There was once a little girl named Karen, who was very pretty but very poor. In summer she ran barefoot, and in winter she wore large wooden shoes that made her feet red.
In the village lived an old shoemaker. She sewed a clumsy pair of shoes from old red cloth for Karen. Karen received them on the day her mother was buried and wore them for the first time.
An old lady in a carriage saw Karen, felt compassion for her, and adopted her. She thought the red shoes were horrible and burned them. Karen was dressed nicely and learned to read and sew. People said she was nice, but her mirror said she was beautiful.
Once, the queen travelled through the land with her daughter, a princess. People streamed to see them. The princess wore splendid red morocco shoes. Karen thought nothing in the world could compare to red shoes.
When Karen was old enough to be confirmed, she needed new shoes. A rich shoemaker measured her foot in his shop, which was filled with elegant shoes. Among them was a pair of red shoes, just like the princess's. They were beautiful and fitted Karen perfectly. The old lady, who could not see well, bought them, not knowing they were red. Karen wore the red shoes to her confirmation.
Everyone looked at her feet. In church, she felt as if the old figures on the tombs and the portraits were staring at her red shoes. She thought only of them during the ceremony, forgetting to sing or pray.
The old lady later learned the shoes were red and scolded Karen, saying she must only wear black shoes to church in the future.
The next Sunday, for the sacrament, Karen looked at the black shoes, then at the red ones, and put on the red shoes.
On the way to church, an old soldier with a crutch and a red beard admired her shoes, calling them "beautiful dancing shoes." In church, everyone looked at her red shoes. At the altar, she thought only of them, forgetting her psalm and prayer.
After church, the old soldier again praised her shoes. Karen could not help but dance a few steps. Once she began, she could not stop. The shoes seemed to have power over her. She danced uncontrollably until the coachman caught her and removed the shoes.
The shoes were placed in a closet, but Karen often looked at them.
The old lady fell sick. While she needed care, Karen was invited to a great ball. She looked at the sick lady, then at the red shoes, put them on, and went to the ball.
At the ball, the shoes controlled her dancing. They danced opposite to her will, leading her out of the city and into a gloomy wood.
There, she saw the old soldier with the red beard, who again said, "Look, what beautiful dancing shoes!"
She was terrified and tried to remove the shoes, but they were stuck fast. She was forced to dance endlessly over fields and meadows, in rain and sunshine, day and night.
She danced over a churchyard and saw an angel at the church door. The angel condemned her: "Dance in thy red shoes till thou art pale and cold! Till thy skin shrivels up and thou art a skeleton!"
The shoes carried her away. One morning, she danced past a house where a funeral was taking place for the old lady. She felt abandoned and condemned.
She danced until she came to the house of the executioner. She begged him to cut off her feet in the red shoes, confessing her sin. He did so, and the shoes danced away with her feet into the wood.
The executioner made her wooden feet and crutches and taught her a psalm. She kissed his hand and left.
Thinking she had suffered enough, Karen tried to go to church, but the red shoes danced before her, frightening her away. After a week of sorrow, she tried again boldly but was again frightened by the shoes at the churchyard gate. She turned back and repented sincerely.
She went to the parsonage and begged for service. The clergyman's wife took her in. Karen was industrious and thoughtful, listening quietly when the Bible was read.
The following Sunday, the family went to church. Karen stayed in her small chamber, reading her Prayer-Book. She prayed, "O God, help me!"
The sun shone clearly, and the angel of God appeared before her, now holding a green spray of roses instead of a sword. He touched the ceiling and walls of her room, which expanded, and she found herself in the church with the congregation. They welcomed her.
"It was through mercy!" she said.
The organ played, children sang, and sunshine filled her heart with peace and joy. Her soul flew to God, and no one asked after the red shoes again.