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Illustration for The Red Shoes

English · Beginner

The Red Shoes

By Hans Christian Andersen

A girl’s beautiful red shoes lead her into a troubling chain of events.

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Beginner sample in English

Scene 1

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Illustration for the scene “Karen's mother's funeral”

Scene 1 · Beginner

Karen's mother's funeral

English

There was once a pretty little girl named Karen. Her family was poor, so she went barefoot in summer. In winter she wore large wooden shoes that made the tops of her feet red.

English

An old shoemaker's wife lived in the village. She wanted to help Karen, so she made her a pair of shoes from pieces of old red cloth. They were not very well made, but she had made them with kindness.

English

Karen first wore the red shoes on the day of her mother's funeral. Red shoes were not suitable for such a sad day, but she had no other shoes. She put them on her bare feet and walked behind her mother's simple coffin.

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