| "The Galoshes of Fortune" | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Short story by Hans Christian Andersen | |||
.png) 1889 illustration by Helen Stratton | |||
| Original title | Lykkens Kalosker | ||
| Country | Denmark | ||
| Language | Danish | ||
| Genre(s) | Literary fairy tale | ||
| Publication | |||
| Published in | Three Poetical Works. (Tre Digtninger.) | ||
| Publication type | Anthology | ||
| Publisher | C. A. Reitzel | ||
| Media type | |||
| Publication date | 19 May 1838 | ||
| Chronology | |||
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"The Galoshes of Fortune" (Danish: Lykkens Kalosker)[1] is a literary fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen about a set of time-travelling boots, considered to be inspired by the folktale of the "seven-league boots" (syvmilestøvler).[2]
The tale was first published by C. A. Reitzel in Copenhagen, Denmark on 19 May 1838 with The True Soldier (one-act verse play) and "That Was Done by the Zombie" (poem) in Three Poetical Works.[3]
Reitzel paid Andersen 40 rixdollars for the story. In the tale, Andersen continues to perfect his colloquial style.[4] Andersen read the tale aloud in the late 1830s with his novel Only a Fiddler.[5] The tale irritated the young Danish philosopher Søren Kierkegaard[6] with its satirical portrait of a bird that babbles on endlessly in a philosophical vein.[5][7]