18/5/2016 0 Comments The Elves and the Shoemaker![]() Once upon a time, there was a poor shoemaker who had no money to buy food for himself and his wife. When he looked round his shop, he found that all he had was just enough leather to make one pair of shoes. As he carefully cut out the shoes, he wondered sadly if anyone would ever come along to buy them. Then, he laid the leather on his workbench and went upstairs to bed. The next morning, when the shoemaker went to his workbench, he couldn’t believe his eyes. Instead of the leather that he had cut out the night before, he saw a pair of fine shoes, already made. The shoemaker looked carefully at the shoes. The stiches were small and even and the shoes had been polished until they shone. He was very puzzled and showed them to his wife. “Who could have made the shoes so perfectly?” Later the day, a rich woman came into the shop. When the shoemaker showed her the pair of shoes that he had found on the workbench, the rich woman smiled. “These are very fine shoes,” she said. She tried the shoes on. “They fit perfectly. I’ll give you five pieces of silver for them. Now, the shoemaker had enough money to buy some food. He could also buy enough leather for two pairs of shoes. As before, he cut out the leather and went to bed. Once again, the same thing happened. When the shoemaker went to his workbench next day, there were two pairs of fine shoes waiting for him. They were polished until it glowed in the sunlight and the stiches were small and even. That afternoon, a rich merchant came into the shop. He liked the shoes so much that he bought both pairs. He paid the shoemaker well for them. The same thing happened night after night. Day after day, rich people came to buy the shoes. Soon, the shoemaker and his wife were rich too. One evening, not long before Christmas, the shoemaker said to his wife, “Someone has been helping us all this time, sewing the shoes so beautifully. We still don’t know who it is. How can we find out?” “Well. Why don’t we stay up tonight and watch?” After dinner, they lit a candle and went into the shop. They hid behind the counter and waited to see what would happen. At last, the door opened and in ran two tiny little elves, dressed in rags. They went straight to the workbench, picked up the leather lying there and set to work. They sewed and hammered until all the shoes were finished. Then, they polished the shoes until they shone in the moonlight. After that, they ran quickly away. The next morning, the shoemaker said to his wife, “Those elves have been working so hard for us. How could we repay them?” “I know. Why don’t we make them something warm to wear? Their clothes were thin and torn. I could start knitting them some new clothes and little caps. You can make them some shoes.” The shoemaker thought that was a very good idea. That evening, both of them started to make clothes, caps and shoes for the elves. By Christmas Eve, everything stood ready in a little pile. The shoemaker’s wife wrapped each present with some pretty paper and ribbons. Then, they put all the presents out on the workbench and hid behind the counter to wait for the elves. In the middle of the night, the elves dashed in, ready to start work. But, all they found there was the little pile of presents. The elves looked at each other in surprise. Then, they realised that the presents were for them, and they laughed and began to unwrap the packages. When they saw the clothes, they leapt with joy. They took off all their ragged clothes and put on their brand new outfits.Then, the elves skipped merrily out of door, singing. “La la la la la la, sing a happy song. La la la la la la, sing the whole day long.” That was the last the shoemaker and his wife saw of the two little elves. But, they never forgot the elves whose had helped them a lot. They were rich and happy for the rest of their lives. Adapted from: Jacob, & Grimm, W. (1993). Favourite tales: The elves and the shoemaker. Loughborough: Ladybird Books Ltd.
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