Once upon a cold Christmas month in a land far away there lived a shoemaker who was so poor that he was down to his last piece of leather.
“When I get up tomorrow morning I should make one more pair of shoes, ” he said to his wife, “then we will have absolutely nothing left. ” His wife, who dearly loved him very much, put her arms round him and held him.
The next morning the shoemaker went into his workshop with a quite heavy heart but it was all he could do to stop and stare. Standing on his workbench rather than the piece of leather was a brand new footwear. These were the perfect size for a kid. The shoemaker put on his small , round eyeglasses and looked at the shoes very carefully. They were so perfectly made that there was not one bad stitch in them.
Just then there came a knock at the door from a young mother and her daughter. The girl’s feet were bare. “These are the most wonderful footwear I have ever found, ” said the girl’s mother, “but I do don’t have sufficient money to buy them. ” The shoemaker felt sorry for the girl.
Because it was nearly Christmas he made her a doll out of a little piece of firewood. As the mother and little girl were stepping back out into the chilly night air, the shoemaker slipped the shoes into the mother’s handbag.
Barely had the front entrance closed when the shoemaker found a small silver coin on the ground. The girl’s mother should have dropped it! Quick as a flash he opened the door and called after his visitors, but they had vanished into thin air.
With the silver coin the shoemaker was able to buy one more piece of leather. When he finally arrived home from the market, night was falling and a chilled mist was blowing round the streets.
The next early morning, yet again, the shoemaker could simply stop and stare at his work-bench. One more pair of children’s footwear was standing there, and once more the shoes were so neatly made that there wasn’t one bad stitch in them.
Just then there arrive a knock at the front door from a traveling cloth merchant and his kid apprentice. ‘These are quite the perfect shoes I have ever seen, ” the merchant said. He purchased the footwear for his apprentice and paid the shoemaker a little more than normal. Since it would shortly be Christmas time the shoemaker made the boy a small present out of a little part of firewood.
With the money from the merchant the shoemaker was able to go to the marketplace and purchase an additional piece of leather. When he go back home night was falling. The cold was colder and the blowing wind was windier compared to the previous night. The shoemaker place the leather on his workbench and went to bed.
The next morning, and every morning afterward, when the shoemaker went into his workshop he would find a pair of kids shoes standing on his work-bench. They were consistently so perfectly created that there was not one bad stitch in them.
Now it so happened exactly a week following the shoes had began to show up that the shoemaker went to his wife and said, “Why don’t we stay up tonight in order that we can see who has been helping us? ” His wife thought that this was a very good idea, and instead of going to bed they hid themselves In a corner of the work shop and waited.
On the stroke of midnight the fireplace began to glitter brightly with a curious miracle sparkle. Two tiny Elves shown up from nowhere wearing nothing but unclean rags. Immediately they leapt onto the shoemaker’s bench. They picked up the leather and started to stitch and sew and sludge hammer so nimbly and so speedily that the shoemaker could not believe his eyes. The Elves would not stop for a second until finally they had turned the leather into a perfect pair of kid’s footwear, then they disappeared as strangely as they had come.
The following morning the shoemaker’s wife said, “The Elves must be freezing cold dressed in just rags. It is Christmas Eve tonight. Why don’t I sew small clothes for them, and you make them each a pair of tiny shoes? ” The shoemaker thought that this was a excellent idea, and he and his wife got straight away to work.
Late that night the shoemaker and his spouse laid out the new outfits and footwear on the workbench, along with two toys that the shoemaker had created for the Elves out of small pieces of firewood. Just as before, the shoemaker and his wife hid themselves and anxiously waited.
On the stroke of midnight, as Christmas Eve changed into Christmas Day, the fireplace in the shoemaker’s working area glittered vibrantly with the exact same wondering magic sparkle, and the Elves appeared from nowhere. Once again they jumped onto the shoemaker’s work-bench, but this time through they stood as still as statues for a long minute staring at their gifts. Then they gave a noisy cheer and hopped and danced round the workshop singing:
“Shoemaker is as shoemaker does; Kind-hearted man, wish come with us! “
The door to the cottage, which was also shining with that curious miracle sparkle, all of a sudden flew open, and the two Elves danced out.
The shoemaker’s wife pulled her scarf round her shoulders and said softly, “Nicholas, come. ” The shoemaker slipped on his coat then reached for his wife’s hand. Together they glided out into the very cold air which was thick with dropping snowfall. The shoemaker realized that the Elves were the girl who had stopped at with her mother and the boy who had been the cloth merchant’s apprentice.
The shoemaker looked up at the twinkling stars. Below he could see his cottage, already far away, become smaller and smaller as the sleigh rose up and up into the night sky. The shoemaker pulled his thick, red coot round him self against the cold. He stroked his very long beard and found that the snow was changing it white. Finally the shoemaker realized. A great happiness filled his heart and burst out of him with a deep and hearty laugh. Happy Chrismas !!.
The elves and the shoemaker moral lesson:
This Story tell us Be Thankful and Grateful. We must try hard to make things better. We must be thankful for all the help we recieved from others. We must also try to help others if they need it.
I love the story of yours I remember the day when I was a little kid