Once upon a time, there was a shoemaker who had become very poor. He had just enough leather left to make one pair of shoes. That evening, he cut out the leather and left it on his workbench, planning to sew the shoes in the morning.

But when he came downstairs the next day, he found the most beautiful pair of shoes he had ever seen. Every stitch was perfect. Every seam was tight. The shoes were so fine that a customer bought them immediately, and for a high price too.

With the money, the shoemaker bought enough leather for two pairs of shoes. He cut them out that evening and left them on the bench.

In the morning — two perfect pairs of shoes. And so it went, night after night. Whatever leather he cut out in the evening was sewn into beautiful shoes by morning.

The shoemaker and his wife grew comfortable again. Customers came from far and wide to buy the extraordinary shoes. But they were curious — who was helping them?

One night, just before Christmas, the shoemaker's wife said, "Let's stay up and see who has been doing this." They hid behind a curtain and waited.

At midnight, two tiny elves crept in through the window. They were no bigger than your hand, and they wore no clothes at all — just their bare skin in the cold December night.

They hopped up onto the workbench and began to work. Their tiny fingers moved like lightning, stitching and hammering and polishing. In no time at all, they had finished the shoes and slipped back out the window.

The shoemaker's wife turned to her husband. "Those little elves have made us rich, and they haven't even got anything to wear! They must be freezing! I'm going to make them each a set of clothes."

She sewed two tiny outfits — little shirts, little trousers, tiny vests, and the smallest pair of shoes you ever saw. The shoemaker made the shoes himself, and they were his finest work.

That night, instead of leather, they laid out the tiny clothes on the workbench.

At midnight, the elves appeared. When they saw the clothes, their eyes went wide with delight. They put everything on, twirling and dancing on the workbench. They laughed and sang, and then they danced right out the window and into the night.

The elves never came back. But the shoemaker didn't need their help anymore. His hands had learned something from watching them — or maybe it was their kindness that had changed his luck.

And he prospered for the rest of his days.