Red Shoes

In The Red Shoes, a peasant girl named Karen is adopted by a rich old lady and grows up vain and spoiled.

She is so enamored of a new pair of red shoes that she wears them to church in spite of a warning to only wear black shoes there.

She soon learns that ignoring that warning was a bad idea: a mysterious old soldier at the church charms the red shoes with a tap of his hand.

This cautionary tale has been adapted for various media including film.