THE ELVES AND THE SHOEMAKER
There was once a shoemaker who had become so poor that at last he only had enough leather
left to make just one pair of shoes.
In the evening he cut out the shoes, ready to work on the next morning and then went
to bed.
In the morning the old shoemaker went into his workshop, ready to start sewing the shoes.
To his great surprise, there they were, standing finished on his workbench!
He was amazed, and could not understand what had happened.
He picked the shoes up in his hand in order to look at them more closely.
They were so neatly sewn that not a stitch was out of place.
A customer came into the shop soon after, saw the shoes, and fell in love with them.
He liked them so much that he paid much more than the shoemaker would usually charge for
a pair of shoes.
He used the money to buy enough leather to make two more pairs of shoes.
He cut them out in the evening, leaving them ready to sew the next day.
But again, before the shoemaker could start work the next morning, he found the two pairs
of shoes already standing finished!
Again there was not a stitch out of place.
They were snapped up at once by a pair of customers.
This time the shoemaker made enough money to be able to buy leather for four pairs of
shoes.
Early next morning he found the four pairs of shoes finished, beautifully sewn.
So it went on; what he cut in the evening was finished in the morning.
The shoes sold as soon as they were made and soon the shoemaker had plenty of money.
One evening after he had cut out shoes as usual, the shoemaker said to his wife: "How
about we stay tonight to see who is giving us such a helping hand?"
The wife agreed,so that evening they lit a candle and hid themselves in the corner of
the room.
At midnight two little elves in threadbare clothes appeared in the shoemaker’s workshop.
They sat down at the workbench, picked up the leather that the shoemaker had cut out,
and with their tiny fingers they began to stitch, sew and hammer.
They worked so neatly and quickly that the shoemaker could hardly believe his eyes.
They did not stop until everything was finished and then they disappeared as quickly as they
had arrived.
The next day the shoemaker’s wife said: "Thanks to those little elves we have become
rich and want for nothing.
We should do something to show how grateful we are.
Their clothes are so worn and thin that they must freeze with cold.
We must sew them some new clothes and you shall make them each a fine pair of shoes."
The husband agreed, and they set to work.
That evening when everything was ready, they laid out the presents on the workbench, and
hid themselves to watch.
Not long after, the little elves came running in, and were about to get to work sewing;
but, instead of the cut leather, they found the delightful little clothes that the shoemaker
and his wife had prepared.
At first they were surprised, then delighted.
They quickly tried on their new clothes and began to sing and dance around the room with
happiness.
The little elves did not return to the workshop but the shoemaker never forgot their kindness.
People from all over continued to come and buy their shoes from his little shop and he
had good fortune and lived well for the rest of his life.