Once there was a shoemaker who was getting old. One night, he felt so tired that he went off to bed before he could finish making a pair of shoes. In the morning, he was surprised to find that the work had been done very well for him.
That night, he got ready his things for starting on a new pair shoes for a rich customer. The next morning, he was again surprised to find a brand new pair of shoes waiting for him.
The rich customer was very pleased with the shoes. She said, ”This is beautiful work! I shall pay you twice the price you asked for!”
That night, the shoemaker happily put out the things needed to start on a third pair of shoes. He did this every night, and each morning he found another pair of shiny new shoes. Then, the shoemaker sold his beautiful new shoes at a higher price. He soon saved a large amount of money. Then, the shoemaker told to his wife about the strange and wonderful thing that was happening.
“Let’s hide tonight and see what happens!” she said. Ad midnight, they saw two elves coming into their shop. They finished the new pair of shoes very quickly. It was winter and the shoemaker’s wife saw that the elves were poorly dressed.
She made two little red wool jackets and laid them on the table. The next night, the elves found the jackets and put them on.
They danced happily in their new jackets. But they were never seen again!
