There was once an old shoemaker who lived with his wife in a village. They were both very lovely and kind-hearted people. But they were very poor and barely had any money.

One evening as he was finishing work, he thought, “I have enough leather only to make one more shoe. I will cut it to make the shoe tomorrow. But what will we do after that?” Feeling sad, he went to bed, hoping for a miracle.

The next morning, he came to his shop and was shocked. On his workbench was a new pair of shoes.

“These shoes look wonderful. It has been stitched to perfection. It is far better than anything I have ever made.”

Just then, the door to his shop opened. A customer came in. “This is the most beautiful pair of shoes that I have seen. Can I try it?”

Luckily, the shoes fit the customer perfectly. He paid the shoemaker quite generously for the pair. The shoemaker and his wife were very happy.

“I can buy leather for two shoes with this money,” he said.

“That’s true. But I wonder who could have made them?” she said.

“I do not know. But I hope our good fortune continues tomorrow as well,” replied the shoemaker.

Just like the previous day, he cut the leather for two pairs of boots. He then went to sleep.

The next day, when he came to his shop, he found two pairs of boots ready.

He said to himself, “What fine craftsmanship. I should be able to sell both of these with ease.”

Again, both the boots were sold off quickly for an excellent price. This time, the shoemaker bought leather to make four pairs of shoes. This kept happening every day. The shoemaker would purchase and cut the leather the previous night, and the next day they turned into shoes ready to be sold. Gradually, he became rich and famous. People came from far away to buy his shoes.

Finally, he told his wife, “While I am happy that we are no longer poor, I wish to know who we should thank for our good fortune.”

“Why don’t we stay awake after dark to see who comes into the shop and stitches the shoes?” his wife suggested.

So, that night they both were awake hiding behind a cupboard. Suddenly, they heard a noise. They saw two little elves appear by magic. They started stitching the shoes, not stopping until they completed their work. Once done, they vanished.

The old couple finally understood what was happening. “I want to do something for our little friends to thank them. Can you think of something?” asked the shoemaker.

His wife responded, saying, “The elves were wearing tattered clothes. Why don’t we stitch some nice clothing for them? I will also make some nice food to eat.”

That night, they placed some cakes, bread, milk, and cookies on a table along with some clothes stitched for the elves. When the elves came that night, they saw the food and clothes and were so happy. They ate all the food. Then they wore their new clothes and vanished from there.

From that night, the elves did not come back to the shoemaker’s shop. But the shoemaker had already become famous, and his shoes were in high demand. The old couple lived happily and no longer were they poor.