Put your best foot forward ... fairy tale shoes.

It's amazing how many fairy tales focus around shoes.  These are just a few that come to mind at present:

• Cinderella
• The Elves and the Shoemaker
• Puss 'n Boots
• The Wizard of Oz
• The Red Shoes
• Wynken, Blynken & Nod
• The Twelve Dancing Princesses
• There was an Old Woman who Lived in a Shoe

Why shoes?  I think, maybe, it is because everyone wears shoes!  Even in the "old days", shoes were something that everyone owned ... or at least wanted to own!  Shoes are incredibly practical - they keep feet warm, dry and safe from damage - a seriously wise investment from peasant to  royalty!  If magic is to be accessible for all, it has to exist in the humblest and simplest of circumstances, and in the most prosaic of possessions - as is certainly the case in all of the tales cited.  

Shoes, in all of these stories, have the power to be the vehicle of transformation ...  or transportation!  So the leap from their true usage is not that far.  Every one of these stories takes the protagonist to a different place. 

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Cinderella climbs the ranks in society and in wealth, even as she climbs the stairs to the palace.  The Shoemaker and Puss n' Boots make good on that as well.  In fact, Puss is smart enough to ASK for the boots, as this kitty-cat already knows they are the necessary item to start on a successful journey to status and riches!  Dorothy (The Wizard of Oz) and Karen (The Red Shoes) both have spiritual awakenings and realize that "happiness can be found anywhere", even in poverty or uncomfortable circumstances or surroundings.  Wynken, Blynken & Nod have, at the same time, already arrived and still have a long way to go.  They can afford to literally reach for the stars as they're dreaming safe in bed with a Mother's Love overseeing their slumber.

The Twelve Dancing Princesses require a lot more study - there is just too much going on there and lots of variations to the story.   And the Poor Old Woman Who Lived in a Shoe?  There are many analogies suggested for its possible political meaning, but perhaps she is simply trapped in circumstances.  Shoes tied to the back of the wedding carriage, symbolize both a binding contract and fertility.  Well, she certainly got both of those in spades!  It is perhaps a warning to be wary of what a simple pair of shoes can do for you ... be mindful where yours take you.

Meadow Sweet Grove © V. Buchanan 2017