The Shoemaker and the Elves

Once upon a time there was a shoemaker who was honest and hardworking but had become very poor through no fault of his own. At last he had nothing left but enough leather to make one pair of shoes. In the evening he cut out the leather, meaning to sew the shoes the next morning. Because his conscience was clear, he lay down in his bed, commended himself to God and fell asleep.

In the morning, after saying his prayers, he sat down to work, and what did he see? There on his workbench stood the two shoes, completely finished! The shoemaker was so astonished that he did not know what to say. He picked the shoes up and looked at them closely. They were so skilfully made that not a single stitch was out of place; they were like a master's finest work.

Soon a customer came in. He liked the shoes so much that he paid more than the usual price for them. With this money the shoemaker was able to buy leather for two pairs of shoes. In the evening he cut out the leather and got ready to start work in the morning. But there was no need; when he got up, the shoes were finished again. Customers were not lacking, and with the money he bought enough leather for four pairs. The next morning the four pairs were ready too. And so it went on: whatever he cut out in the evening was sewn by morning. Soon the shoemaker had a good living, and in the end he became a wealthy man.

One evening, not long before Christmas, when the shoemaker had cut out the leather again, he said to his wife before going to bed: "Let's stay up tonight and see who it is that does us such kindness." His wife liked the idea. They lit a candle, hid behind the clothes hanging in the corner of the room, and waited.

When midnight came, two dear little elves appeared, with no clothes on at all. They sat down at the shoemaker's bench, took the cut-out leather and began to stitch and hammer and tap with their tiny fingers so quickly and so skilfully that the shoemaker could not take his eyes off them. They worked without stopping until the shoes were finished and lined up on the bench. Then they ran away as fast as they could.

The next morning the wife said: "The little elves have made us rich. We owe them our thanks. They run about with nothing on, and they must be cold. I'll tell you what I'll do: I'll sew them little shirts, jackets, waistcoats and trousers, and knit each of them a pair of stockings. And you make each of them a little pair of shoes." "I'd be very glad to," said her husband.

In the evening, when everything was ready, they laid these presents on the workbench instead of the cut-out leather and hid to see what the elves would do. At midnight the elves came skipping in and wanted to set to work at once. But when they saw the pretty little clothes instead of leather, they were surprised at first, and then they were overjoyed. In a great hurry they put the clothes on, smoothed their fine outfits and sang:

"Now we are fine gentlemen, why should we be cobblers any more?"

Then they hopped and danced and leapt over chairs and benches. At last they danced out of the door. From that day on they never came back. But the shoemaker did well for the rest of his life and succeeded in everything he did. And every Christmas Eve the shoemaker and his wife left a little plate of biscuits on the workbench, in case the little elves should drop by again one night. For a heart that knows how to repay kindness never forgets it.