.

In the afternoon, the old lady heard from every one that the shoes had
been red, and she said that it was very wrong of Karen, that it was
not at all becoming, and that in future Karen should only go in black
shoes to church, even when she should be older.

The next Sunday there was the sacrament, and Karen looked at the black
shoes, looked at the red ones--looked at them again, and put on the
red shoes.

The sun shone gloriously; Karen and the old lady walked along the path
through the corn; it was rather dusty there.

At the church door stood an old soldier with a crutch, and with a
wonderfully long beard, which was more red than white, and he bowed to
the ground, and asked the old lady whether he might dust her shoes.
And Karen stretched out her little foot.

"See! what beautiful dancing-shoes!" said the soldier, "sit firm when
you dance;" and he put his hand out towards the soles.

And the old lady gave the old soldier an alms, and went into the
church with Karen.

And all the people in the church looked at Karen's red shoes, and all
the pictures, and as Karen knelt before the altar, and raised the cup
to her lips, she only thought of the red shoes, and they seemed to
swim in it; and she forgot to sing her psalm, and she forgot to pray,
"Our father in Heaven!"

Now all the people went out of church, and the old lady got into her
carriage. Karen raised her foot to get in after her, when the old
soldier said,

"Look, what beautiful dancing shoes!"

And Karen could not help dancing a step or two, and when she began her
feet continued to dance; it was just as though the shoes had power
over them. She danced round the church corner, she could not leave
off; the coachman was obliged to run after and catch hold of her, and
he lifted her in the carriage, but her feet continued to dance so that
she trod on the old lady dreadfully. At length she took the shoes off,
and then her legs had peace.

The shoes were placed in a closet at home, but Karen could not avoid
looking at them.

Now the old lady was sick, and it was said she could not recover? She
must be nursed and waited upon, and there was no one whose duty it was
so much as Karen's. But there was a great ball in the city, 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 might do that also, she thought.
But then she we