and was with good people. The pastor’s wife had pity on her, and took her
into service. And she was industrious and thoughtful. She sat quiet and
listened when the pastor read aloud from the Bible in the evening. All the
children liked her very much, but when they spoke about dress and
grandeur and beauty she would shake her head.
On the following Sunday they all went to church, and she was asked
whether she wished to go too; but, with tears in her eyes, she looked sadly
at her crutches. And then the others went to hear God’s Word, but she went
alone into her little room; this was only large enough to hold the bed and a
chair. Here she sat down with her hymn-book, and as she was reading it
with a pious mind, the wind carried the notes of the organ over to her from
the church, and in tears she lifted up her face and said: “O God! help me!”
Then the sun shone so brightly, and right before her stood an angel of
God in white robes; it was the same one whom she had seen that night at the
church-door. He no longer carried the sharp sword, but a beautiful green
branch, full of roses; with this he touched the ceiling, which rose up very
high, and where he had touched it there shone a golden star. He touched the
walls, which opened wide apart, and she saw the organ which was pealing
forth; she saw the pictures of the old pastors and their wives, and the
congregation sitting in the polished chairs and singing from their hymn-
books. The church itself had come to the poor girl in her narrow room, or
the room had gone to the church. She sat in the pew with the rest of the
pastor’s household, and when they had finished the hymn and looked up,
they nodded and said, “It was right of you to come, Karen.”
“It was mercy,” said she.
The organ played and the children’s voices in the choir sounded soft and
lovely. The bright warm sunshine streamed through the window into the
pew where Karen sat, and her heart became so filled with it, so filled with
peace and joy, that it broke. Her soul flew on the sunbeams to Heaven, and
no one was there who asked after the Red Shoes.
