The Red Shoes

This nightmarish story follows a little girl named Karen, who is given a pair of gorgeous red shoes by her adoptive mother. She likes them so much, she wears them to church, but is told she must only wear black shoes to church. Next Sunday, however, Karen cannot resist, and puts them on again. At church, a mysterious soldier commands the shoes never to come off when they dance. One day, when her adoptive mother is ill, Karen goes to a ball to dance in the shoes – and they won’t come off. They dance day and night, and an angel condemns Karen to dance forever, even after she dies. Karen asks an executioner to cut off her feet, but the shoes continue to dance even then. Karen is given wooden feet and crutches and decides to go back to church, but the red shoes appear and scare her away. Karen prays for help and the angel reappears, providing the mercy Karen asked for. Karen’s heart bursts with joy and her soul goes to Heaven, where the red shoes are never mentioned.