There was once an honest shoemaker who worked very hard at his trade;
yet through no fault of his own he grew poorer and poorer. At last he
had only just enough leather left to make one pair of shoes. In the
evening he cut out the leather so as to be ready to make the shoes the
next day.
He rose early in the morning, and went to his bench. But what did he
see? There stood the pair of shoes, already made. The poor man could
hardly believe his eyes, and he did not know what to think. He took
the shoes in his hand to look at them closely. Every stitch was in its
right place. A finer piece of work was never seen.
Very soon a customer came, and the shoes pleased him so well that he
willingly paid a higher price than usual for them. The shoemaker now
had enough money to buy leather for two pairs of shoes. In the evening
he cut them out with great care, and went to bed early so that he might
be up in good time the next day. But he was saved all trouble; for when
he rose in the morning, two pairs of well-made shoes stood in a row
upon his bench.
Presently in came customers, who paid him a high price for the shoes,
and with the money that he received, he bought enough leather to make
four pairs of shoes. Again he cut the work out overnight and again
he found it finished in the morning. The shoemaker’s good fortune
continued. All the shoes he cut out in the day were finished at night.
The good man rose early, and he was busy every moment of the day. Every
pair found ready sale. “Never did shoes wear so long,” said the buyers.
[Illustration]
One evening, about Christmas time, the shoemaker said to his wife,
“Let us watch to-night and see who it is that does this work for us.”
So they left a light burning and hid themselves behind a curtain which
hung in the corner of the room. As soon as it was midnight there came
two little dwarfs. They sat down upon the shoemaker’s bench, and began
to work with their tiny fingers, stitching and rapping and tapping
away. Never had the good shoemaker and his wife seen such rapid work.
The elves did not stop till the task was quite finished, and the shoes
stood ready for use upon the table. This was long before daybreak, and
then they bustled away as quick as lightning.
The next day the shoemaker’s wife said to her husband: “These little
folks have made us rich, and we ought to be thankful to them and do
them a service in return. They must be cold, for they have nothing on
their backs to keep them warm. I shall make each of them a suit of
clothes, and you shall make some shoes for them.”
This the shoemaker was very glad to do. When the little suits and the
new shoes were finished, they were laid on the bench instead of the
usual work. Again the good people hid themselves in the corner of the
room to watch. About midnight the elves appeared. When they found
the neat little garments waiting for them, they showed the greatest
delight. They dressed in a moment, and jumped and capered and sprang
about until they danced out of the door and over the green.
Never were they seen again, but everything went well with the shoemaker
and his wife from that time forward as long as they lived.--JACOB GRIMM.
* * * * *
I am only one;
But still I am one.
I cannot do everything;
But still I can do something.
And because I cannot do everything,
I will not refuse to do the something that I can do.