loved her, and who was now no more, had told her, that when a star falls, a soul ascends to God.

She drew another match against the wall: it was again light, and in the lustre there stood the old grandmother, so bright and radiant, so mild, and with such an expression of love.

"Grandmother!" cried the little one. "Oh, take me with you! You go away when the match burns out; you vanish like the warm stove, like the delicious roast goose, and like the magnificent Christmas tree!" And she rubbed the whole bundle of matches quickly against the wall, for she wanted to be quite sure of keeping her grandmother near her. And the matches gave such a brilliant light that it was brighter than at noon-day: never formerly had the grandmother been so beautiful and so tall. She took the little maiden, on her arm, and both flew in brightness and in joy so high, so very high, and then above was neither cold, nor hunger, nor anxiety--they were with God.

But in the corner, at the cold hour of dawn, sat the poor girl, with rosy cheeks and with a smiling mouth, leaning against the wall--frozen to death on the last evening of the old year. Stiff and stark sat the child there with her matches, of which one bundle had been burnt. "She wanted to warm herself," people said. No one had the slightest suspicion of what beautiful things she had seen; no one even dreamed of the splendor in which, with her grandmother she had entered on the joys of a new year.

http://www.online-literature.com/hans_christian_andersen/981/



其實百多年後的今天，情況也好不了多少。世界各地皆有住不起房子的露宿者，很多人三餐不繼，小孩子向遊客要錢，在垃圾堆裡找食物。這世上，仍有無數個「賣火柴的女孩」。


找回關於安徒生的舊博文:
安徒生的童話世界1

安徒生的童話世界2