The Red Shoes

            The Red Shoes is one of my most favorite stories when I was a child. It was produce by Hans Christian Andersen.  I remembered reading the simplified version of this story when I was in standard 5. Above is the synopsis of the story.

             It was about Karen who being adopted by a rich lady after her mother died. She then received a pair of red shoes from her adopted mother. Karen repeatedly wears them to church. She ignores the anger of her adopted mother. Her adoptive mother becomes ill, but Karen deserts her, preferring to attend a party in her red shoes. A mysterious soldier appears and makes strange remarks about what beautiful dancing shoes Karen has. Soon after, Karen begins to dance and she can't stop. The shoes take over; she cannot control them and they are stuck to her feet. The shoes continue to dance. She can't even attend her adoptive mother's funeral. An angel appears to her, bearing a sword, and condemns her to dance even after she dies, as a warning to vain children everywhere. Karen begs for mercy but the red shoes take her away before she hears the angel's reply. Karen finds an executioner and asks him to chop off her feet. He does so but the shoes continue to dance, now with Karen's amputated feet inside them. The executioner gives her a pair of wooden feet and crutches. Thinking that she has suffered enough for the red shoes, Karen decides to go to church in order for the people to see her. However her amputated feet, still in the red shoes, dance before her, barring the way. The following Sunday she tries again, thinking of herself at least as good as the others in church, but again the dancing red shoes bar the way. Karen gets a job as a maid in the parsonage, but when Sunday comes she dares not go to church. Instead she sits alone at home and prays to God for help. The angel reappears, now bearing a spray of roses, and gives Karen the mercy she asked for. No one there mentions the red shoes anymore.

            I think this story portrayed a lot of good moral values on how to behave around society. I believe a lot of teenagers nowadays are lacking in sense of how to behave with people. This story teaches me something and as it should be for you too.