The Elves and the Shoemaker - Ruby

Once there was a poor shoemaker who couldn’t put food on the table! One day he picked up the last of his leather and sighed. There was only enough for one pair of shoes. Carefully he cut out the leather and laid it on the table. Then he climbed into bed. In the morning the shoemaker found a pair of shoes all neatly stitched. Soon a rich lady came in and brought the shoes. Then the shoemaker had enough money for leather for two pairs of shoes. The same thing kept on happening again and again. Soon the shoemaker was rich but wondered continuously who made the shoes. Finally the shoemaker came to a decision. That night the shoemaker hid behind the counter and waited. Sure enough the door opened and in skipped two Elves. They zoomed up to the workbench and set to work. Soon on the bench stood some highly polished shoes! When the shoemaker went to bed he started knitting two little caps. By dawn he had two beautiful costumes ready to wrap up. When the clothes were wrapped the shoemaker placed the parcels on the bench and waited. When the elves came instead of finding leather a pile of parcels lay on the bench. They tore open the parcels and stood and stared at the contents. Slowly smiles spread across their faces. Then, tossing aside their rags with glee they whisked on those fine clothes. The elves danced off singing “Oh what fine boys we are.” As the shoemaker climbed the stairs he smiled to himself. Though he never saw the Elves again the shoemaker was very contented.