小精灵和鞋匠

There was once a shoemaker who worked hard but grew poorer every year. At last, he had only enough leather left for one pair of shoes. That evening, he cut out the leather, left it on his workbench and went to bed, planning to finish the shoes in the morning. When he came down the next day, he couldn't believe his eyes. There on the bench stood a pair of shoes, already finished. The stitching was so neat and fine that there wasn't a single mistake anywhere. A customer came in that morning and liked the shoes so much that he paid more than the usual price. With the money, the shoemaker bought enough leather for two pairs. He cut it out that evening and left it on the bench. In the morning, two beautiful pairs of shoes were waiting for him. And so it went on. Every night he cut out the leather, and every morning the shoes were finished. Soon the shoemaker had plenty of customers, and he and his wife were no longer poor. One evening, a few weeks before Christmas, the shoemaker said to his wife, "Why don't we stay up tonight and see who's been helping us?" So they lit a candle, hid behind some coats in the corner and waited. At midnight, two tiny elves came in. They had no clothes on at all. They jumped up onto the bench and began to sew and hammer, so quickly and skilfully that the shoemaker could hardly follow their fingers. They didn't stop until every pair of shoes was finished. Then they ran off. The next morning, the wife said, "Those little men have made us rich, and they must be freezing. Let's make them something to wear." She sewed them tiny shirts, coats, trousers and woolly jumpers, and the shoemaker made each of them a little pair of shoes. That night, instead of leather, they left the presents on the bench and hid again. At midnight, the elves came in and found the clothes. They were delighted. They put them on at once and danced around the room, singing, "Now we look so fine and neat, Why should we work with hands and feet?" Then they danced out of the door. They never came back. But the shoemaker and his wife did well for the rest of their lives, and everything they did turned out well.