Hans Christian Andersen's "The Little Match Girl" is not a Japanese folktale. It is Danish, first published in 1845. But Japan took it in well over a century ago, and generations of Japanese children have grown up with it. That makes it unusually good material for study: you probably already know how the story goes, so your attention is free for the Japanese.

It is New Year's Eve, bitterly cold, and a barefoot girl is still out in the streets trying to sell her matches. Nobody buys. She lights them one at a time to warm her hands, and each small flame opens onto something she does not have: a warm stove, a roast goose, a lit Christmas tree, her grandmother. Andersen never softened his endings, and he does not soften this one.

Volume 7 of Learn Japanese with Stories turns the tale into a complete listening course for upper beginners. The story is taught in six passes, so understanding builds one layer at a time: Story introduction: a short preview in English, so you know where you are headed.

Vocabulary: the key words in Japanese, then English, with room to repeat after a native speaker.

Line by line: every Japanese sentence broken into short phrases with their meanings, then rebuilt whole. This is where the language sinks in.

Normal speed: the story at natural pace. Hear how much more you catch now.

Comprehension questions: answer out loud, then hear a model answer.

English version: the whole story retold in English, to confirm you got it.

Japanese narration by native speaker Yumi Boutwell, with the English read by Megumi Boutwell, from the family behind TheJapanShop.com, helping people learn Japanese since 2002.

No textbook required and no pages to turn. Press play in the car or on a walk and let the repetition do the work. Best for upper beginners around JLPT N5 to N4 who are ready to move past word lists into real Japanese.