The story of the two candles adapted from  Andersen 

Once upon the time there were two candles. One was a big wax-candle which knew its own importance quite well. It kept saying:

“I am born of wax, give the best light and burn longer than other candles. My place is in a chandelier or on a silver candlestick!”

The other one was just the little tallow-candle. It admired the wax one and said:

“That must be a lovely existence! I am only made of tallow, but I comfort myself with the thought that it is always a little better than being a farthing dip. I am content! It is certainly finer and more fortunate to be born of wax instead of tallow, but one does not settle one’s own place in this world. You are placed in the big room in the glass chandelier. I remain in the kitchen, but that is also a good place. From there the whole house gets its food.”

“But there is something which is more important than food” said the wax-candle - “Society! to see it shine, and to shine oneself! There is a ball this evening, and soon I will be fetched.”

Scarcely was the word spoken, when all the wax-candles were fetched, but the tallow-candle also went with them. The lady herself took it and carried it out to the kitchen. A little boy stood there with a basket, which was filled with potatoes and apples. The good lady gave all this to the poor boy.

“There is a candle for you, my little friend,” said she. “Your mother sits and works till late in the night. She can use it!”

The little daughter of the house stood close by, and when she heard the words “late in the night,” she said with great delight: “I also will stay up till late in the night! We will have a ball, and I will wear my red dress!” and her face shone with joy! No wax-candle can shine like these two childish eyes!

“That is a blessing to see,” thought the tallow-candle; “I shall never forget it, and I shall certainly never see it again.”

And after that it was laid in the basket and the boy went away with it. And so the candle came to the poor people, a widow with three children The lived in a little, low room, right opposite the rich house.

“God bless the good lady for her gifts. What a lovely candle that is!" said the mother. And then the candle was lighted.

There also the candles were lighted across the street, where the carriages rolled up with the elegant ball-guests.

“Now they begin across there,” the tallow-candle noticed, and thought of the beaming face of the rich little girl, more sparkling than all the wax-lights. “That sight I will never see again!”

Then the smallest of the children in the poor house, a little girl, came and took her brother and sister round the neck. She had something very important to tell them, and it must be whispered. “To-night we will have just think!—To-night we will have hot potatoes!”

And her face shone with happiness: the tallow-candle shone right into it, and it saw a gladness, a happiness as great as over in the rich house.

“It is just as much to get hot potatoes!” - thought the candle. “Here there is so much joy.

The table was laid, and the potatoes eaten. Oh, how good they tasted! It was a perfect feast and each one got also an apple and the smallest child said the little prayer.

The little ones went to bed, got a kiss and fell asleep at once. Their mother sat and sewed late at night to get money to support them all. And over from the big house the lights shone and the music sounded. The stars shone over all the houses, over the rich and over the poor, equally clear and blessed.

“This has really been a delightful evening!” - thought the tallow-candle. “I wonder if the wax-candles had it any better in the silver candlestick? I would like to know that before I am burned out.”

And it thought of the two happy ones, the one lighted by the wax-candle, and the other by the tallow-candle.

Yes, that is the whole story!