Page 16 - English Expedition Class 4

shoemaker bought enough leather for four pairs more. He carefully cut out the leather,
left it on his worktable overnight and found it done in the morning, as before. This
went on day after day. So good was his trade that he soon became very rich.
One evening, around Christmastime, the shoemaker said to his wife, ‘My dear,

I would like to sit up and watch tonight who comes and does my work for me.’ His
wife liked the idea, so they left a light burning, hid themselves in a corner of the room
and watched what would happen.
As soon as it was midnight, there came in two naked little elves, and they started

singing and dancing happily. They sat upon the shoemaker’s bench, took up all the
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leather that was cut out and began stitching and rapping and tapping away at such a
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rate that the shoemaker and his wife watched spellbound . They went on till the job
was done and the shoes stood ready for use upon the table. This was long before dawn
and as soon as they were done, they rushed away as quick as lightning.
The next day the wife said to the shoemaker, ‘Those little elves have been very kind
to us. We ought to be thankful to them. They have nothing to cover themselves with
in this cold weather. I will make each of them warm clothes. You can make them nice

little shoes.’ The shoemaker happily agreed. On Christmas Eve, when all the things
were ready, they laid them on the table, and went and hid themselves to watch what
the little elves would do.
About midnight they came in, dancing

and skipping, hopped round the room,
and then went to sit down to their work
as usual. When they saw the clothes and
shoes instead of leather, they laughed

and chuckled and shouted with joy.
Then they dressed themselves in their
handsome new clothes and danced and
sprang about as merry as could be. At

last they danced out of the window
and vanished into the moonlight. The
good couple saw them no more. The
shoemaker made shoes which were

beautiful as ever. They were rich and
happy for the rest of their lives.

Brothers Grimm (adapted)

7 rapping: making a noise by striking on something 9 spellbound: with your attention completely held by
8 tapping: making soft rhythmic sounds something as if under a spell
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