The Elves and the Shoemaker

A Poor Shoemaker

Once upon a time, there was a kind shoemaker. He made shoes all day long. But he was very, very poor.

One cold night, he had only enough leather to make one last pair of shoes.

He cut the leather very carefully. "I will sew these shoes in the morning," he said. He left the pieces on his table. Then he went up to bed. Yawn.

A Big Surprise

In the morning, the shoemaker came downstairs. He rubbed his eyes. What was this?

On his table sat a pair of shoes. Beautiful shoes! Every stitch was tiny and neat. They were the best shoes he had ever seen.

"Who made these?" he gasped. But nobody was there.

That very day, a man came in. He loved the shoes. "I will pay a lot for these!" he said. Now the shoemaker had money to buy leather for two new pairs.

That night, he cut the leather again. He left it on the table and went to bed.

In the morning — two new pairs of shoes! Even more beautiful than before.

Who Is Helping?

Every night the shoemaker cut the leather. Every morning, new shoes were ready. More and more people came to buy them. Soon the shoemaker was not poor at all!

But he still did not know who was helping him.

"Let us stay awake tonight," said his wife. "We must find out!"

So they hid behind a curtain. They were very quiet. They waited and waited.

At midnight, the door creaked open. In came two little elves! They were tiny, with no shoes and no clothes — only old, ragged rags. Brrr, they must have been so cold.

The elves hopped onto the table. Snip, snip! Tap, tap! Stitch, stitch! Their little hands worked so fast. By morning, all the shoes were done. Then the elves ran away.

A Gift of Thanks

"Those dear little elves help us every night," said the wife softly. "And look — they have no warm clothes. Let us make a thank-you gift!"

So they got to work. The wife sewed two tiny shirts, two tiny coats, and two tiny hats. The shoemaker made two pairs of the smallest, softest shoes.

That night, they laid the little gifts on the table. Then they hid and waited.

At midnight, the elves came back. They saw the clothes. They saw the tiny shoes. Their eyes went wide!

The elves put on their warm new clothes. They put on their cosy new shoes. Then they laughed and clapped and danced all around the table!

"What happy little men we are!" they sang. And they skipped out of the door and away.

A Happy Ending

The elves never came back again. They did not need to. They had warm clothes now, and they had helped a kind man who said thank you.

The shoemaker and his wife were never poor again. And every time they made a shoe, they smiled and remembered their tiny friends.

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The moral: When someone helps you, help them back. A little kindness can warm the whole world.

Want more cosy tales? Try The Tortoise and the Hare or The Friendly Dragon next.