Hans Christian Andersen's Fairy Tales - The Red Shoe
Once upon a time there was a little girl, a very cute and beautiful little girl. But she had to walk barefoot in the summer because she was very poor. In the winter she dragged a pair of heavy wooden shoes, and the insteps of her feet were rubbed red, which was very painful.
Not comfortable.
In the middle of the village lived an old female shoemaker. She used old red cloth, sat down and tried her best to sew a pair of small shoes. The shoes looked rather stupid, but her intention was very good.
Because these shoes were made for this little girl. This little girl’s name is Karen.
On the day her mother was buried, she was given these red shoes. They were the first time she wore them. True, they were not something to be worn in mourning; but she had no other shoes to wear, so she wore a small pair.
Put your bare feet in and walk behind a simple coffin.
At this time, suddenly a large old car drove over. There was an old lady sitting in the car. She saw the little girl and felt very sorry for her, so she told the priest (Note: In old Europe, orphans
If there is no home, the local priest will take care of it.) said:
"Leave this little girl to me, I will treat her very well!"
andersen fairy tales
Karen thought it was because of her red shoes. But the old lady said the red shoes were annoying, so she burned the shoes. But now Karen wears clean and neat clothes. She learns to read and
While doing needlework, others said she was cute. But her mirror said: "You are not only cute; you are simply beautiful."
Once the queen traveled across the country; she took her little daughter with her, who was a princess. The people came to the palace gate to see it, and Karen was among them. The little princess was wearing beautiful white clothes and standing at the window
Inside, let everyone take a look at her. She neither dragged her train nor wore a golden crown, but she wore a pair of gorgeous red tanned leather shoes. Compared with the pair of shoes that the female shoemaker made for little Karen,
These shoes are of course much more beautiful. Nothing in the world can compare with red shoes!
Now Karen is old enough to be confirmed. She will have new clothes to wear; she will also have new shoes. A wealthy shoemaker in the city measured her little feet in his shop.
He made it in a small room of his own. There were many large glass shelves, in which were displayed many neat shoes and shiny boots. They were all very beautiful, but the old lady could not see clearly.
, so I was not interested. Among the many shoes was a pair of red shoes; it was exactly the same as the pair worn by the princess. How beautiful they were! The shoemaker said that these shoes were made for a countess, but they
It doesn't fit her feet well.
"It must be made of patent leather," the old lady said, "that's why it shines like this!"
"Yes, shiny!" said Karen.
The shoes fit her feet very well, so she bought them. But the old lady didn't know they were red, because she would never let Karen wear a pair of red shoes to receive confirmation. But Karen went.
Everyone was looking at her feet. When she walked towards the choir door in the church, she felt like the statues on the tombstones, the priests in stiff collars and black robes, and the
The portraits of their wives were all staring at her pair of red shoes. The pastor put his hand on her head and talked about the sacred baptism, her vows with God and her responsibilities as a Christian. At this time, she only thought
Thinking of her shoes, the organ played solemn music, the sweet voices of the children sang hymns, and the old hymn leader sang too, but Karen only thought of her red shoes.
That afternoon, the old lady heard everyone say that the shoes were red. So she said that this was too ridiculous and inappropriate. She also said that from now on, Karen must wear black shoes when she goes to church, even if
It doesn't matter if it's old.
The Holy Communion will be celebrated next Sunday. Karen looked at the black shoes, then at the red shoes, and then at the red shoes, and finally decided to wear the red shoes.
The sun was shining very beautifully. Karen and the old lady were walking on the path in the field. There was some dust on the road.
There was a disabled veteran at the door of the church, standing with a cane. He had a very strange long beard. This beard was not so much white as it was red because it was originally red. He put
His waist was almost bent to the ground; he asked the old lady if he could wipe the dust on her shoes. Karen also stretched out her little feet.
"What beautiful dancing shoes these are!" said the soldier. "They are most suitable for you to wear when dancing!" So he tapped the soles with his hand a few times. The old lady gave the soldier a few silver coins.
, and then took Karen into the church.
Everyone in the church was looking at Karen's red shoes, and all the portraits were looking at them. When Karen knelt in front of the communion table, holding the golden chalice in her mouth, she only thought about
Her red shoes seemed to float in the chalice before her. She forgot to sing the hymns; she forgot to say the prayers.
Now everyone walked out of the church. The old lady walked into her car, and Karen also raised her feet and stepped into the car. At this time, the veteran standing next to her said: "What beautiful dancing shoes!"
Karen couldn't stand the praise: she had to dance a few steps. Once she started, her legs kept jumping. The shoes seemed to control her legs. She danced around a corner of the church.
There was no way to stop. The coachman had to run after her, catch her, and carry her into the carriage. But her feet kept dancing, and she kicked the kind lady violently.
Finally they took off her shoes; thus her legs were quiet.
The shoes were stored in a cupboard at home, but Karen couldn't help but take a look.
Now the old lady is so sick that she lies down; everyone says that she will probably never recover. She needs someone to look after and take care of her, but this kind of work should not be done by others but by Karen. But at this time, there are people in the city
There was a grand ball, and Karen was also invited. She looked at the old lady who was not getting better, and then looked at the pair of red shoes. She felt that there was no harm in looking at them. She put on the shoes and wore them.
There was no harm in wearing it. But then she went to the ball and started dancing.
But when she wanted to turn right, her shoes jumped to the left. When she wanted to walk up, her shoes jumped down. She had to go down the stairs, all the way to the street, and out of the city gate. She danced
, and had to dance, all the way into the black forest.
There was a light in the woods. She thought it must be the moon, for she saw a face. But it was the old soldier with the red beard. He was sitting, nodding, and saying:
"What beautiful dancing shoes!"
Then she became frightened and wanted to throw away the red shoes. But they were fastened very tightly. So she pulled at her socks, but the shoes were already on her feet. She danced, and had to dance
Go out to the fields and meadows, dance in the rain, dance in the sun, dance at night and dance in the day. The most terrible thing is to dance at night. She jumped into a church cemetery, but there are no dead people there.
Dancing: They had better things to do than dance. She wanted to sit down on a poor man's grave covered with tansy, but she could not calm down and could not rest. When she jumped to the open door of the church
At the gate, she saw an angel in a white robe. Her wings stretched from her shoulders to her feet. Her face was solemn and calm, and she held a shining sword in her hand.
"You have to dance!" she said. "Dance in your red shoes until you are white and cold, until your body shrivels up into a skeleton. You have to dance from this door to that door."
At the door of your house. You have to go to the place where some arrogant children live and knock on the door so that they can hear you and be afraid of you! You have to dance, keep dancing!"
"Please spare me!" Karen shouted.
But she did not hear Angel's answer, for the shoes took her out into the fields, into the roads and lanes. She had to keep dancing. One morning she jumped over a very familiar doorway.
There was the sound of hymns being sung inside, and people carried out a coffin decorated with flowers. Only then did she know that the old lady was dead. So she felt that she had been abandoned by everyone and was being punished by God's angel.
She danced, she had to dance, danced in the dark night. The shoes carried her through thorns and roses; these things pricked her until she bled. She danced on the wasteland, until she danced to a
She went to the lonely little house. She knew that an executioner lived here. She tapped her finger on the glass window and said at the same time:
"Please come out! Please come out! I can't come in because I'm dancing!" said the executioner:
"Maybe you don't know who I am? I'm the one who chops off the bad guys' heads. I can already feel my ax shaking!"
"Please don't chop off my head," said Karen, "because if you do, then I won't be able to confess my sins. But please chop off my feet wearing red shoes!"
So she told her crime. The executioner chopped off her feet, which were wearing red shoes. But the shoes took her little feet and jumped to the fields and into the dark forest.
He equipped her with a pair of wooden feet and a cane, and at the same time taught her a hymn that the prisoners on death row often sang. She kissed the hand holding the axe, and then walked towards the wasteland.
"I have suffered a lot for these red shoes," she said, "and now I want to go to church so people can see me."
So she walked quickly towards the church door, but when she got there, the red shoes danced in front of her, which frightened her. So she walked back.
She spent a whole week in sorrow, shedding many sad tears. But when Sunday came, she said:
"Well, I've suffered and struggled long enough! I guess I'm no different now than those people in church who hold their heads high!"
So she walked out boldly. But when she had just reached the door of the church, she saw the red shoes dancing in front of her again: then she became frightened and walked back immediately, while devoutly confessing her sins
.
She went to the pastor's house and asked to be a servant in his house. She was willing to work hard and do things to the best of her ability. She didn't care about the salary; she just wanted to have a place to live and be with good people. The pastor's wife took pity on her
, leaving her to do the work. She was very diligent and attentive. In the evening, when the pastor read the Bible loudly, she sat down and listened quietly. The children in the family liked her. But when
When they talked about clothes, pomp and beauty like a queen, she shook her head.
The next Sunday, the whole family went to church. They asked her if she would go too. With tears in her eyes, she looked at her crutch miserably. So the family went to listen to God's teaching.
Only she returned to her small room alone. It was not very wide and could only accommodate a bed and a chair. She sat here with a hymn book and read it with a pious heart.
Words. The wind blew the sound of the church organ to her. She raised her face moistened by tears and said:
"God, please help me!"
At this time the sun was shining brightly. An angel in white clothes, the same angel she had seen at the door of the church one night, appeared in front of her. But she no longer held the sharp sword in her hand, but
She was holding a green branch full of roses. She touched the ceiling with it, and the ceiling rose very high. Wherever she touched, a bright Venus appeared. She touched the wall
After a moment, the wall parted. Then she saw the organ playing music and some ancient portraits of pastors and pastors' wives. The worshipers were sitting in elegant seats and singing hymns.
If the church did not automatically come to the poor girl in this small room, then she had already gone inside the church. She sat in the pew with the pastor's family. When they finished reading the hymn,
When they looked up, they nodded and said, "By the way, Karen, you're here too!"
"I'm forgiven!" she said.
The organ was playing music. The children's chorus was very nice and lovely. The bright sunlight shone warmly from the window onto the seat where Karen sat. Her heart was filled with so much sunshine, peace and joy that she felt
Then it exploded. Her soul floated on the rays of the sun and flew into heaven. No one asked again about her pair of red shoes.