Chapter 5
The two rivals
Within weeks, business as booming. The shoemaker had plenty of momey and very little to do.
He was a happy man. The cheap shoe seller was not so happy. He had angry customers to deal with...
"My shoes broke after three day."
"I want my money back."
and word had spread about his awful shoes. No one wanted to buy them.
One evening, there was a knock at the shoemaker's door. It was the shoe seller.
"What can i do for you?" asked the shoemaker.
"You can stop ruining my business!" shouted the seller.
He picked up one of the shoemaker's new shoes and studied it carefully.
"And you can give me back my helpers," he snorted.
"What helpers?"
"We don't know what you mean"
With a scowl, the shoe seller stormed out of the workshop.
The shoemaker and his wife looked at each other.
"Who do you think is making our shoes?" whispered the shoemaker.
"I don't know," said his wifer, "but let's find out."
Chapter 6
The secret shoemakers
That night, they decided to stay awake and see what happened. They hid behind some coats in a corner of the workshop.
Eveything was quiet... until midnight. Two little elves rushed in, wearing nothing but rags. They sat down at the table and quickly began to sew.
The shoemaker and his wife listened carefully to the elves' chatter.
"This is better than making sheap shoes in that rotten attic," said first elf.
"I wish the other elves had escaped as well," said the second.
"Never mind," replied the first elf. "If we put that wicked shoe seller out of business..."
"... the other elves will be free too!" cried the second.
"Hurry up or we'll be spotted"
"I'm almost done."
As the sun began to rise, they fininshed the last shoe and disapperared through the door.
"Race you down the street!"
The shoemaker and his wife were astonished.
"I think I'm going crazy," said the shoemaker. "Were those really elves?"
"That's incredible!"
His wife nodded. "And it sounds like that shoe seller is forcing other elves to work for him!" she said. "No wonder he can make so many shoes..."
Chapter 7
Revenge
Over breakfast the next day, the shoemaker and his wife iscussed how they could help the elves.
By ten o'clock, there was already a room full of people wanting to buy the shoemaker's new shoes.
"If we keep selling these lovely shoes," said his wife, "the shoe seller will go bust!"
By midday, they had sold thirty pairs. They were eating lunch when they heard the sound of a cart. The cheap shoe seller was leaving early...
A mob of angry customers were hopping after him, shaking their fists and pelting him with broken shoes.
"There goes the cheat!"
"And he won't dare come back."
The shoemaker and his wife breathed a sigh of relief.
"How can we ever thank our two helpers?" wondered the shoemaker.
"Let's make them some proper clothes," said his wife.
Chapter 8
The elves' escape
All day, the shoemaker's wife worked at her sewing machine, making little suits for the elves. The shoemaker made two tiny pairs of shoes.
That night, instead of leaving leather shapes on the table, the shoemaker left two piles of clothes.
Then he and his wife hid behind the coats again and waited for the elves to arrive.
"Wow! these must be for us..."
"I've never worn shoes before!"
The elves were delighted with their new outfits. They scrambled into them and danced around the room.
"How handsome we look!"
"Here tye are!" called a voice from the street.
A second later, there were fourteen more elves in the workshop. The tow elves stopping dancing. "Hey!" asid one. "How did you all escape?"
"the shoe seller let us go!" cried an excited elf. "He's giving up selling shoes."
"We put spells on our sewing..."
"...to make the shoes fall apart!"
"Now we're going to celebrate," said another. "Come on-and you can tell us why you're dressed like people!"
Laughing and joking, the elves skipped off down the street.
The shoemaker and his wife smiled as they watched them go.
They might have lost their magic helper, but now they were in business again. They had plenty of customers and lots of ideas for new shoes.
As for the elves, they never sewed another shoe.
End
About this story
The Elves and the Shoemaker was first written down by two brothers, Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm. They lived in Germany two centuries ago and together they retold hundreds of fairy tales.