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Page 68
And he carved out little wooden feet for her, and crutches, taught her the
psalm criminals always sing; and she kissed the hand which had wielded the
axe, and went over the heath.
"Now I have suffered enough for the red shoes!" said she. "Now I will go into
the church that people may see me!" And she hastened towards the church door:
but when she was near it, the red shoes danced before her, and she was
terrified, and turned round. The whole week she was unhappy, and wept many
bitter tears; but when Sunday returned, she said, "Well, now I have suffered
and struggled enough! I really believe I am as good as many a one who sits in
the church, and holds her head so high!"
And away she went boldly; but she had not got farther than the churchyard gate
before she saw the red shoes dancing before her; and she was frightened, and
turned back, and repented of her sin from her heart.
And she went to the parsonage, and begged that they would take her into
service; she would be very industrious, she said, and would do everything she
could; she did not care about the wages, only she wished to have a home, and
be with good people. And the clergyman's wife was sorry for her and took her
into service; and she was industrious and thoughtful. She sat still and
listened when the clergyman read the Bible in the evenings. All the children
thought a great deal of her; but when they spoke of dress, and grandeur, and
beauty, she shook her head.
The following Sunday, when the family was going to church, they asked her
whether she would not go with them; but she glanced sorrowfully, with tears in
her eyes, at her crutches. The family went to hear the word of God; but she
went alone into her little chamber; there was only room for a bed and chair to
stand in it; and here she sat down with her Prayer-Book; and whilst she read
with a pious mind, the wind bore the strains of the organ towards her, and she
raised her tearful countenance, and said, "O God, help me!"
And the sun shone so clearly, and straight before her stood the angel of God
in white garments, the same she had seen that night at the church door; but he
no longer carried the sharp sword, but in its stead a splendid green spray,
full of roses. And he touched the ceiling with the spray, and the ceiling rose
so high, and where he had touched it there gleamed a golden star. And he
touched the walls, and they widened out, and she saw the organ which was
playing; she saw the old pictures of the preachers and the preachers' wives.
The congregation sat in cushioned seats, and sang out of their Prayer-Books.
For the church itself had come to the poor girl in her narrow chamber, or else
she had come into the church. She sat in the pew with the clergyman's family,
and when they had ended the psalm and looked up, they nodded and said, "It is
right that thou art come!"
"It was through mercy!" she said.
And the organ pealed, and the children's voices in the choir sounded so sweet
and soft! The clear sunshine streamed so warmly through the window into the
pew where Karen sat! Her heart was so full of sunshine, peace, and joy, that
it broke. Her soul flew on the sunshine to God, and there no one asked after
the RED SHOES.
End of the Project Gutenberg etext of Andersen's Fairy Tales
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