The Red Shoes

Once upon a time there was a little girl named Karen, so sweet and pretty that she could have been kissed to pieces. She was terribly poor and went barefoot in summer and wore heavy wooden shoes in winter that chafed her little feet until they were red and sore. In the middle of the village lived an old shoemaker's wife who sewed together a pair of little shoes out of old strips of red cloth. They were clumsy but well-meant, and Karen's mother had been given them for her. But Karen's mother fell ill and died, and the poor little girl wore the red shoes to her mother's funeral.

An old wealthy lady who rode past in her carriage saw the child and took pity on her. She adopted Karen and gave her fine clothes and a proper education. Karen grew into a beautiful young lady. One day the old lady decided to buy Karen a new pair of shoes for her confirmation. In the shoemaker's shop Karen saw a pair of red shoes exactly like the ones the princess had worn. The old lady had poor eyesight and did not realize they were red, which was wholly inappropriate for church. Karen bought them and wore them to her confirmation at the church.

All through the service, Karen thought only of her red shoes. She did not pay attention to the sermon or the hymns or the holy sacrament. When the service ended and she stepped out of the church, the old soldier who stood by the door tapped the shoes with his finger and said, 'What pretty dancing shoes!' Karen could not resist. She began to dance. She danced around the churchyard and could not stop. She had to keep dancing, for the shoes had taken control of her feet.

The old lady fell ill, and Karen was meant to nurse her. But a grand ball was being held in the district, and Karen could not resist the temptation. She put on her red shoes and went to the ball. She began to dance, but now she could not stop at all. The shoes carried her out the door and into the street. She danced across fields and through brambles that tore her skin. She danced over mountains and through dark forests. She danced day and night, through sunshine and through storm. She could not rest or eat or sleep. She danced past the churchyard and saw an angel standing there in white robes. 'You shall dance,' the angel said, 'dance in your red shoes until you are cold and pale, until your skin shrivels and you are a skeleton. You shall dance from door to door and knock on every threshold. You shall dance until people are afraid of you.'

Karen danced on in terror and agony. At last she came to the house of the executioner. She knocked and begged him to chop off her feet so that the cursed shoes would come off. The executioner struck off her feet with his axe, and the red shoes danced away through the fields and into the dark forest, carrying the feet still inside them. He gave her wooden feet and a pair of crutches, and Karen repented from the bottom of her heart. She found work as a servant in the parsonage and lived a life of quiet devotion and penance. She attended church every Sunday and sang the hymns with all her soul. On Sundays the organ played and the congregation sang, and Karen felt such peace and grace that her heart overflowed. Her communion with heaven was so complete that her heart burst with joy, and her soul flew up to heaven, where there is no dancing and no red shoes, only everlasting peace.