The Red Shoes

'The Red Shoes' is a literary fairy tale by Danish poet and author Hans Christian Andersen first published by C.A. Reitzel in Copenhagen 7 April 1845 in New Fairy Tales. First Volume. Third Collection (Nye Eventyr. Første Bind. Tredie Samling). Other tales in the volume include 'The Elf Mound' (Elverhøi), 'The Jumpers' (Springfyrene), 'The Shepherdess and the Chimney Sweep' (Hyrdinden og Skorstensfejeren), and 'Holger Danske' (Holger Danske). After her mother's death, a peasant girl named Karen is adopted while still very young by a rich old lady and grows up vain and spoiled. Before her adoption, Karen had a roughly-made pair of red shoes; afterward, she has her adoptive mother buy her a pair of red shoes fit for a princess. Karen is so enamored of her new shoes that she wears them to church even though the old lady tells her, 'This is highly improper: you must only wear black shoes in church'. The following Sunday, Karen is unable to resist putting the red shoes on again. As she is about to enter the church, she meets a mysterious old soldier with a red beard. 'Oh, what beautiful shoes for dancing,' the soldier says. 'Never come off when you dance,' he tells the shoes, and he taps each of the shoes with his hand. After church, Karen cannot resist taking a few dance steps, and off she goes, as though the shoes controlled her, but she manages to stop after a few minutes.