The Little Elves

　　Long time ago， there lived a very poor shoemaker. Because the old man was so poor， he had enough leather to make only one pair of shoes. Still， the very understanding old man never complained. “Tomorrow morning， let‘s make one pair of shoes with a cheerful heart.” The Little Elves

　　After the old man cleaned and prepared the leather that he was going to work on the next day， he placed it on the worktable and went to sleep. The next day， it was morning. The old man was very surprised. “Oh， where did this beautiful shoes come from？” On top of the worktable， the leather was gone， instead a pair of shoes that had been made with a lot of effort was there.

　　A little later， a customer came into the store. “I saw from the outside window the very beautiful shoes. Please， sell the shoes to me.” The customer showed such a great desire to buy the shoes that he bought it for much more than the normal price. With that money， the old man bought enough leather to make four pairs of shoes.

　　“Dear， Lord thank you very much.” The old man prayed with a grateful heart. “Tomorrow， let’s wake up with a fresh feeling and make some beautiful shoes.” However， there was no need to. When the old man woke up from his sleep， the shoes were already made.

　　Because the shoes were so beautiful， all four pairs were sold at a very expensive price. This kept happening all the time. At night， the leather would be carefully prepared， placed on top of the worktable and he would go to sleep. The next morning， a well tailored made shoes would be on top of the worktable.

　　The old man quickly became rich. Whenever the old man saw his neighbors or a poor person， he would help them as if it was his own work and lived happily. It was a few nights before Christmas. After the old man finished preparing the leather and before going to bed， he said to his wife，

　　“Tonight， let‘s stay awake through the night. Then we can see the person who is helping us.” The old woman， too， was very curious as to who was helping them all this time. “Okay. Let’s hide and see.”

　　The old man and the old woman hid behind the closet and watched the workshop table. How much time could have past. Little naked elves started to go up the worktable one by one. “Hurry， Let‘s Hurry.” The little elves were singing as they started to work.

　　“Cut and sew. Cut and sew.” “Let’s make wonderful shoes and give it to the old man.” “We are little elves！ We are kind elves that help kind people.”

　　The little elves were singing happily as they made beautiful shoes. With little fingers， they skillfully pierced and sewed with a needle and banged with the hammer. The old man and the old woman were so shocked that they could not believe their eyes. The elves， without resting for a second， worked hard and finished making the shoes. When the sun was rising， they quickly hid themselves.

　　“Because of those little elves， we became rich.” “We must show them our gratitude.” In a rush， the old woman found some leather. “The elves weren‘t wearing any clothes. How cold they must be. Let’s make the elves some pants and shirts.” “That‘s a good idea.”

　　The old man and the old woman devotedly made the clothes for the elves. When it was night， the old man and the old woman placed on top of the worktable clothes， instead of the leather. In the middle of the night， the elves came out and discovered their clothes. “What fabulous clothes.” “Yes， they are.” Each of the elves put on their clothes and were very happy. They disappeared as they sang. After that， the old man and the old woman continued to work hard and lived even more happily.

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