She must be nursed and waited upon, and there was no one whose duty it
was so much as Karen's. But there was to be a great ball, to which Karen
was invited. She looked at the old lady, who could not recover; she
looked at the red shoes, and she thought there could be no sin in it.
She put on the red shoes,--she thought she might do that also; and she
went to the ball and began to dance.

[Illustration]

When she went to dance to the right, the shoes would dance to the left;
and when she went to dance up the room, the shoes would dance back
again; and they danced down the steps, into the street, and from there
she danced, and danced straight out into the gloomy wood.

Then it was light up among the trees, and she fancied it must be the
moon, for there was a face; but it was the old soldier with the red
beard; he sat there, nodded his head, and said, "Look! what beautiful
dancing-shoes!"

Then she was terrified, and wanted to fling off the red shoes, but they
clung fast; and she pulled down her stockings, but the shoes seemed to
have grown to her feet; and she danced, and must dance, over fields and
over meadows, in rain and sunshine, by night and day; but at night it
was most fearful.

She danced over the churchyard, but the dead did not dance; they had
something better to do than to dance. She wished to seat herself on a
poor man's grave, where the bitter tansy grew; but for her there was
neither peace nor rest; and when she danced towards the open
church-door, she saw an angel standing there. He wore long white