Seven-league boots

Common card · No. 416775

Seven-league boots are an element in European folklore. The boots allow the person wearing them to take strides of seven leagues per step, resulting in great speed. The boots are often presented by a magical character to the protagonist to aid in the completion of a significant task. From the context of English language, "seven-league boots" originally arose as a translation from the French bottes de sept lieues, popularised by Charles Perrault's fairy tales. Mentions of the legendary boots are found in: France – Charles Perrault's "Hop o' My Thumb"; Madame d'Aulnoy's "The Bee and the Orange Tree"; Marcel Proust's In Search of Lost Time. Germany – The Brothers Grimm's "Sweetheart Roland"; Adelbert von Chamisso's Peter Schlemiel; Goethe's Faust (Mephistopheles uses them at the start of Part Two, Act Four); Wilhelm Hauff's "Little Muck"; Friedrich Laun's "Das Ideal". Norway – Peter Christen Asbjørnsen and Jørgen Moe's "Soria Moria Castle". Britain – Richard Doyle's "Jack the Giant Killer...

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