The Elves and the Shoemaker
Once upon a time, there was a kind Shoemaker. He worked very hard, but he was very poor. One night, he had only enough leather left to make one last pair of shoes. He cut out the shapes—snip, snip, snip—and left them on his workbench to finish in the morning. He was so tired that he went straight to sleep.
But when he woke up, he rubbed his eyes in surprise. Pop! The shoes were already finished! They were the most beautiful shoes he had ever seen. The stitches were so tiny and neat that not a single one was out of place. He sold the shoes and bought enough leather for two more pairs.
That night, the same thing happened! He left the leather out, and in the morning—ta-da!—two more pairs of perfect shoes were waiting for him. Soon, the Shoemaker was no longer poor. But he was very curious. "Who is helping me?" he whispered to his wife.
That night, they stayed awake and hid behind a curtain. Just as the clock struck midnight, two tiny, shivering elves skipped into the room! They had no shoes and their clothes were thin and ragged. They jumped onto the bench and went to work. Tap-tap-tap went their tiny hammers. Stitch-stitch-stitch went their tiny needles. They worked all night until the shoes were finished, then they vanished in a blink!
The Shoemaker and his wife were amazed. "Those little elves have helped us so much," his wife said. "But they have no clothes to keep them warm. Let's make something for them!" So, the wife sewed two tiny coats and two tiny pairs of trousers, and the Shoemaker made two tiny pairs of boots. On Christmas Eve, they left the gifts on the bench instead of leather.
At midnight, the elves appeared. When they saw the tiny clothes, they were so happy! They put them on and danced all around the room. Twirl, hop, spin! They were so joyful that they sang as they danced out the door. The Shoemaker never saw them again, but he stayed happy and kind for the rest of his life, always remembering the friends who helped him when he needed it most.
