Sad Pierre's Shoes

Sad Pierre was given a pair of beautiful shoes. These were not ordinary shoes. These shoes laughed and laughed. Pierre was horrified and annoyed. Even when he took them off,  he couldn't make them stop laughing.

So after many days he decided to bury them in his backyard. 

He began digging and digging until the hole was very deep and he dropped them in and covered them with dirt and breathed a sigh of relief. Finally he had some peace and quiet.

The next day his dog dug them up and carried them back to him and the laughter kept him awake all night.

So in the morning he borrowed his neighbor's axe and chopped up the shoes until there were very small pieces, the size of grains of rice. Then he sprinkled them into the adjoining rose garden. 

The crows and blue jays heard the laughter and brought the pieces back to his door and the shoes magically became whole again, laughing even louder.

Pierre held his hands over his ears and screamed.

The next day Pierre gathered a bunch of stones and filled the shoes dropping them in the well that night. Then he went to sleep.

The next morning laughter woke him up! 

A farmer had found the shoes floating in his well and left them at Pierre's door. 

Pierre decided to put on his shoes even though they were wet and he walked around in a circle. Everything became very quiet except for the squishy noise the shoes made from being soaked. 

Then he heard a whisper: You can't kill me. I am laughter. If I die you'll die with me.

And Pierre laughed and laughed and danced and smiled for the first time in his life wearing his magic shoes.