Red- Boots. 203

and all was quiet in the streets, the shoe ball
began. The brass band played, the shoe-horns
blew, and all the shoes squeaked. They were
very graceful, making but few mistakes, for the
commonsense pair led them. And so they mer-
rily danced till morning. And in the morning, a
lady and her little son entered the shop.

“JT want some red laced boots for my boy,”
said she. And the man tried on those in the win-
dow, which proved a perfect fit.

“Now if they match these stockings, I will take
them,” said the lady, opening a parcel she carried
and displaying a pair of lovely red silk stockings.
The boots were a little lighter than the stockings,
but the lady, being much pleased with them, took
them in spite of this, they first saying good-bye to
all their friends in the window.

Two days after, the red boots and stockings
were worn for the first time, and their four-year-
old master Robert was very proud of them. The
stockings were not very polite to the boots, saying:

“You are not nearly as pretty a color as we,
for you are too light.”