Long ago, a young shoemaker and his
wife lived together in a beautiful city. The shoemaker worked hard all day and was very
honest with all his customers, but no matter how many shoes he made, he could not earn
enough money for him and his wife to live upon. Finally, the day came when all that he had
left in his workshop was one small piece of leather.
That evening, the shoemaker quietly and carefully cut out the piece of leather to make his
last pair of shoes the following morning. He and his wife had no food to eat, so they went
to bed hungry. But, in spite of their troubles, they still felt thankful that they had
each other and soon they fell into a deep and peaceful sleep.
 The
next morning, the shoemaker and his wife woke up early. Without wasting a moment, the
shoemaker went downstairs to do his work. To his astonishment, there on his worktable
stood a fine pair of shoes, ready made! The shoemaker called out to his wife, and for a
long time both of them gazed in amazement at the new pair of shoes. The shoemaker picked up each one in turn and inspected it carefully.
There was not one false stitch in the whole job, they were the most exquisite pair of
shoes he had ever seen.
That morning, a very rich man was walking through the town with his wife when he noticed
the shoes on display in the workshop. The shoes suited him so well that he willingly
offered the shoemaker a very high price for them. With the money, the shoemaker's wife was
able to go out shopping and buy enough food to cook a delicious dinner. She also bought
enough leather for her husband to make two more pairs of shoes.
In the evening, the shoemaker cut out the leather once more, laid out the pieces on his
worktable and went to bed early.
But once again, the shoemaker was saved the trouble of having to make up the shoes, for in
the morning he found both pairs sitting on his worktable, with not a stitch out of place.
Soon two customers arrived, and they paid him handsomely, for they had never seen such
fine shoes. Now the shoemaker's wife could buy enough food to cook dinner and enough
leather for four new pairs of shoes.
After the couple had eaten, the shoemaker cut out the leather again and left it on his
worktable. The same thing happened as had happened before: during the night, the leather
that had been laid out in the evening was made into four perfect pairs of shoes.
And so it went on for sometime; what was ready in the evening was always made into shoes
by daybreak. Before long, the shoemaker and his wife had everything they needed.
One evening, in the coldest part of the year, as he and his wife were sitting by the fire,
the shoemaker said, "I would like to sit up and watch tonight, so that we may see who
it is that comes and does my work for me." "What a good idea!" exclaimed
his wife. So they left a candle burning and hid themselves behind a curtain in a corner of
the room and waited.
 As soon as the town clock struck midnight, in came two little elves,
quite naked. They sat themselves down on the shoemaker's table, took up all the leather
that was cut out, and set to work.
They stitched and rapped and hammered and tapped faster than
anyone the shoemaker had ever seen. Within a few minutes the job was done, and a neat row
of shoes stood ready for use upon the table. Then the two elves scurried away, as quickly
and mysteriously as they had come.
The next day while the couple was out walking together, the shoemaker's wife stopped
outside a draper's shop and said, "Those little elves have made us rich, and we ought
to be thankful to them and do them a good turn if we can. I was quite sorry to see them
going around with no clothes to keep them warm. Listen, I have an idea. I shall buy some
scraps of fabric at this shop and make each of them a linen shirt, a silk waistcoat, and a
velvet coat and pair of trousers into the bargain, and you can make each of them a little
pair of shoes."
 This idea pleased the shoemaker very much. So whenever they had a free
moment, he and his wife worked on the elves' new outfits.
At last, everything was ready. That evening, the couple laid
the clothes out neatly on the table, instead of the usual pieces of leather. Then they lit
a small candle and hid themselves once more behind the curtain.
As soon as the town clock struck midnight, in danced the two elves. When they saw the new
clothes laid out for them, they laughed out loud. The shoemaker and his wife smiled at
each other.
The elves dressed themselves in the twinkling of an eye. They danced and skipped and
capered all over the chairs and tables, whooping and singing with delight. And then, just
as suddenly as before, they were gone. |