✦ Story Summary ✦
The Elves and the Shoemaker
A fairy tale by the Brothers Grimm, 1812. This is a short summary, not the full text. Watch the read-aloud above to hear the whole story.
A good, hardworking shoemaker has grown so poor that he has only enough leather left for one pair of shoes. He cuts it out in the evening, leaves it on his bench, and goes to bed.
In the morning he finds the shoes already finished, so beautifully stitched that a customer pays extra for them. With the money he buys leather for two pairs, and again they are finished by morning. Night after night the work is done for him, and the shoemaker and his wife become comfortable once more.
Curious, the couple hide one night and see two tiny elves, dressed in rags, sewing away at the bench. To thank them, the wife makes little clothes and the shoemaker makes tiny shoes. The elves find the gifts, dress themselves with delight, and dance out of the shop. They never come back, but the shoemaker’s luck stays with him for the rest of his life.