Danish · Intermediate
Adapted from The Red Shoes
A girl’s beautiful red shoes lead her into a troubling chain of events.
Read and listen in Danish, with English alongside.
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Scene 1 · Intermediate
Der var engang en lille pige, der hed Karen. Hun var køn og fin, men hun var så fattig, at hun om sommeren måtte gå barfodet. Om vinteren gik hun i store træsko, der gnavede, så hun blev helt rød oven på foden.
Once upon a time there was a little girl named Karen. She was pretty and delicate, but she was so poor that she had to go barefoot in summer. In winter she wore large wooden clogs that rubbed against the tops of her feet until they were bright red.
Midt i landsbyen boede en gammel skomagerkone. Af nogle rester rødt stof syede hun efter bedste evne et par små sko til Karen. Skoene blev lidt klodsede, men de var lavet med god vilje.
An elderly woman, a shoemaker’s wife, lived in the middle of the village. She did her best to sew Karen a pair of little shoes out of scraps of red cloth. The shoes came out a little clunky, but she’d made them with the best of intentions.
Karen tog dem på for første gang den dag, hendes mor blev begravet. Røde sko passede dårligt til sørgetøjet, men hun havde ingen andre. Så hun stak de bare fødder i skoene og fulgte efter den enkle kiste.
Karen wore them for the first time on the day her mother was buried. Red shoes went poorly with her mourning clothes, but she had no others. So she slipped her bare feet into the shoes and followed the plain coffin.
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