Fairytale: Story Telling

The Red Shoes

By Hans Christian Andersen

In a small village, lived a beautiful girl named Karen. She lived with her mother in a small hut. Karen was a poor girl. She had no shoes to wear. She always wore wooden shoes that her mother had made for her. The shoes were hard and Karen's feet hurt!

Soon, Karen’s mother got very ill. Karen spent all her time taking care of her mother. Once, while coming back home, Karen found a pair of red shoes in a box. The box was on the sidewalk. Karen loved the red shoes and decided to take them home. But her mother was not happy to see the red shoes. “Karen, you must never pick up anything off the road! They may belong to someone. This is stealing!” said Karen’s mother. “Then they should be more careful, Mama. Finders are keepers.” Replied Karen. “Oh Karen, don’t be so stubborn. I know we are poor and I cannot buy you shiny shoes. But our poverty must not make us do wrong things! Promise me that you will never wear these red shoes.” Said the mother. Karen was sad, but she could not break her mother’s heart. So she promised that she would never wear the red shoes.

Time passed, but Karen could not stop thinking about the red shoes. “Mother does not understand. If these beautiful shoes were thrown on the road, then maybe nobody needed them.” Said Karen. A week later, Karen’s mother passed away due to her illness. Karen was very sad. But She did something unusual. On her mother’s funeral, Karen wore the red shoes! Everybody at the funeral stared at Karen’s feet. But Karen did not care. She loved her shoes. Just then, an old lady was passing by the funeral in her carriage. She was a kind old lady. When She learnt that a young girl was orphaned, she decided to adopt Karen. “Oh little poor girl, come with me. I will give you a house to live and good food to eat. You must study hard and make a name for yourself.” Said The Old Lady. “Oh! What are those in your feet! Why did you wear them on your mother’s funeral? Those are ugly! Take those off!” said The Old Lady. “No, I like them! They are mine.” Replied Karen. “Oh, don’t be so stubborn young girl. I will give you good pair of shoes to wear.” Said The Old Lady. The Old Lady forced Karen to take off the red shoes. Karen was sad to have her red shoes go away.

The old lady treated Karen like her own daughter. She gave Karen a room, dresses, and new pair of shoes. But these shoes were blue. Karen missed her red shoes. “Why doesn’t anybody let me wear my red shoes? I will wear them someday, and nobody could stop me!” said Karen.

Year passed, and Karen grew up. She was now a beautiful young woman. But as she grew, so did her stubborn nature. Karen was a difficult child. All Karen’s old dresses and her blue shoes were now tight and short. The old lady realised that she has to buy Karen new dresses and shoes. As they entered the shop to buy shoes, Karen saw a pair of red shiny shoes. “Oh my! I want them!” said Karen. “Not the red shoes again. Karen, buy the ones that you can always wear. What if we have to attend a funeral? You cannot wear red shoes to a funeral. It is disrespectful!” Said the old lady. But Karen was happy to see the red shoes. She didn’t listen to a word. “I don’t care. I love them and I want them.” Said Karen. “Don’t be so stubborn, Karen. This will cost you someday.” Replied the old lady. But Karen did not listen. The old lady had to buy the red shoes and a pair of black shoes. Karen was so happy, dancing and singing all the way.

The next day, the old lady had to attend a funeral with Karen. The old lady warned Karen not to wear the red shoes. But Karen decided to wear the red shoes and hid her feet behind her skirt. At the funeral, people kept looking at Karen’s feet. Someone told the old lady of what has happened. The old lady was now furious! She grabbed Karen’s hand and stepped out of the funeral. “Oh you stubborn girl! What have you done? I have asked you to not wear the red shoes. Why don’t you ever listen!” Said the old lady. “But these are my shoes. I will wear wherever I want to!” Replied Karen.

An old soldier passing by was watching the whole thing. As the old lady and Karen began to walk towards the carriage, He came to Karen, kneeled down and whispered to her shoes, “Be stubborn, just like your owner, and sit fast as you dance!” said the soldier. Then the soldier patted Karen’s feet. “Sir, please get up. What are you doing?” ask Karen. “I was only admiring your red shoes! You must be a brilliant dancer!” replied the soldier. Karen was pleased. She wanted to show the soldier that she indeed was a brilliant dancer. She started to dance a few steps.

But, “Oh, why can’t I stop dancing? What is happening to me?” said Karen. Karen was gone far ahead of the carriage. She kept dancing and her red shoes didn’t listen to her anymore. They took Karen to the forest and to the mountain. They danced and danced. Karen’s feet and body now hurt. She couldn’t eat or sleep. She missed her house and the old lady. But the shoes didn’t stop. Of she swayed, day and night. “Oh somebody help me! I’m tired!” said Karen. But nobody could come to help her. The shoes took her to the thorny bushes and Karen’s were now badly hurt!

Finally, Karen managed to take the red shoes off. The shoes were off her feet, but they were still dancing. Karen’s feet were now broken. She couldn’t stand without the support of a stick. Karen somehow managed to reach home and the dancing red shoes followed her. The next day, Karen wanted to go to the market. But as she opened the door, she found the red shoes right in front of the door. The shoes blocked Karen’s way! Soon Karen realised that this all was her fault.

“I shouldn’t have been so stubborn my whole life! I have been as stubborn as the red shoes. I’m so sorry. What do I do now?” said Karen. “Why don’t you pray for the magic shoes to be gone?” replied the old lady. Karen began to pray and pray, night and day. When she opened her eyes, she was surprised to see the old soldier standing in front of her. “Child, I’m glad that you have learnt your lesson. As you have now let your stubbornness go, so must the shoes!” said the old soldier. Uttering these words, the soldier vanished and so did the red shoes. Karen and the old lady were now happy and peaceful.

QUESTIONS

1. What is the moral value of the story?

2. Base on paragraph two "...shiny shoes. But our poverty must not make us..." what is the antonym of the underlined word?
     a. poor; b. pennilessness; c. wealth; d. penury

3. In paragraph 10 we can conclude that...

4. Based on paragraph 10, what is the synonym of "vanished"?
    a. appeared; b. existed; c. dissapeared; d. despised

5. What did Karen do in both funerals?
    a. She screamed; b. She wore red shoes; c. She slept; d. She cried

CHALLENGE

Change this sentences into indirect form!

-“Karen, you must never pick up anything off the road! They may belong to someone. This is stealing!” said her mother.
Indirect form:.. 

-“Then they should be more careful, Mama. Finders are keepers.” replied Karen.
Indirect form:..

-“Oh little poor girl, come with me. I will give you a house to live and good food to eat. You must study hard and make a name for yourself.” said the old lady.
Indirect form:...

-“Don’t be so stubborn, Karen. This will cost you someday.” said the old lady.
Indirect form:...

-“Oh somebody help me! I’m tired!” said Karen.
Indirect form:...



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