Kitabı oku: «Страшные сказки / Scary stories», sayfa 13

“They shine so brightly!” said the old lady.

“Yes, indeed they shine”, said Karen.

As the shoes fitted Karen, the old lady bought them. But she had no idea they were red.

They went to the church. Everyone looked at her feet. When she walked up the aisle to the chancel of the church, it seemed to her as if even those portraits of bygone ministers and their wives, in starched ruffs and long black gowns fixed their eyes upon her red shoes. She could think of nothing else, even when the pastor laid his hands upon her head and spoke of God and her duty as a Christian. The solemn organ rolled, the children sang sweetly, and the old choir leader sang too. But Karen thought of nothing except her red shoes.

Before the afternoon was over, the old lady heard from everyone in the parish that the shoes were red. She told Karen it was naughty to wear red shoes to church. Highly improper! In the future she will always wear black shoes to church, even though they were her old ones.

Next Sunday there was holy communion. Karen looked at her black shoes. She looked at her red ones. She looked at her red ones again – and she put them on.

It was a fair, sunny day. Karen and the old lady took the path through the cornfield, where it was rather dusty. At the church door they met an old soldier. He stood with a crutch and wore a long, curious beard. It was more reddish than white. In fact it was quite red. He bowed down to the ground, and asked the old lady to dust her shoes. Karen put out her little foot too.

“Oh, what beautiful shoes for dancing”, the soldier said. “Never come off when you dance”, he told the shoes, as he tapped the sole of each of them with his hand.

The old lady gave the soldier a penny, and went on into the church with Karen. All the people there stared at Karen’s red shoes, and all the portraits stared too. When Karen knelt at the altar rail, and even when the chalice came to her lips, she could think only of her red shoes. She forgot to sing the psalm. She forgot to say the Lord’s Prayer.

Then church was over, and the old lady got into her carriage. Karen lifted her foot to step in after her when the old soldier said,

“Oh, what beautiful shoes for dancing!”

Karen took a few dancing steps, and once her feet began to dance. It was as if the shoes controlled her. She danced round the corner of the church, she simply could not stop. The coachman ran after her, caught her, and lifted her into the carriage. But even there her feet danced so that they kicked the old lady terribly. Only when she took her shoes off her legs became still. When they got home Karen put away the shoes in a cupboard, but she often came and looked at them.

Shortly afterwards the old lady got ill. She required constant care and faithful nursing, and for this she depended on Karen. But a great ball was in the town, and Karen was invited. She looked at the old lady. The old lady will die soon in any case. Karen looked at the red shoes. She put them on. And then she went to the ball and began to dance. When she tried to turn to the right, the shoes turned to the left. When she wanted to dance up the ballroom, her shoes danced down. They danced down the stairs, into the street, and out through the gate of the town. So Karen danced everywhere, even in the wood!