Long, long ago, there lived in a small town a cobbler and his wife. The cobbler was an honest man, and he worked very hard. Both he and his wife were always kind to those who were in want.
But work became very scarce. Through no fault of his own, the cobbler grew poorer and poorer. At last, he had only enough leather left to make one pair of shoes.
He cut out the shoes in the evening, and meant to make them up next day. Then he went to bed, and was soon fast asleep.
In the morning, he rose early, and went to his bench. What was his surprise to find that the shoes were already made!
He could not tell what to make of it. Taking the shoes in his hand, he looked at them very closely, but could find not a single bad stitch.
He called his wife, and showed them to her. She was as much taken aback as he was, and at as great a loss to know who had made them.
That very morning, a man came in to buy shoes. He wasso pleased with those the cobbler showed him that he bought them for a good price.
The cobbler was now able to buy leather for two pairs of shoes. Again he cut them out in the evening, meaning to rise early the next morning to finish them.
But he had no need, for in the morning stood on the bench two pairs of shoes, ready to be worn.
These, too, were soon sold, and the cobbler bought leather for four pairs. Having cut these out, he laid them ready as before. When he came down in the morning, he once more found them done.
Drawn by W.S. Wemyss
"The shoes were already made."
And so it went on. He had only to buy the leather and cutout the shoes, to find them waiting for him in the morning. So good was his trade that the man soon became rich.
One evening, just before Christmas, the cobbler said to his wife: "My dear, I should like to find out who the good people are that help us. Let us sit up to-night and watch." His wife agreed, and they hid themselves in a corner of the workshop.
Just at midnight, two little elves came running into the room. Sitting down upon the cobbler"s bench, they took up the work that was cut out, and began to stitch, and sew, and hammer.
They worked so well and so fast that, in a short time, all the shoes were done. Then the elves jumped off the bench, and ran away.
Next morning, the woman said: "The good little fairies have been very kind to us, and have made us rich. I should like to thank them in some way.""But what can we do?" asked the cobbler. "They must often be cold at night," said his wife. "I shall make them some warm clothes, and you can sew them some little shoes."This plan pleased the cobbler very much, so he and his wife set to work at once. You may be sure they took great pains to make the shoes and the clothes as nice as could be.
At last, every-thing was ready, and one night the good man and his wife laid the clothes on the bench. Then they hid, to see what the elves would do.
At midnight, they came running in, and jumped on the bench, ready to begin work. But there was no leather to be seen, only the pretty little clothes.
At these they looked, first with surprise, and then with delight. Seeing the clothes were meant for them, they put them on, and danced for joy. At last they danced out of the room, and never came back any more.
Drawn by W.S. Wemyss
"They danced for joy."
But everything went well with the good cobbler and his wife. So long as they lived, they were never again in want.
-The Brothers Grimm.
Authors.-The Brothers Grimm, Jacob and William, were two learned Germans who collected old stories from the peasants, and published a book that has been translated into many languages. What child does not know Grimm"s Fairy Tales!
General Notes.-What is a cobbler? Why are there not many cobblersnow? The fairies were elves: what other kinds of fairies have you heard about? Why were the elves kind to the cobbler? Why was the cobbler kind to the elves? What does this story teach us?