安徒生童話(huà)18THE RED SHOES紅鞋

<p>[00:41.47]THE RED SHOES<br /> [00:45.20]<br /> [00:45.42]There was once a little girl who was very pretty and delicate, but in summer<br /> [00:53.71]she was forced to run about with bare feet, she was so poor, and in winter<br /> [00:59.39]wear very large wooden shoes, which made her little insteps quite red, and<br /> [01:04.22]that looked so dangerous!<br /> [01:06.74]<br /> [01:06.94]In the middle of the village lived old Dame Shoemaker; she sat and sewed<br /> [01:13.43]together, as well as she could, a little pair of shoes out of old red strips<br /> [01:19.09]of cloth; they were very clumsy, but it was a kind thought. They were meant<br /> [01:25.25]for the little girl. The little girl was called Karen.<br /> [01:29.89]<br /> [01:30.13]On the very day her mother was buried, Karen received the red shoes, and wore<br /> [01:36.58]them for the first time. They were certainly not intended for mourning, but<br /> [01:41.94]she had no others, and with stockingless feet she followed the poor straw<br /> [01:47.09]coffin in them.<br /> [01:48.90]<br /> [01:49.11]Suddenly a large old carriage drove up, and a large old lady sat in it: she<br /> [01:55.54]looked at the little girl, felt compassion for her, and then said to the<br /> [02:00.34]clergyman:<br /> [02:01.44]<br /> [02:01.64]"Here, give me the little girl. I will adopt her!"<br /> [02:04.61]<br /> [02:04.82]And Karen believed all this happened on account of the red shoes, but the old<br /> [02:10.53]lady thought they were horrible, and they were burnt. But Karen herself was<br /> [02:15.25]cleanly and nicely dressed; she must learn to read and sew; and people said<br /> [02:21.54]she was a nice little thing, but the looking-glass said: "Thou art more than<br /> [02:26.79]nice, thou art beautiful!"<br /> [02:29.84]<br /> [02:30.07]Now the queen once travelled through the land, and she had her little daughter<br /> [02:34.87]with her. And this little daughter was a princess, and people streamed to the<br /> [02:39.33]castle, and Karen was there also, and the little princess stood in her fine<br /> [02:44.45]white dress, in a window, and let herself be stared at; she had neither a<br /> [02:50.45]train nor a golden crown, but splendid red morocco shoes. They were certainly<br /> [02:56.87]far handsomer than those Dame Shoemaker had made for little Karen. Nothing in<br /> [03:02.77]the world can be compared with red shoes.<br /> [03:06.29]<br /> [03:06.53]Now Karen was old enough to be confirmed; she had new clothes and was to have<br /> [03:12.88]new shoes also. The rich shoemaker in the city took the measure of her little<br /> [03:18.12]foot. This took place at his house, in his room; where stood large<br /> [03:23.56]glass-cases, filled with elegant shoes and brilliant boots. All this looked<br /> [03:28.60]charming, but the old lady could not see well, and so had no pleasure in them.<br /> [03:35.04]In the midst of the shoes stood a pair of red ones, just like those the<br /> [03:40.40]princess had worn. How beautiful they were! The shoemaker said also they had<br /> [03:46.08]been made for the child of a count, but had not fitted.<br /> [03:50.61]<br /> [03:50.84]"That must be patent leather!" said the old lady. "They shine so!"<br /> [03:56.80]<br /> [03:57.03]"Yes, they shine!" said Karen, and they fitted, and were bought, but the old<br /> [04:02.85]lady knew nothing about their being red, else she would never have allowed<br /> [04:08.22]Karen to have gone in red shoes to be confirmed. Yet such was the case.<br /> [04:14.46]<br /> [04:14.69]Everybody looked at her feet; and when she stepped through the chancel door on<br /> [04:20.38]the church pavement, it seemed to her as if the old figures on the tombs,<br /> [04:24.64]those portraits of old preachers and preachers' wives, with stiff ruffs, and<br /> [04:30.30]long black dresses, fixed their eyes on her red shoes. And she thought only of<br /> [04:37.23]them as the clergyman laid his hand upon her head, and spoke of the holy<br /> [04:42.22]baptism, of the covenant with God, and how she should be now a matured<br /> [04:47.15]Christian; and the organ pealed so solemnly; the sweet children's voices sang,<br /> [04:52.86]and the old music-directors sang, but Karen only thought of her red shoes.<br /> [04:59.31]<br /> [04:59.53]In the afternoon, the old lady heard from everyone that the shoes had been<br /> [05:04.54]red, and she said that it was very wrong of Karen, that it was not at all<br /> [05:09.07]becoming, and that in future Karen should only go in black shoes to church,<br /> [05:14.37]even when she should be older.<br /> [05:17.09]<br /> [05:17.29]The next Sunday there was the sacrament, and Karen looked at the black shoes,<br /> [05:24.55]looked at the red ones--looked at them again, and put on the red shoes.<br /> [05:28.84]<br /> [05:29.05]The sun shone gloriously; Karen and the old lady walked along the path through<br /> [05:35.02]the corn; it was rather dusty there.<br /> [05:38.01]<br /> [05:38.18]At the church door stood an old soldier with a crutch, and with a wonderfully<br /> [05:42.89]long beard, which was more red than white, and he bowed to the ground, and<br /> [05:48.12]asked the old lady whether he might dust her shoes. And Karen stretched out<br /> [05:53.38]her little foot.<br /> [05:54.95]<br /> [05:55.16]"See, what beautiful dancing shoes!" said the soldier. "Sit firm when you<br /> [06:02.33]dance"; and he put his hand out towards the soles.<br /> [06:06.52]<br /> [06:06.73]And the old lady gave the old soldier alms, and went into the church with<br /> [06:11.27]Karen.<br /> [06:12.14]<br /> [06:12.34]And all the people in the church looked at Karen's red shoes, and all the<br /> [06:18.55]pictures, and as Karen knelt before the altar, and raised the cup to her<br /> [06:23.14]lips, she only thought of the red shoes, and they seemed to swim in it; and<br /> [06:29.08]she forgot to sing her psalm, and she forgot to pray, "Our Father in Heaven!"<br /> [06:34.97]<br /> [06:35.19]Now all the people went out of church, and the old lady got into her carriage.<br /> [06:40.87]Karen raised her foot to get in after her, when the old soldier said,<br /> [06:46.50]<br /> [06:46.73]"Look, what beautiful dancing shoes!"<br /> [06:50.55]<br /> [06:50.74]And Karen could not help dancing a step or two, and when she began her feet<br /> [06:56.42]continued to dance; it was just as though the shoes had power over them. She<br /> [07:01.88]danced round the church corner, she could not leave off; the coachman was<br /> [07:06.76]obliged to run after and catch hold of her, and he lifted her in the carriage,<br /> [07:11.56]but her feet continued to dance so that she trod on the old lady dreadfully.<br /> [07:16.15]At length she took the shoes off, and then her legs had peace.<br /> [07:21.86]<br /> [07:22.06]The shoes were placed in a closet at home, but Karen could not avoid looking<br /> [07:28.23]at them.<br /> [07:29.37]<br /> [07:29.54]Now the old lady was sick, and it was said she could not recover. She must be<br /> [07:35.35]nursed and waited upon, and there was no one whose duty it was so much as<br /> [07:41.40]Karen's. But there was a great ball in the city, to which Karen was invited.<br /> [07:47.66]She looked at the old lady, who could not recover, she looked at the red<br /> [07:52.97]shoes, and she thought there could be no sin in it; she put on the red shoes,<br /> [07:58.68]she might do that also, she thought. But then she went to the ball and began<br /> [08:04.60]to dance.<br /> [08:05.66]<br /> [08:05.86]When she wanted to dance to the right, the shoes would dance to the left, and<br /> [08:11.01]when she wanted to dance up the room, the shoes danced back again, down the<br /> [08:15.99]steps, into the street, and out of the city gate. She danced, and was forced<br /> [08:21.93]to dance straight out into the gloomy wood.<br /> [08:25.57]<br /> [08:25.78]Then it was suddenly light up among the trees, and she fancied it must be the<br /> [08:30.12]moon, for there was a face; but it was the old soldier with the red beard; he<br /> [08:35.49]sat there, nodded his head, and said, "Look, what beautiful dancing shoes!"<br /> [08:44.00]<br /> [08:44.23]Then she was terrified, and wanted to fling off the red shoes, but they clung<br /> [08:49.89]fast; and she pulled down her stockings, but the shoes seemed to have grown to<br /> [08:55.30]her feet. And she danced, and must dance, over fields and meadows, in rain and<br /> [09:00.85]sunshine, by night and day; but at night it was the most fearful.<br /> [09:06.37]<br /> [09:06.60]She danced over the churchyard, but the dead did not dance--they had<br /> [09:11.27]something better to do than to dance. She wished to seat herself on a poor<br /> [09:15.80]man's grave, where the bitter tansy grew; but for her there was neither peace<br /> [09:21.38]nor rest; and when she danced towards the open church door, she saw an angel<br /> [09:26.32]standing there. He wore long, white garments; he had wings which reached from<br /> [09:32.17]his shoulders to the earth; his countenance was severe and grave; and in his<br /> [09:37.94]hand he held a sword, broad and glittering.<br /> [09:42.15]<br /> [09:42.37]"Dance shalt thou!" said he. "Dance in thy red shoes till thou art pale and<br /> [09:49.30]cold! Till thy skin shrivels up and thou art a skeleton! Dance shalt thou from<br /> [09:57.46]door to door, and where proud, vain children dwell, thou shalt knock, that<br /> [10:04.35]they may hear thee and tremble! Dance shalt thou--!"<br /> [10:09.09]<br /> [10:09.30]"Mercy!" cried Karen. But she did not hear the angel's reply, for the shoes<br /> [10:15.87]carried her through the gate into the fields, across roads and bridges, and<br /> [10:20.19]she must keep ever dancing.<br /> [10:22.66]<br /> [10:22.87]One morning she danced past a door which she well knew. Within sounded a<br /> [10:28.80]psalm; a coffin, decked with flowers, was borne forth. Then she knew that the<br /> [10:34.32]old lady was dead, and felt that she was abandoned by all, and condemned by<br /> [10:40.13]the angel of God.<br /> [10:41.68]<br /> [10:41.94]She danced, and she was forced to dance through the gloomy night. The shoes<br /> [10:47.44]carried her over stack and stone; she was torn till she bled; she danced over<br /> [10:54.16]the heath till she came to a little house. Here, she knew, dwelt the<br /> [10:59.28]executioner; and she tapped with her fingers at the window, and said, "Come<br /> [11:03.68]out! Come out! I cannot come in, for I am forced to dance!"<br /> [11:08.90]<br /> [11:09.13]And the executioner said, "Thou dost not know who I am, I fancy? I strike bad<br /> [11:14.93]people's heads off; and I hear that my axe rings!"<br /> [11:20.00]<br /> [11:20.26]"Don't strike my head off!" said Karen. "Then I can't repent of my sins! But<br /> [11:26.27]strike off my feet in the red shoes!"<br /> [11:29.98]<br /> [11:30.23]And then she confessed her entire sin, and the executioner struck off her feet<br /> [11:35.70]with the red shoes, but the shoes danced away with the little feet across the<br /> [11:41.21]field into the deep wood.<br /> [11:43.21]<br /> [11:43.44]And he carved out little wooden feet for her, and crutches, taught her the<br /> [11:48.51]psalm criminals always sing; and she kissed the hand which had wielded the<br /> [11:53.71]axe, and went over the heath.<br /> [11:55.82]<br /> [11:56.03]"Now I have suffered enough for the red shoes!" said she. "Now I will go into<br /> [12:02.10]the church that people may see me!" And she hastened towards the church door:<br /> [12:07.37]but when she was near it, the red shoes danced before her, and she was<br /> [12:12.72]terrified, and turned round. The whole week she was unhappy, and wept many<br /> [12:19.52]bitter tears; but when Sunday returned, she said, "Well, now I have suffered<br /> [12:25.57]and struggled enough! I really believe I am as good as many a one who sits in<br /> [12:30.54]the church, and holds her head so high!"<br /> [12:34.14]<br /> [12:34.38]And away she went boldly; but she had not got farther than the churchyard gate<br /> [12:39.97]before she saw the red shoes dancing before her; and she was frightened, and<br /> [12:44.54]turned back, and repented of her sin from her heart.<br /> [12:49.04]<br /> [12:49.26]And she went to the parsonage, and begged that they would take her into<br /> [12:54.59]service; she would be very industrious, she said, and would do everything she<br /> [12:59.33]could; she did not care about the wages, only she wished to have a home, and<br /> [13:03.89]be with good people. And the clergyman's wife was sorry for her and took her<br /> [13:10.21]into service; and she was industrious and thoughtful. She sat still and<br /> [13:15.55]listened when the clergyman read the Bible in the evenings. All the children<br /> [13:20.64]thought a great deal of her; but when they spoke of dress, and grandeur, and<br /> [13:25.29]beauty, she shook her head.<br /> [13:28.01]<br /> [13:28.24]The following Sunday, when the family was going to church, they asked her<br /> [13:33.23]whether she would not go with them; but she glanced sorrowfully, with tears in<br /> [13:37.52]her eyes, at her crutches. The family went to hear the word of God; but she<br /> [13:43.28]went alone into her little chamber; there was only room for a bed and chair to<br /> [13:48.24]stand in it; and here she sat down with her Prayer-Book; and whilst she read<br /> [13:54.62]with a pious mind, the wind bore the strains of the organ towards her, and she<br /> [14:00.19]raised her tearful countenance, and said, "O God, help me!"<br /> [14:04.42]<br /> [14:04.62]And the sun shone so clearly, and straight before her stood the angel of God<br /> [14:11.11]in white garments, the same she had seen that night at the church door; but he<br /> [14:16.44]no longer carried the sharp sword, but in its stead a splendid green spray,<br /> [14:22.04]full of roses. And he touched the ceiling with the spray, and the ceiling rose<br /> [14:28.36]so high, and where he had touched it there gleamed a golden star. And he<br /> [14:32.95]touched the walls, and they widened out, and she saw the organ which was<br /> [14:38.71]playing; she saw the old pictures of the preachers and the preachers' wives.<br /> [14:43.93]The congregation sat in cushioned seats, and sang out of their Prayer-Books.<br /> [14:50.10]For the church itself had come to the poor girl in her narrow chamber, or else<br /> [14:55.20]she had come into the church. She sat in the pew with the clergyman's family,<br /> [14:59.60]and when they had ended the psalm and looked up, they nodded and said, "It is<br /> [15:03.20]right that thou art come!"<br /> [15:06.58]<br /> [15:06.80]"It was through mercy!" she said.<br /> [15:09.56]<br /> [15:09.76]And the organ pealed, and the children's voices in the choir sounded so sweet<br /> [15:14.12]and soft! The clear sunshine streamed so warmly through the window into the<br /> [15:20.00]pew where Karen sat! Her heart was so full of sunshine, peace, and joy, that<br /> [15:25.03]it broke. Her soul flew on the sunshine to God, and there no one asked after<br /> [15:32.98]the RED SHOES.<br /> [15:35.57]</p>

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