because she was poor. In the winter she dragged on a pair of heavy wooden shoes, and the backs of her feet became red, which was very unpleasant.
In the very center of the village lived an old woman shoemaker. Using old red cloth, she sat down and sewed out
a small pair of shoes to the best of her ability. The shoes were rather silly looking, but her intentions were good, for they were sewn for this little girl. This
little girl was named Jalen.
On the day her mother was buried, she was given these red shoes. It was the first time she had ever worn them. Indeed, it was not something to be worn in mourning
; but she had no other shoes to wear. So she stuck her little bare feet in them and walked behind
a humble coffin.
Then suddenly a very large old car drove up. Inside the car sat an elderly lady. She saw the
little girl and pitied her very much, so she said to the priest (Note: In old Europe, orphans who had no home were looked after
by the local priest.) said,
"Give me this little girl, and I will treat her well!"
Jaren thought it was because of her red shoes. But the old woman said that red shoes were nasty, so she burned those shoes
. But now Jalen wore clean and neat clothes. She learns to read and do needlework, and others say she is lovely. But
her mirror said, "You're not only cute; you're downright beautiful."
On one occasion the queen traveled the country; she took her little daughter along with her, and this was a princess. The common people flocked to the palace
gates to see it, and Jalen was among them. And that little princess, dressed in beautiful white, stood inside the window for all to see
her. She was neither trailing a back train nor wearing a golden crown, but she was wearing a pair of gorgeous red tanned leather shoes. They were certainly much prettier than the pair the woman
shoemaker had made for little Jalen. Nothing in the world could compare to red shoes!
Now Jalen was big enough to be confirmed. She would have new clothes to wear; she would also get new shoes. A
rich shoemaker in town had her little feet measured - and this was done
in his own store, in a little room of his own. There were many large glass shelves in which were displayed many neat shoes and polished boots. It was all very pretty
but the old lady could not see well enough to be interested. Among the many shoes was a pair of red ones; they were exactly like the pair worn by the
Princess. How beautiful they were! The shoemaker said that they had been made for a lady of the Count, but
they did not fit her feet very well.
"That must be made of patent leather," said the old lady, "and that's why they shine like that!"
"Yes, shiny!" Jalen said.
The shoes fit her feet, so she bought them. The old lady didn't know they were red, though, because she would never let
Jaren wear a pair of red shoes to her confirmation. But Jalen went instead.
All the people were looking at those feet of hers. As she walked toward the door of that hymn-singing class in the church, she felt
as if the statues on the tombstones, the priests in stiff collars and black robes, and the portraits of their wives were
staring at her pair of red shoes. The priest rested his hand on her head and spoke of holy baptism, of her vows with God, and of the duties of being a
Christian, and while this was going on, she had only her shoes in mind. The organ played solemn music, and the children's
pleasant voices sang hymns, and so did the old hymn-captain, but Jaron thought only of her red shoes.
That afternoon the old woman heard everyone say that the shoes were red. So she said that it was too much nonsense and out of order
. She also said that from then on, when Jalen went to church again, she had to wear black shoes, even if they were old.
Communion was to be celebrated the following Sunday. Jalen looked at the black shoes, then at the red shoes - and again and again
at the red shoes, and finally decided to wear the red shoes.
The sun shone beautifully. Jalen and the old woman were walking along the path in the field. The path was a little dusty.
There was a crippled old soldier standing in front of the church with a cane. He had a very strange long beard. The beard
was not so much white as it was red - because it was supposed to be red. He bent his back almost to the ground; he returned
The old woman said if he could wipe the dust from her shoes. Jalen put her little feet out too.
"What pretty dancing shoes these are!" The veteran said, "You wear them best when you are dancing!" So he tapped his hand
on the sole a few times. The old woman gave the soldier a few silver milliards, and then she led Jalen into the church.
All the people in the church looked at Jalen's red shoes, and all the portraits looked at them. As Jalen knelt before the communion
table, with the golden chalice in her mouth, all she could think about was her red shoes - they seemed to be floating in the communion cup
before her. She forgot to sing hymns; she forgot to recite prayers.
Now everyone was out of the church. The old lady stepped into her car, and Jalen lifted her foot into it. At that moment
The veteran standing next to her said, "What beautiful dancing shoes!"
Jaren couldn't stand the praise: she had to dance a few steps. As soon as she started, one of her legs kept jumping up and down. The shoes were so
like they controlled her legs. She hopped around the corner of the church - there was no way she could stop. The driver had to run after her
and grab her and carry her into the car. One of her feet was still jumping, though, and as a result she kicked violently into the nice
Mrs. Finally they took off her shoes; that quieted her legs.
The shoes were kept in a cupboard in the house, but Jalen couldn't resist.
Now the old woman was lying down sick; and everyone said that she was probably not going to get well. She would have to be watched and cared for, but such
work should be done by no one else but Jalen. But there was a big ball in town at this time and Jalen was invited
to it. She looked at the old woman who couldn't be nice, and then at the red shoes - she saw no harm in looking. She put on
the shoes - and there was no harm in wearing them. But then, she went to the ball, and began to dance
.
But when she tried to turn right, the shoes jumped to the left. And when she wanted to go up, the shoes jumped down
to go down the stairs, all the way down the street and out of the gates. She danced, and had to dance, all the way into the dark forest.
There was a light in the woods. She thought it must be the moon because she saw a face. But it was the old soldier with the red beard
. He was sitting, nodding his head, while saying,
"What beautiful dancing shoes!"
Then she became frightened and tried to throw the red shoes away. But they buckled tightly. So she tugged at her socks, but
it was the shoes that had been born onto her feet. And she danced, and had to dance out into the fields and meadows, in the rain, and in the too
sun, and in the night, and in the day. The most terrible thing was to dance in the night. She danced in a churchyard, but
over there the dead did not dance: they had better things to do than dance. She wanted to sit down on the grave of a poor man
overgrown with absinthia, but she could not be still, and there was no rest for her. As she jumped to the open doorway of the church, she
saw an Angel in a long white robe. Her wings trailed from her shoulders to her feet, her face was solemn and composed, and in her hand
was a bright sword.
"You have to dance!" She said, "Dance in your red shoes until you are white and cold, until your
body dries up and shrinks into a skeleton. You're going to dance from this doorway to that doorway. You are going to knock on doors where some proud and arrogant children live
so that they may hear you and fear you! And you shall dance, and dance without ceasing!"
"Please spare me!" Jalen called out.
But she didn't hear Angel's answer, for the shoes took her out the door, out into the fields, onto the main roads and
paths. She had to keep on dancing. One morning she danced through a very familiar doorway. Inside there was the sound of hymns being sung
and people were carrying out a coffin, decorated with flowers. That's when she realized the old woman was dead. So she felt that she
had been abandoned by everyone and chastised by the Angel of God.
She danced, she had to dance - in the darkness of the night. These shoes carried her through the wild roses of thorns
; they pricked her and made her bleed. She danced across the wasteland until she came to a lone hut. She knew that here
there lived an executioner. She tapped her finger on the glass window while saying,
"Please come out! Please come out! I can't come in ah, because I'm dancing!" The executioner said:
"You probably don't know who I am, do you? I'm the one who cuts off the heads of bad people, O. I can already feel my axe twitching!"
"Please don't cut off my head," said Jalen, "for if you do, then I can't repent of my sins
. But cut off my feet, which are in red shoes, please!"
So she told her sins. The executioner cut off her feet, which were wearing red shoes. But the shoes took her little
feet and jumped out into the field and all the way into the *? dark forest.
He fitted her with a pair of wooden feet and a walking stick, and at the same time taught her a hymn that death row inmates often sang. She kissed the
hand that held the axe, and then made her way out onto the moor.
"I have suffered a great deal for these red shoes," she said, "and now I will go to church so that people may see
me."
So she went quickly toward the door of the church, but when she got there the red shoes danced in front of her
and made her afraid. So she walked back.
She was sad for a whole week, and shed many sad tears. But when Sunday came, she said:
"Alas, I have suffered and struggled long enough! I think I am no different now from those who hold their heads high in church!"
So she went out boldly. But when she had just reached the door of the church, she again saw the red shoes dancing in front of her
face: at this she grew afraid, and walked back at once, at the same time devoutly confessing her sins.
She went to the priest's house and asked to be a servant in his house. She was willing to work diligently and do things to the best of her ability.
She did not care for wages; she only wished for a place to live and to be with good people. The pastor's wife took pity on her and left her to
work. She was very industrious and used her heart. In the evenings, when the pastor was reading aloud from the Bible, she sat down quietly
to listen. The children of this family loved her. But when they talked about clothes and rowdy beauty like a queen, she
shook her head.
The next Sunday, the whole family went to church for services. They asked her if she would like to go too. Her eyes filled with tears
and miserably she looked her cane over. So the family went off to hear God's admonition. She alone went back to her little
room. It wasn't too wide here, only room for a bed and a chair. She sat here with a hymnal and read the words in it with a devout
sincere heart. The wind blew the sound of the church organ toward her. She lifted her face, wet with tears, and said,
"God, help me!"
Then the sun was shining brightly. An Angel in white - the same
Angel she had seen at the church door one night - appeared before her. But instead of holding the sharp sword in her hand, she held a green branch covered in
rose blossoms. She touched the ceiling with it, and it rose high. And wherever she touched it,
a bright golden star appeared. She touched the wall, and it parted. Then she saw the organ that played music
and some old pictures of the priest and the priest's wife. The worshippers were seated in very elaborate seats and sang poems from the hymnal
. If it wasn't that the church had automatically come to the poor girl in this tiny room, it was that she had gone inside
the church. She sat in the pews with the priest's family. When they finished the hymns and looked up,
they nodded and said, "By the way, Jalen, you're here too!"
"I am forgiven!" She said.
The organ played music. The children's chorus was very nice and lovely. The bright sunlight warmly beamed from the window there
to the seat where Jalen sat. Her heart was filled with so much sunshine, peace and joy that it got to bursting later. Her spirit
soul floated on the rays of the sun and flew into the heavens. No one asked again about *? her red shoes.