Once upon a time, there was a shoemaker who lived with his wife. They were poor through no fault of theirs, but yet they continued to struggle to come out of their poverty. On one night, the shoemaker cut up leather to make a shoe and left it on the table so that he could continue work on it the next morning. After this, he went to bed and slept.
The next morning, he went to the table and found that the leather he cut for the shoe was missing and instead, there stood a pair of shoes on the table. The shoemaker could not remember when the shoes were kept there and upon closer inspection, he found that the shoes were made from the same leather which he had cut up the previous night. He examined the show carefully and found that it was literally perfect in every way from the cutting to the stitches and the overall design. He was so excited that he showed it to his wife, who danced along with him. He then kept the pair of shoes on display at the shop.
Later that day, a customer came to the shop and his eyes instantly fell on the new pair of shoes kept this morning. He wore it and found it to be very comfortable. The customer walked around and as he was very happy, he purchased the shoe for more money than its actual cost and the shoemaker was very happy. The shoemaker then went and bought two leather sheets from the market to make two pairs of shoes. That night, he cut up the sheets like the previous night and left them on the table, expecting the same thing to happen. The shoemaker then went to sleep.
The next morning, the shoemaker found two pairs of shoes upon the table and found them also to be as exceptional as before. He kept them at his shop and soon, two customers came looking for shoes. Their eyes fell upon the two new pairs kept just then and after trying them out, they purchased them. The shoemaker was very happy and bought 4 sheets of leather this time. After this, the shoemaker repeated the same process daily with the quantity doubling everyday. Soon, the shoemaker and his wife were rich.
One day, they decided to see who was making the shoe at night and so after keeping the cut leather on the table, they hid behind a curtain and watched silently. Around the middle of night, two elves came through an open window and sat on the table. They took the sheets and started making them into shoes. They stitched and hammered away and soon a pair of flawless shoes stood on the table. The night progressed as they made more flawless shoes effortlessly and then flew away silently, the same they had arrived.
The next day, the wife then suggested to her husband that they should show their gratitude to the elves and for that she suggested that they make some clothes and shoes for the elves. The shoemaker agreed and immediately he started making a pair of shoes each for the 2 elves. The wife started knitting 2 sweaters for them as well. After they had completed their work, they laid the clothes and shoes on the table and hid behind the curtain at night. The elves came as usual and sat on the table, but instead of the shoe material, they found clothes and shoes readily waiting for them. They instantly knew that it was for them and they wore it. After wearing it, they danced about happily and then flew away through the window. The shoemaker and his wife were happy to see the elves flying away joyously. After this, the elves never returned again, but their good luck always remained with the shoemaker and his wife.