Bedtime Stories: The Shoes of Fortune

This most unusual of fairy tales begins in Copenhagen, on East Street to be exact. It was the home of a new market and many parties. People would sit at card tables and talk or find other ways to amuse themselves. They spoke of the middle ages and of King Hans, saying it was one of the best periods in history. One day, two mysterious women arrived in the town.

 

 

They kept out of sight, hanging out in an antechamber for a while. One was older than the other and very serious. The younger one told the older fairy how she had been given a pair of walking shoes that held great power, called the shoes of fortune. They could take whoever wore them anywhere they wanted to go, instantly. They could even take the person back in time and grant their every wish. She said these shoes would make people happy.

 

The older fairy disagreed. She said whoever ended up with them would be glad the day they were free of the shoes of fortune. They argued about it for a while until the younger one stubbornly left them sitting outside the door of the antechamber. She figured someone would take these shoes instead of their own by mistake and end up a very happy person. Finally, one man did walk into the room and accidentally put his feet into the shoes. His name was Councilor Knap.

 

Suddenly, Councilor Knap found himself standing in a muddy and wet street much different than the streets of Copenhagen. "Well! This is too bad! How dirty it is here!" sighed the Councilor. "As to a pavement, I can find no traces of one, and all the lamps, it seems, have gone to sleep." People in strange clothes walked by as well, but he figured they were coming from some kind of party. The shoes of fortune had taken him to the time he loved so much.

 

He tried to talk to a couple of them, but he had a hard time understanding them. It got worse the longer they spoke. Still, he had no idea what the shoes of fortune had gotten him into. Councilor Knap decided to go back the way he came and try to find the market again ... he would definitely find a coach there to take him home.

 

A short time later, he was staring in disbelief at the spot where the market was supposed to be. It looked complete different than the place he'd been to earlier. Still, he didn't realize what was really responsible. He thought he drank too much earlier and now he was paying for it. What else could he think? He didn't believe in fairy tales and magic.

 

The explanation didn't completely satisfy him, though. He knew he'd only had one glass of the punch earlier with his salmon. Still, what else could it have been? Thanks to the shoes of fortune, he no longer recognized his own street. Finally, he came across an open door. He said to the woman there, "I've felt so queer all of a sudden; would you have the goodness to send for a hackney-coach to take me to Christianshafen?"

 

The woman gave him a strange look and replied in German. He asked his question again in German and she got him something to drink, hoping it would make the strange man feel better. He sat for a minute, drinking the water and watching her pull out a paper to read. He stared at the page in amazement, seeing how old it was. He sat around for a while, getting into a conversation with a couple men there about the headline in the paper. More and more, he was beginning to wonder about the place the shoes of fortune had brought him to.

 

What was wrong with these people? They were talking about things that had long since passed as if they were happening right then. Everything he said made them look at him as if he'd lost his mind. Why, some of them were even speaking in Latin.

 

He now knew for sure something very unusual was happening here, something that was not easy to explain. He felt a wave of dizziness as all the strange things that happen in bedtime stories suddenly began to look believable. He tried to leave, but the others insisted he stay and drink with them. Eventually, he tried to sneak away quietly. The people grabbed and pulled at him, trying to stop him from leaving. In the struggle, he lost the cursed shoes.

 

Just like that, the streets were back to normal and he breathed a sigh of relief. He was back home where he belonged. His experience made him appreciate his home more than ever. Maybe the shoes of fortune weren't so bad after all!