The Elves and the Shoemaker

A shoemaker had enough leather left for one pair of shoes. He cut the pieces carefully, laid them on his bench, and went to bed wondering how he would buy more.

In the morning, the shoes were finished. Every stitch was so fine that he could hardly see it. A customer paid generously, and the shoemaker bought leather for two pairs. He cut that leather before bed. Again, the shoes were waiting when he woke.

Night after night the strange kindness continued. The workshop filled with orders. There was bread in the cupboard and money for the rent. Yet the shoemaker and his wife could not understand who was helping them.

One evening they hid behind a curtain. At midnight two tiny elves climbed onto the bench. Their clothes were ragged, but their hands flew over the leather. Before dawn they had completed the work and disappeared.

The shoemaker's wife decided that such nimble workers deserved warm clothes. She sewed little shirts, coats, and trousers; her husband made two pairs of tiny shoes. That night they left the gifts on the bench instead of leather.

The elves arrived, examined the clothes, and put them on with delight. They danced between the tools, admiring their sleeves and turning out their polished toes. Then they skipped away into the darkness.

They did not return to sew. But the shoemaker had learned from their careful work, and his customers kept coming.

He never mistook their kindness for a debt. He was glad that, wherever they had gone, they would no longer be cold.