Once upon a time, in a little town, lived a poor shoemaker and his kind wife. He worked hard, but times were hard too. One evening he had only enough leather left for one last pair of shoes.

That night he carefully cut the leather, ready to sew in the morning. “I will finish them tomorrow,” he said. He tidied his bench, blew out the candle, and went to bed.

In the morning, what a surprise! On the bench stood a perfect pair of shoes, beautifully sewn. Not a single stitch was out of place. The shoemaker could not believe his eyes.

Soon a customer came in. He loved the shoes so much that he paid extra. With the money, the shoemaker bought enough leather for two new pairs. That night he cut the leather and went to bed.

The next morning — two perfect pairs again! And so it went, night after night. Whatever leather he cut was sewn into fine shoes by morning. Soon the little shop was busy and happy.

The shoemaker and his wife were no longer poor. One evening, close to Christmas, the wife said, “Who has been helping us so kindly? Tonight, let us stay awake and see.”

So they hid behind a curtain and waited quietly. At the stroke of midnight, two tiny elves crept in. They had no clothes at all! They hopped onto the bench and began to stitch, quick as could be.

The little elves sewed and tapped and sang until every shoe was done. Then they skipped away into the night. “They work so hard,” whispered the wife, “and they have no clothes to keep warm. Let us make them a gift.”

All week they worked in secret. The wife sewed two tiny shirts, two little coats, and warm caps. The shoemaker made two pairs of the smallest shoes. On Christmas Eve they laid the gifts on the bench and hid to watch.

At midnight the elves returned. When they saw the tiny clothes, they squealed with joy! They dressed up, danced round the bench, and skipped merrily out the door. They were never seen again — but the kind shoemaker and his wife were happy and content for the rest of their days.