Nighty-night, sleep tight

So the other day, my daughter tells me she has a library book from school that she wants me to read to her. We didn't have time that night. The next night she tells me she has to return the book the next day, and she really wants me to read it to her. I tell her to get ready for bedtime and then we snuggle up together in her bed and I open the book.

We begin to read. The story opens with a poor little girl, out walking in the snow on a cold night. She has lost her slippers (one having been snatched up by a young boy) and she is barefoot in the cold. Sounds a little serious, but on we read.

Continuing. The girl finds a corner between two buildings to curl up in; she is freezing cold. She is afraid to go home because her father will beat her for not selling any matches. Yes, BEAT her.

I'm a little disturbed now, but my daughter says she has read this book before, so I trudge forward.

The girl has her matches (which she did not sell) and begins to light the matches to warm her hands. In the light of the matches she sees beautiful visions of Christmas trees and warm rooms and wonderful feasts. I think to myself, it sounds like this child is hallucinating.

With the next match the girl sees a vision of her loving grandmother (who is dead) and proceeds to light the remaining matches so as not to lose the vision. A little more disturbed, yet I continue to turn the pages.

And we come to the delightful finale about how passers-by the next morning find the little girl's frozen body with a handful of used matches in her cold, dead hand. (No, the actual text did not say, "cold, dead hand," but it may as well have.)

I looked at my daughter incredulously, my voice slightly choking, at the conclusion of this story, "Emma, why would you ask me to read this story right before bedtime?" She only offered a meek shrug while gazing at me with her own misty eyes. "Your teacher read this to you?" I ask, trying to imagine a room full of 2nd graders gathering for story time only to be slapped in the face with death. The answer, "Yes, but we actually read it in 1st grade." Of course you did.

I consider myself fairly well-read, but I have to admit I had never heard of The Little Match Girl by Hans Christian Andersen before this night. I think it's one of those classic tales. I'm sure there's a reason. Don't get me wrong - I am generally not against my children reading stories concerning death and other such serious topics. But a little emotional preparation would have been nice. For me, anyway.