Italian · Intermediate
Adapted from The Red Shoes
A girl’s beautiful red shoes lead her into a troubling chain of events.
Read and listen in Italian, with English alongside.
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Scene 1 · Intermediate
C'era una volta una bambina graziosa e delicata che viveva in povertà. D'estate camminava scalza; d'inverno, invece, doveva indossare grossi zoccoli di legno, che le facevano diventare rossa la parte superiore dei piedi.
Once upon a time there was a pretty, delicate little girl who lived in poverty. In summer she walked barefoot; in winter, however, she had to wear big wooden clogs, which made the tops of her feet red.
Nel centro del villaggio abitava l'anziana moglie di un calzolaio. Con alcuni vecchi ritagli di stoffa rossa, la donna ha cucito un paio di scarpette per la bambina, che si chiamava Karen. Non erano ben fatte, ma la donna ci aveva messo tutta la sua buona volontà.
An elderly shoemaker’s wife lived in the center of the village. From some old scraps of red fabric, she sewed a pair of little shoes for the girl, whose name was Karen. They were not well made, but the woman had done her very best.
Karen le ha ricevute e le ha indossate per la prima volta al funerale di sua madre. Il rosso non era certo un colore adatto a un giorno di lutto, ma lei non aveva altre scarpe. Così ci ha infilato i piedi nudi e ha seguito la semplice bara della madre.
Karen received them and wore them for the first time at her mother’s funeral. Red was certainly not a suitable color for a day of mourning, but she had no other shoes. So she slipped her bare feet into them and followed her mother’s plain coffin.
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