o well that they
were bought; but the old lady knew nothing about their being red, else
she would never have allowed Karen to have gone in red shoes to be
confirmed. Yet such was the case.

Everybody looked at her feet; and when she stepped through the
chancel-door on the church pavement, it seemed to her as if the old
figures on the tombs--those portraits of old preachers and preachers'
wives, with stiff ruffs and long black dresses, fixed their eyes on her
red shoes. And she thought only of them as the clergyman laid his hand
upon her head, and spoke of the holy baptism, of the covenant with God,
and how she should now become a true Christian; and the organ pealed so
solemnly, the sweet children's voices sang, and the old music-directors;
but Karen thought only of her red shoes.

In the afternoon the old lady heard 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 to be the sacrament, and Karen looked at the
black shoes, then 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, and their shoes were covered.

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

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

And the old lady gave the 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, who art in heaven!"

Now all the people went out of the church, and the old lady got into the
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 if the shoes had power over
them. She danced round t