Swedish · Intermediate
Adapted from The Red Shoes
A girl’s beautiful red shoes lead her into a troubling chain of events.
Read and listen in Swedish, with English alongside.
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Scene 1 · Intermediate
Det var en gång en liten flicka som hette Karen. Hon var söt och nätt, men eftersom hon var fattig fick hon gå barfota på sommaren. På vintern bar hon stora träskor som skavde så att vristen blev alldeles röd.
Once upon a time, there was a little girl named Karen. She was pretty and dainty, but because she was poor, she had to go barefoot in summer. In winter she wore large wooden shoes that rubbed her ankle until it was quite red.
Mitt i byn bodde en gammal skomakarhustru. Av några gamla bitar rött tyg sydde hon ett par små skor så gott hon kunde. Skorna blev klumpiga, men hon hade sytt dem åt Karen av omtanke.
An old shoemaker's wife lived in the middle of the village. From some old pieces of red cloth, she sewed a pair of little shoes as best she could. The shoes turned out clumsy-looking, but she had made them for Karen out of kindness.
Karen fick skorna och bar dem för första gången när hennes mamma begravdes. Röda skor passade knappast på en begravning, men hon hade inga andra. Hon stack sina bara fötter i skorna och följde efter den enkla kistan.
Karen received the shoes and wore them for the first time at her mother's funeral. Red shoes were hardly appropriate for a funeral, but she had no others. She slipped her bare feet into them and followed the plain coffin.
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