Metamorphosis of the Shoes

A pair of Shoes lay silently on the floor under the bed. Small points of light followed the bare-foot steps of the little girl.

"Will she put us on today?" wondered Lefty Shoe hopefully.

"I doubt it," replied Right-o Shoe with a sigh. "We're just not good enough anymore. Ever since she got those fancy shoes from the mall, she hasn't even looked at us."

"Those Fancies are so stuck up too. What possessed her to buy them? Didn't she know how ornery they would be?"

"Of course not, Lefty, humans can't tell the difference just by looking."

"Look, she's putting them on. And they're giving her trouble too. What a surprise...Not. I wonder where's she's going. We never go anywhere or see anything anymore. I think we should do something about it."

"What do you mean?" Asked Right-o.

"I know where the shoe blacking is," replied Lefty.

Right-o made an aghast sound. "You mean, move around without Feet inside of us!? You know that's against the Rules! Think of how much trouble we would be in if a Human caught us!"

"We wouldn't get caught. I know how to be quiet, you know how to be quiet, and the humans sleep at nighttime."

"We-ell...But, but, my heel has developed a squeak. " This confession was difficult for Right-o to make.

"We'll stop by the Parent's room on our way down then. Dad's Rebok's are professional chiropractors. Come on, we can do it."

"Ok, I guess."

In the darkness that evening, two flopping shadows low down on the ground might have been seen making their way down the stairs. A little later, a faint screech as Dad's Nike's knocked the squeak out of Right-o. Then, the creak of the basement door.

"We're here. The blacking is on that shelf. I'll get it. You get the rag in the corner." Lefty climbed the shelf laboriously.

Forty minutes later, they stepped in front of a cracked mirror.

"Say," said Lefty, "we look pretty good, now we just have to wait for it to dry."

"Wait," answered Right-O, "We might as well go the whole nine yards. I saw some glitter on the desk upstairs. We could give ourselves a sparkle.

"Great idea, Right-O! That's the spirit! We'd better hurry before this dries though, or it won't stick."

The next morning, the little girl tripped over them as she got out of bed. She grunted, and then looked down to see what had caused her fall.

"New shoes," she squealed happily. "Just what I wanted! Mom and Dad must have put them there when I was asleep."

As they walked out of the room happily encasing the beloved Feet, Right-o and Lefty couldn't help waggling their laces at the Fancies.

Right-o and Lefty winked at each other. "Viva la Olde Shoes!"