*shoes. 2001-05-17 9:01 p.m.*

Once upon a time, in a land far away, there lived a princess who loved shoes. She

loved other things, of course, but shoes were her favorite thing. She had every kind of

shoe-- glass shoes, wooden shoes, silver shoes, flower shoes, paper shoes. She even had

shoes made of bits moonbeams. She only took one pair of shoes to put on another pair.

She even slept in her shoes.

Still and all, none of her shoes were just right. They were nice, but not perfect.

One day, while she was out riding, one of her shoes fell to the ground. Suddenly,

from the trees came two cobblers.

�My dear lady, we,� said the fat one.

�We would love to make,� said the thin one.

�Make a pair of shoes.�

�Shoes to suit such lovely feet.�

�Feet as yours.�

�Well,� the princess said, hesitantly.

�They would be,� said the thin one.

�Be magic shoes that,� said the fat one.

�That would reveal.�

�Reveal your true love.�

�My true love?� she said, color rushing to her cheeks. This would be extremely

helpful. She had many suitors, but she was not sure which was her true love.

�Yes,� said the thin one.

�Well,� she said. �I�ll try it.� She had lots of gold and silver, being a princess and

all, so even if she didn�t like the shoes, it wouldn�t be a tragedy.

�We will be back,� said that fat one.

�Back in nine months,� said the thin one.

�Nine months, for shoes are like children.�

�Yes, they are,� she agreed.

She went about her business after that, and soon forgot about these magical shoes.

And then one day, eight months and twenty-nine days later, she remembered. �Oh! My

shoes!� she said.

And so, she went to the spot in the woods, and there the cobblers were. She

looked at them, but they seemed to be empty handed.

�Where are my shoes?� she asked.

�Here,� said the thin one, and held out his hands.

�Where?� she asked again.

�Here, in our hands, but,� said the fat one.

�But you can�t see them, because,� said the thin one.

�Because they are magical, and.�

�And you are not in love.�

�In love with yourself, only.�

�Only your true love.�

�Love can recognize their magic.�

�I see,� she said. She sighed at the waste of money, but she paid them, and took

the shoes. �I suppose I will try them,� she said, as she rode away. �It can�t hurt.�

So, she wore them around each and every one of her suitors and they all asked her

why she had no shoes on.

After she had tested every single suitor down to Marvin prince of Marvinia, she

gave up. She ran to her room in tears. She sobbed so hard that she didn�t hear a timid

knock on her door, or the door opening.

�M�lady?� It was her handmaiden.

She stood up quickly, and wiped her eyes. �What is it?� she asked.

But the handmaiden had been struck dumb. She just stared at the princess�s feet,

her mouth open.

�What is it?� the princess asked again, and took a step forward.

�Your feet. They�re beautiful!�

And they lived happily ever after.

THE END

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