The Shoemaker and the Elves

Once upon a time, there was a very poor shoemaker. He spent his last coin to buy a piece of leather, and even that was only enough for one pair of shoes. Late at night, he finished cutting the leather, put away his scissors, left the leather on the table to start sewing the shoes in the morning, and went to bed.

But in the morning, when he approached the table to begin his work, instead of pieces of leather, he found a brand-new pair of completely finished shoes. He stared at them in amazement: he had never seen anything like them in his life. The shoemaker was still gaping at them when the first customer entered his workshop. Upon seeing the shoes, the customer was so delighted that he immediately bought them for a high price.

Now the shoemaker had enough money to buy leather for four whole pairs of shoes.

"What luck," he said to his wife.

That evening, he cut out all four pairs and left them on the table to start sewing in the morning. But the next morning, all four pairs were lying there, ready and finished. Once again, the work was done so perfectly that the shoemaker barely had time to blink before all the shoes were sold for good money, with customers scrambling to snatch them up.

Now the shoemaker could afford leather for twelve pairs. That evening, he cut out all the pieces and went to bed.

"Tomorrow will be a tough day," he said to his wife. "I'll have to sew twenty-four shoes." He still couldn't believe that such luck might ever come his way again.

But in the morning, all twenty-four shoes were standing on the table, ready and finished. And once again, a crowd of customers fought over them.

And so it went, day after day: in the evening, he would cut the leather, and in the morning, the shoes would be ready. He bought more and more leather, cut out more and more shoes, and earned more and more money. His business thrived.

One day, just before Christmas, the shoemaker said to his wife, "I wish I knew whose hands are helping us so wonderfully. Let's hide tonight and watch."

That evening, they lit a candle, left it on the table, and hid in the closet, covering themselves with old clothes. They waited in vain until midnight. But as soon as the church clock struck twelve, the window suddenly opened by itself, and two tiny little men climbed in. They were so small that each could fit in the palm of your hand, and they wore no more clothing than a newborn baby.

Crossing their legs, the little men sat down on the shoemaker's table and began working with the leather. It seemed to flow into their tiny hands, and before you could set the table, a beautiful pair of shoes was ready. When they were done, they neatly put away all the tools, blew out the candle, and jumped out the window.

The shoemaker and his wife crawled out of the closet. "You know, dear," said the wife, "these little ones have made us rich. But they themselves, poor things, have nothing to wear in this cold. Let me sew them jackets, pants, and hats, and you can make them a nice pair of shoes!" The shoemaker agreed. He made the shoes, and his wife made the tiny clothes. That night, when everything was ready, they placed it all on the table next to a lit candle and hid in the closet again.

As soon as the church clock struck twelve, the window opened by itself again, and the two little men climbed in. They looked at the table and saw that instead of cut leather, there were two tiny suits and two tiny pairs of shoes. How they laughed and jumped for joy! Laughing and jumping, they dressed themselves, then took each other's hands and began to dance on the table. They danced and sang a song about how they were finally warmly dressed and could take a little break from work. Then they blew out the candle and jumped out the window.

After that night, they never returned. But the shoemaker, to be honest, wasn't too upset—after all, he had learned a thing or two from watching the little men and could now make shoes better than any master in the world.

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The Shoemaker and the Elves

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