Fairy Tales From Around the World

The Elves and the Shoe Maker

Once upon a time, there was a humble shoemaker named Donald Duck and his wife, Daisy. They were good, honest, and hardworking ducks who lived in a small village and owned a tiny shoemaking shop, but times grew hard. In fact, they couldn't sell shoes and over time, they became very poor. Finally, they had enough material to make one final set of shoes.

"Is this really all we have left?" Daisy asked.

"I'm afraid so, my dear," Donald said, solemnly nodding his head. He held up the leather in his hands. "These will probably be the last shoes I'll ever make."

By the time he finished cutting the leather into the proper shapes, it was already late into the night.

"It's late. You can finish them in the morning," his wife said.

So the shoemaker and his wife went to bed, leaving the cutout leather on the worktable. But when they woke up the next morning, the two ducks were shocked by what they found. There on the worktable stood four shoes, neatly sewn, brightly polished, and not a stitch out of place.

"But who? HOW?" Donald sputtered. Daisy could only stare.

Just then, a rather rich customer entered the little shop. He was an anthropomorphic bear with a black frock coat and a monocle on his right eye.

"Pardon me, but those shoes you have are simply exquisite. I must try them on," he said.

Donald nervously offered the customer the shoes and they fit him perfectly. It was as if they were made just for him.

"They're perfect! I'll take them!" he exclaimed as he gave Donald a pouch of gold coins.

Donald used the money he earned to buy food and there was so much left over that he decided to buy some more materials, enough to make two more sets of shoes. That night, he cut it out and went to bed early. And in the morning, it happened again. Two more sets of beautifully made shoes were found. Customers weren't lacking and just like before, they were so pleased that they paid double, triple, or even quadruple the price.

As time went by, whatever material Donald cut out in the evening was made into shoes and finished by morning. Soon, the news of their little shop spread throughout town and Donald and Daisy were no longer poor.

One evening, not before Christmas Eve, as Donald cut out more leather for shoes, his wife approached him.

"Donald, this is more astounding than anything I've ever seen," she said. "But I just want to know who's been making these shoes for us. They helped us so much now. I feel we have a right to know who they really are. Aren't you at least a bit curious?"

"Of course, I am, Daisy," Donald replied before he thought of something. "Hey, I have an idea. Why don't we stay up tonight and see who comes to our shop?"

Daisy agreed. That very night, they lit a small lamp, hid behind their drapes, and waited. As the clock struck midnight, they heard a window creak open and quick, tiny footsteps heading towards Donald's worktable. Daisy and Donald peeked out from behind the curtain and to their surprise, they saw two elves! One was a female with cotton candy pink hair and bright blue eyes and the other was a male with poofy brown hair and green eyes and they were making new shoes from the cut pieces of leather. They sewed, hammered, and polished, happily singing and humming to themselves all the while. Soon, the shoes were finished and the elves scampered off.

The moment they were gone, the two ducks could hardly believe it.

"Those elves were the ones helping us this whole time?" Donald asked in disbelief.

"Apparently so," Daisy replied. "They made us rich and did so many things for us, we oughta do something for them in return."

"Like what?"

"Hmmm. Oh, I know! We could make them new clothes! Did you see the rags they were wearing? The poor things must be freezing."

"New clothes, huh? Let's do it!"

The next day, Donald and Daisy set to work. Daisy tried her best to sew new clothes and Donald made them new sturdy shoes of their own. That night, instead of laying out leather, they laid out the gifts, hid behind the curtain, and waited. At midnight, the elves slipped into the shop, ready for another night's work. But instead of finding leather or anything of the sort, they found the beautiful gifts.

At first, they were too astonished to move. Then they looked at each other and quickly put on their new clothes and shoes. When they were dressed, the elves leaped and bounced around the room in joy. They jumped over chairs, raced around the shop, and finally ran out the door. The click and clack of their new shoes echoed through the streets.

From that day on, the elves didn't return and were never seen again. But the shoemaker and his wife still prospered and lived happily ever after.