{"product_id":"2940014077163","title":"The Quaint and Curious Quest of Johnny Longfoot","description":"JOHNNY'S FATHER put the twine away and rubbed his bald head.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Johnny,\" he said, \"Johnny my boy, shoemaker's apprentice and shoemaker's son, it is beautiful outside and the sun is as bright as a new-polished shoe. But here, in our shop, it is dark and damp, and I see that your cheeks are pale. That's a bad sign. How about a trip to the country?\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eJohnny snatched up a pair of shoes, slapped their heels together smartly and exclaimed happily, \"Father, what a good idea! Not only are my cheeks pale, but I feel ill from the smell of all these leathers: calf leather and raw leather and doeskin. If you do really send me to the country, I'll come back so happy and healthy that I'll be able to make quite extraordinary shoes!\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAt this the father hugged his son, because he loved him dearly. Then, wiping his stained hands on his leather apron, the old shoemaker said, \"I have no money for your trip, of course. So many people go without shoes nowadays that I don't earn much. But never mind. We have relatives in the north, and relatives in the south, relatives in the west and relatives in the east. All these kinfolk of ours live in the country and any one of them would be very happy for the son of old Peter the Shoemaker to pay him a visit. Because – and you should know this, my son – I am the pride and glory of the Longfoot family. It all started when I won a gold medal at the Shoemakers' Fair years ago.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Was it a big medal?\" asked Johnny, who always wanted to know every detail.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Very big. It was the size of the heel of a six-months-old baby's shoe,\" said old Peter with pride. \"But don't interrupt when your father speaks, or God won't bless you. Your needle will break while you work. The twine will give way. And the precious leather will rot. What was I talking about? Oh, yes, I said that any one of them would be happy to have you as their guest, Johnny, shoemaker's apprentice and son of Peter the Shoemaker, called the Shoe King.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eJohnny sighed, because he knew that now he was going to hear the long story all over again. The story of all the shoes his father had made, of all the letters of praise and thanks he had received from kings and princes, of his deep belief that the most beautiful thing in life was to make shoes.","brand":"WDS Publishing","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47145996583152,"sku":"2940014077163","price":2.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/2940014077163_p0.jpg?v=1763600238","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/2940014077163","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}