A long time ago, there lived a kind shoemaker and his wife.
They were very poor.
They had no money to buy wood for their fire and no food to eat.
One night before going to bed, Henry the shoemaker cut his last piece of leather.
Henry said, "I will make shoes tomorrow morning."
In the middle of the night, two little elves climbed up on the workbench.
Shoes, shoes, shoes!
Snip, snip, snip!
We cut the leather to fit, fit, fit! they sang.
The elves made a pretty pair of shoes with the leather.
The next morning, Henry saw the shoes and was surprised.
"Mary, come quick!
Look at this wonderful pair of shoes!"
"Who has made these beautiful shoes?" his wife wondered.
That day, a rich woman tried the shoes on.
"I love them and they fit perfectly," she said.
The rich woman paid for the shoes.
With the money, Henry bought firewood and food.
He also bought leather to make more shoes.
Henry the shoemaker cut leather for four more pairs of shoes.
He left it on his workbench, and then he and Mary went to bed.
Once again, the little elves visited Henry's shop and went busily to work.
They worked late into the night.
Shoes, shoes, shoes!
Snip, snip, snip!
We cut the leather to fit, fit, fit! they sang.
The very next morning, Henry and his wife found four pairs of shoes!
They were very surprised again.
Many people came and bought their wonderfully made shoes.
Mary said, "We must wake up one of these nights and find out who is helping us."
Late one night, the shoemaker and his wife peeked around the door.
They saw the two happy elves making shoes!
The next morning, Mary said to her husband,
"Did you see their bare feet and their old clothing?
They are so poor!"
Henry said, "It would be easy for us to make little shoes for their feet and clothes for their bodies."
So the shoemaker and his wife made tiny little shoes and tiny little clothes.
They put them on the table.
That night, they hid behind the door and waited for the elves to come.
"Wow, look at these!" the little elves cried.
"They are so beautiful!"
The elves sang a little song about their good fortune.
We helped them and they helped us.
There wasn't any real fuss!
When you are down, we can make you smile.
And you can help too, in a little while!
After that night, the elves did not come back, but Henry and Mary knew their good fortune.
Now the shoemaker and his wife always had food and good customers to buy their shoes.