There once lived a kind shoemaker who worked very hard but was terribly poor. One day, all he had left was a piece of leather big enough to make one pair of shoes. He cut the shape of a pair of shoes from the leather and left it on his work-table ready to sew in the morning.
The next day he woke up and went downstairs to start work. For a moment, the shoemaker wondered if he was dreaming. On the work-table was a pair of shoes. They were beautiful. Every stitch was perfect.
“Who has made these marvellous shoes?” he wondered. At that moment a customer came to visit the shoemaker. She saw the shoes and bought them straightaway, paying the shoemaker enough money to buy food and two pieces of leather for two more pairs of shoes.
That night, the shoemaker laid the leather out on his work-table. The next morning, instead of the piece of leather, he found two pairs of shoes, even more beautiful than the day before. His first customers of the day bought them immediately.
The shoemaker now had enough money to buy four pieces of leather for four pairs of shoes. He laid the leather out on his table and by morning it had been transformed into more wonderful shoes.
Day after day the miracle continued. News of the fine shoes spread quickly and soon the shoemaker was the richest man in town.
One evening the shoemaker and his wife were discussing their good fortune.
“I still can’t work it out,” said his wife. “What kind of magic has been making the shoes?”
“I have no idea,” replied the shoemaker. “But I want to find out.”
So that night the shoemaker laid out the leather on his work-table. Then he and his wife hid behind a curtain and waited. When the clock struck midnight, two small elves, barefoot and dressed in ragged clothes, tiptoed into the workshop. They sat down on the work-table and began making the leather into shoes. Their tiny hands and fingers worked quickly, making perfect, tiny stitches. They must have been cold in their rags, but they worked hard until all the shoes were finished. Then they slipped out of the workshop and disappeared into the night.
The shoemaker and his wife were extremely grateful to the elves.
“Those little elves have made us rich,” said the shoemaker’s wife. “We must do something for them in return. I’m going to make them some new clothes,”
“And I shall make them both a new pair of shoes,” said the shoemaker.
They worked all day, making two tiny green outfits and two pairs of tiny leather shoes. When the clothes and shoes were finished, the shoemaker and his wife put them on the work-table, and hid behind the curtain.
At midnight, the door opened, and in came the two elves. When they saw the tiny clothes and shoes they laughed with delight. They took off their ragged old clothes and put on the new ones. They pulled on their new shoes and danced with delight.
“This is the best present ever!” they squealed.
They were so happy that they danced out of the workshop and skipped down the street.
The shoemaker and his wife never saw the elves again, but they were so rich now that they never had to work another day. Sometimes, when the clock struck twelve, the shoemaker would lie awake and remember the elves dancing in their new shoes. It was the proudest moment of his life.