The Dancing Shoes

Enjoy one of the lesser-known folk stories collected by the Brothers Grimm, about twelve princesses who mysteriously wear their shoes out every night. Let the quirky narrative lull you gently to sleep!

Transcript

Hello,

My name's Mandy and I'm really pleased that you've decided to join me to hear tonight's reading which is an old folk tale called The Dancing Shoes.

It's one of the lesser known stories collected by the Brothers Grimm and was published by them in 1898.

So do go ahead and make yourself really comfortable and we'll begin.

The Dancing Shoes.

Over the seas and far away there is a fine country that neither you nor I nor anybody else that we know ever saw.

But a very great king once reigned there who had no son at all but had twelve most beautiful daughters.

Now this king had no queen to help him take care of all these twelve young ladies and so you may well think that they gave him no little trouble.

They slept in twelve beds all in a row in one room and when they went to bed the king always went up and shut and locked the door.

But for all this care that was taken of them their shoes were every morning found to be quite worn through as if they had been danced in all night long and yet nobody could find out how it happened or where they could have been.

The king you may be sure was very angry at having to buy so many new shoes and he made it known to all the land that if anybody could find out where it was that the princesses danced in the night he should have the one he liked best of the whole twelve for his wife and should be king after the king's death.

But that whoever tried and could not after three days and nights make out the truth should be put to death.

A king's son came.

He was well lodged and fed and in the evening was taken to the chamber next to the one where the princesses lay in their twelve beds.

There he was to sit and watch where they went to dance and in order that nothing might pass without his hearing it the door of his chamber was left open.

But the prince soon fell asleep and when he awoke in the morning he found that the princesses had all been dancing for the soles of their shoes were full of holes.

The same thing happened the second and third nights so the king soon had this young gentleman's head cut off.

After him came many others but they all had the same luck and lost their lives in the same way.

Now it chanced that an old soldier who had been wounded in battle and could fight no longer passed through this country and as he was traveling through a wood he met a little old woman who asked him where he was going.

I hardly know where I am going or what I had better do said the soldier but I think I should like very well to find out where it is that these princesses dance about whom people talk so much and then I might have a wife and in time I might be a king which would be a mighty pleasant sort of thing for me in my old days.

Well well said the old dame nodding her head that is no very hard task only take care not to drink the wine that one of the princesses will bring to you in the evening and as soon as she leaves you you must seem to fall fast asleep.

Then she gave him a cloak and said as soon as you put that on you will become invisible and you will then be able to follow the princesses wherever they go without their being at all aware of it.

When the soldier heard this he thought he would try his luck so he went to the king and said he was willing to undertake the task.

He was as well lodged as the others had been and the king ordered fine royal robes to be given him and when the evening came he was led to the outer chamber.

Just as he was going to lie down the eldest of the princesses brought him a cup of wine but the soldier slyly threw it all away taking care not to drink a drop.

Then he laid himself down on his bed and in a little while began to snore very loud as if he was fast asleep.

When the twelve princesses heard this they all laughed heartily and the eldest said this fellow too might have done a wiser thing than lose his life in this way.

Then they rose up and opened their drawers and boxes and took out all their fine clothes and dressed themselves at the glass and put on the 12 pair of new shoes that the king had just bought them and skipped about as if they were eager to begin dancing.

But the youngest said I don't know how it is but though you were so happy I feel very uneasy.

I am sure some mischance will befall us.

You simpleton said the eldest you are always afraid.

Have you forgotten how many king's sons have already watched us in vain?

As for this soldier he had one eye shut already when he came into the room and even if I hadn't given him his sleeping draught he would have slept soundly enough.

When they were all ready When they were all ready they went and looked at the soldier but he snored on and didn't stir hand or foot so they thought they were quite safe and the eldest went up to her own bed and clapped her hands and the bed sank into the floor and a trap door flew open.

The soldier saw them going down through the trap door one after another the eldest leading the way and thinking he had no time to lose he jumped up put on the cloak which the old fairy had given him and followed them.

In the middle of the stairs he trod on the gown of the youngest and she cried out and she cried out all is not right someone took hold of my gown.

You silly thing said the eldest it was nothing but a nail in the wall.

Then down they all went and then ran along a dark walk till they came to a door and there they found themselves in a most delightful grove of trees and the leaves were all of silver and glittered and sparkled beautifully.

The soldier wished to take some token of the place so he broke off a little branch and there came a loud noise from the tree.

Then the youngest daughter said again I am sure all is not right did you not hear that noise that never happened before but the eldest said it is only the princes who are shouting for joy at our approach.

They soon came to another grove of trees where all the leaves were of gold and afterwards to a third where the leaves were all glittering diamonds and the soldier broke a branch from each and every time there came a loud noise that made the younger sister shiver with fear but the eldest still said it was only the princes who were shouting for joy.

So they went on till they came to a great lake and at the side of the lake there lay 12 little boats with 12 handsome princes in them waiting for the princesses.

One of the princesses went into each boat and as the boats were very small the soldier hardly knew what to do.

My company will not be very agreeable to any of them said he but however I must not be left behind so he stepped into the same boat with the youngest.

As they were rowing over the lake the prince who was in the boat with the youngest princess and the soldier said I don't know how it is but though I am rowing with all my might we get on very slowly and I am quite tired.

The boat seems very heavy today especially at one end.

It is only the heat of the weather said the princess.

I feel it very warm too.

On the other side of the lake stood a fine illuminated castle from which came the merry music of horns and trumpets.

There they all landed and went into the castle and each prince danced with his princess and the soldier who was all the time invisible danced with them too and when any of the princesses had a cup of wine set by her he drank it all up so that when she put the cup to her mouth it was empty.

At this too the youngest sister was sadly frightened but the eldest always stopped her mouth.

They danced on till three o'clock in the morning and then all their shoes were worn out so that they were forced to leave off.

The princes rowed them back again over the lakes but this time the soldier sat himself in the boat by the eldest princess and her friend too found it very hard work to row that night.

On the other shore they all took leave saying they would come again the next night.

When they came to the stairs the soldier ran on before the princesses and laid himself down and as they came up slowly panting for breath and very much tired they heard him snoring in his bed and said now all is quite safe.

Then they undressed themselves put away their fine clothes pulled off their shoes and went to bed and to sleep.

In the morning the soldier said nothing about what had happened for he wished to see more of this sport.

So he went again the second and third nights and everything happened just as before.

The princesses dancing each time till their shoes were worn to pieces and then going home tired.

But the third night the soldier carried away one of the golden cups as a token of where he had been.

On the morning of the fourth day he was ordered to appear before the king so he took with him the three branches and the golden cup.

The 12 princesses stood listening behind the door to hear what he would say laughing within themselves to think how cleverly they had taken him in as well as all the rest who had watched them.

Then the king asked him where do my 12 daughters dance at night and the soldier said with 12 princes in a castle underground.

So he told the king all that had happened and showed him the three branches and the golden cup that he had brought with him.

On this the king called for the princesses and asked them whether what the soldier said was true or not and when they saw that they were found out and that it was of no use to deny what had happened they said it was all true.

Then the king asked the soldier which of them he would choose for his wife and he said I am not very young so I think I had better take the eldest and they were married that very day and the soldier in due time was heir to the kingdom after the king his father-in-law died.

But what became of the other 11 princesses or of the 12 princes I never heard.

The end.

Reviews

A fun, imaginative story. Thanks for sharing Mandy 🙏🏻

Very interesting 😍 fairies always know… thank you!

I love this one. Thank you for sharing your voice with the world. Thank you for helping Karin fall asleep every night.

New one for me! Thanks for giving your voice to it.