The Dreadful Story about Harriet and the Matches

From “The English Struwwelpeter” IT almost makes me cry to tell What foolish Harriet befel. Mamma and Nurse went out one day And left her all alone at play; Now, on the table close at hand, A box of matches chanced to stand; And kind Mamma and Nurse had told her, That, if she touched them, they should scold her. But Harriet said: “O, what a pity! For when they burn it is so pretty; They crackle so, and spit, and flame; Mamma, too, often does the same.” The pussy-cats heard this, And they began to hiss, And stretch their claws And raise their paws; “Me-ow,” they said, “me-ow, me-o, You ’ll burn to death, if you do so.” But Harriet would not take advice, She lit a match, it was so nice! It crackled so, it burned so clear,— Exactly like the picture here. She jumped for joy and ran about, And was too pleased to put it out. The pussy-cats saw this And said: “Oh, naughty, naughty Miss!” And stretched their claws And raised their paws: “’T is very, very wrong, you know, Me-ow, me-o, me-ow, me-o, You will be burnt, if you do so.” And see! Oh! what a dreadful thing! The fire has caught her apron string; Her apron burns, her arms, her hair; She burns all over, everywhere. Then how the pussy-cats did mew; What else, poor pussies, could they do? They screamed for help, ’t was all in vain! So then they said: “We ’ll scream again; Make haste, make haste, me-ow, me-o, She ’ll burn to death, we told her so.” So she was burnt, with all her clothes, And arms, and hands, and eyes, and nose; Till she had nothing more to lose Except her little scarlet shoes; And nothing else but these was found Among her ashes on the ground. And when the good cats sat beside The smoking ashes, how they cried! “Me-ow, me-oo, me-ow, me-oo, What will Mamma and Nursy do?” Their tears ran down their cheeks so fast, They made a little pond at last.