The Elves and the
Shoemaker
There once was a poor
shoemaker. He worked hard very hard every day but he
did not sell many shoes.
Life was very hard for the shoemaker and his wife. They had
no money and very little food.
One night the shoemaker told his wife. ‘I only have
enough leather to make one more pair of shoes.’
‘But we only have one loaf of bread left. What are we
going to eat?’
‘I don’t know, said the shoemaker sadly. He put
his last piece of leather on his workbench. ‘Tomorrow
I’ll get up early,’ he told his wife.
‘I’ll make my last pair of shoes.’
Then he went to bed.
A beautiful
pair of shoes
The next morning the shoemaker
got up early. He had one slice of bread for breakfast. Then
he went to his workbench and looked for his piece of
leather.
But it was not there. In its place was a beautiful pair of
shoes.
The shoemaker called his wife. She came into the room.
‘Where did these shoes come from?’ he asked
her.
The shoemaker’s wife picked up the shoes
‘They’re beautiful,’ she said.
‘When did you make them? Did you get up in the
night?’
‘No,’ said the shoemaker. ‘I didn’t
make those shoes. I never left my bed.’
‘So what happened?’
‘I don’t know.’
