THE RED SHOES

                                  1872

                 FAIRY TALES OF HANS CHRISTIAN ANDERSEN

                             THE RED SHOES

                       by Hans Christian Andersen



ONCE upon a time there was little girl, pretty and dainty. But

in summer time she was obliged to go barefooted because she was

poor, and in winter she had to wear large wooden shoes, so that her

little instep grew quite red.

In the middle of the village lived an old shoemaker's wife; she

sat down and made, as well as she could, a pair of little shoes out of

some old pieces of red cloth. They were clumsy, but she meant well,

for they were intended for the little girl, whose name was Karen.

Karen received the shoes and wore them for the first time on the

day of her mother's funeral. They were certainly not suitable for

mourning; but she had no others, and so she put her bare feet into

them and walked behind the humble coffin.

Just then a large old carriage came by, and in it sat an old lady;

she looked at the little girl, and taking pity on her, said to the

clergyman, "Look here, if you will give me the little girl, I will

take care of her."

Karen believed that this was all on account of the red shoes,

but the old lady thought them hideous, and so they were burnt. Karen

herself was dressed very neatly and cleanly; she was taught to read

and to sew, and people said that she was pretty. But the mirror told

her, "You are more than pretty- you are beautiful."

One day the Queen was travelling through that part of the country,

and had her little daughter, who was a princess, with her. All the

people, amongst them Karen too, streamed towards the castle, where the

little princess, in fine white clothes, stood before the window and

allowed herself to be stared at. She wore neither a train nor a golden

crown, but beautiful red morocco shoes; they were indeed much finer

than those which the shoemaker's wife had sewn for little Karen. There

is really nothing in the world that can be compared to red shoes!

Karen was now old enough to be confirmed; she received some new

clothes, and she was also to have some new shoes. The rich shoemaker

in the town took the measure of her little foot in his own room, in

which there stood great glass cases full of pretty shoes and white

slippers. It all looked very lovely, but the old lady could not see

very well, and therefore did not get much pleasure out of it.

Amongst the shoes stood a pair of red ones, like those which the

princess had worn. How beautiful they were! and the shoemaker said

that they had been made for a count's daughter, but that they had

not fitted her.

"I suppose they are of shiny leather?" asked the old lady. "They

shine so."

"Yes, they do shine," said Karen. They fitted her, and were

bought. But the old lady knew nothing of their being red, for she

would never have allowed Karen to be confirmed in red shoes, as she

was now to be.

Everybody looked at her feet, and the whole of the way from the

church door to the choir it seemed to her as if even the ancient

figures on the monuments, in their stiff collars and long black robes,

had their eyes fixed on her red shoes. It was only of these that she

thought when the clergyman laid his hand upon her head and spoke of

the holy baptism, of the covenant with God, and told her that she

was now to be a grown-up Christian. The organ pealed forth solemnly,

and the sweet children's voices mingled with that of their old leader;

but Karen thought only of her red shoes. In the afternoon the old lady

heard from everybody that Karen had worn red shoes. She said that it

was a shocking thing to do, that it was very improper, and that

Karen was always to go to church in future in black shoes, even if

they were old.

On the following Sunday there was Communion. Karen looked first at

the black shoes, then at the red ones- looked at the red ones again,

and put them on.

The sun was shining gloriously, so Karen and the old lady went

along the footpath through the corn, where it was rather dusty.

At the church door stood an old crippled soldier leaning on a

crutch; he had a wonderfully long beard, more red than white, and he

bowed down to the ground and asked the old lady whether he might

wipe her shoes. Then Karen put out her little foot too. "Dear me, what

pretty dancing-shoes!" said the soldier. "Sit fast, when you dance,"

said he, addressing the shoes, and slapping the soles with his hand.

The old lady gave the soldier some money and then went with

Karen into the church.

And all the people inside looked at Karen's red shoes, and all the

figures gazed at them; when Karen knelt before the altar and put the

golden goblet to her mouth, she thought only of the red shoes. It

seemed to her as though they were swimming about in the goblet, and

she forgot to sing the psalm, forgot to say the "Lord's Prayer."

Now every one came out of church, and the old lady stepped into

her carriage. But just as Karen was lifting up her foot to get in too,

the old soldier said: "Dear me, what pretty dancing shoes!" and

Karen could not help it, she was obliged to dance a few steps; and

when she had once begun, her legs continued to dance. It seemed as

if the shoes had got power over them. She danced round the church

corner, for she could not stop; the coachman had to run after her

and seize her. He lifted her into the carriage, but her feet continued

to dance, so that she kicked the good old lady violently. At last they

took off her shoes, and her legs were at rest.

At home the shoes were put into the cupboard, but Karen could

not help looking at them.

Now the old lady fell ill, and it was said that she would not rise

from her bed again. She had to be nursed and waited upon, and this was

no one's duty more than Karen's. But there was a grand ball in the

town, and Karen was invited. She looked at the red shoes, saying to

herself that there was no sin in doing that; she put the red shoes on,

thinking there was no harm in that either; and then she went to the

ball; and commenced to dance.

But when she wanted to go to the right, the shoes danced to the

left, and when she wanted to dance up the room, the shoes danced

down the room, down the stairs through the street, and out through the

gates of the town. She danced, and was obliged to dance, far out

into the dark wood. Suddenly something shone up among the trees, and

she believed it was the moon, for it was a face. But it was the old

soldier with the red beard; he sat there nodding his head and said:

"Dear me, what pretty dancing shoes!"

She was frightened, and wanted to throw the red shoes away; but

they stuck fast. She tore off her stockings, but the shoes had grown

fast to her feet. She danced and was obliged to go on dancing over

field and meadow, in rain and sunshine, by night and by day- but by

night it was most horrible.

She danced out into the open churchyard; but the dead there did

not dance. They had something better to do than that. She wanted to

sit down on the pauper's grave where the bitter fern grows; but for

her there was neither peace nor rest. And as she danced past the

open church door she saw an angel there in long white robes, with

wings reaching from his shoulders down to the earth; his face was

stern and grave, and in his hand he held a broad shining sword.

"Dance you shall," said he, "dance in your red shoes till you

are pale and cold, till your skin shrivels up and you are a

skeleton! Dance you shall, from door to door, and where proud and

wicked children live you shall knock, so that they may hear you and

fear you! Dance you shall, dance- !"

"Mercy!" cried Karen. But she did not hear what the angel

answered, for the shoes carried her through the gate into the

fields, along highways and byways, and unceasingly she had to dance.

One morning she danced past a door that she knew well; they were

singing a psalm inside, and a coffin was being carried out covered

with flowers. Then she knew that she was forsaken by every one and

damned by the angel of God.

She danced, and was obliged to go on dancing through the dark

night. The shoes bore her away over thorns and stumps till she was all

torn and bleeding; she danced away over the heath to a lonely little

house. Here, she knew, lived the executioner; and she tapped with

her finger at the window and said:

"Come out, come out! I cannot come in, for I must dance."

And the executioner said: "I don't suppose you know who I am. I

strike off the heads of the wicked, and I notice that my axe is

tingling to do so."

"Don't cut off my head!" said Karen, "for then I could not

repent of my sin. But cut off my feet with the red shoes."

And then she confessed all her sin, and the executioner struck off

her feet with the red shoes; but the shoes danced away with the little

feet across the field into the deep forest.

And he carved her a pair of wooden feet and some crutches, and

taught her a psalm which is always sung by sinners; she kissed the

hand that guided the axe, and went away over the heath.

"Now, I have suffered enough for the red shoes," she said; "I will

go to church, so that people can see me." And she went quickly up to

the church-door; but when she came there, the red shoes were dancing

before her, and she was frightened, and turned back.

During the whole week she was sad and wept many bitter tears,

but when Sunday came again she said: "Now I have suffered and

striven enough. I believe I am quite as good as many of those who

sit in church and give themselves airs." And so she went boldly on;

but she had not got farther than the churchyard gate when she saw

the red shoes dancing along before her. Then she became terrified, and

turned back and repented right heartily of her sin.

She went to the parsonage, and begged that she might be taken into

service there. She would be industrious, she said, and do everything

that she could; she did not mind about the wages as long as she had

a roof over her, and was with good people. The pastor's wife had

pity on her, and took her into service. And she was industrious and

thoughtful. She sat quiet and listened when the pastor read aloud from

the Bible in the evening. All the children liked her very much, but

when they spoke about dress and grandeur and beauty she would shake

her head.

On the following Sunday they all went to church, and she was asked

whether she wished to go too; but, with tears in her eyes, she

looked sadly at her crutches. And then the others went to hear God's

Word, but she went alone into her little room; this was only large

enough to hold the bed and a chair. Here she sat down with her

hymn-book, and as she was reading it with a pious mind, the wind

carried the notes of the organ over to her from the church, and in

tears she lifted up her face and said: "O God! help me!"

Then the sun shone so brightly, and right before her stood an

angel of God in white robes; it was the same one whom she had seen

that night at the church-door. He no longer carried the sharp sword,

but a beautiful green branch, full of roses; with this he touched

the ceiling, which rose up very high, and where he had touched it

there shone a golden star. He touched the walls, which opened wide

apart, and she saw the organ which was pealing forth; she saw the

pictures of the old pastors and their wives, and the congregation

sitting in the polished chairs and singing from their hymn-books.

The church itself had come to the poor girl in her narrow room, or the

room had gone to the church. She sat in the pew with the rest of the

pastor's household, and when they had finished the hymn and looked up,

they nodded and said, "It was right of you to come, Karen."

"It was mercy," said she.

The organ played and the children's voices in the choir sounded

soft and lovely. The bright warm sunshine streamed through the

window into the pew where Karen sat, and her heart became so filled

with it, so filled with peace and joy, that it broke. Her soul flew on

the sunbeams to Heaven, and no one was there who asked after the Red

Shoes.

                        THE END

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