47　THE SHOEMAKER AND THE ELVES
鞋匠和精灵

I

Long, long ago, there lived in a small town a shoemaker and his wife. The shoemaker was an honest man and he worked very hard. He and his wife were always kind to those who were in want.

But times became very hard. Though no fault of his own the shoemaker grew poorer and poorer. At last he had only enough leather left to make one pair of shoes.

In the evening he cut out the shoes. He was to make them the next day. Then he said his prayers and went to bed.

In the morning he rose early and went to his work-bench. There to his surprise he found the shoes already finished.

He did not know what to make of it. He looked closely at them. They were more beautiful than he could have made them.

He called his wife and showed them to her. The good woman was as much surprised as he.

That morning a man came in to buy some shoes. He was so much pleased with the sones the shoemaker showed him that he bought them for a good price.

II

The shoemaker was now able to buy leather for two pairs of shoes. Again he cut them out in the evening, he meant to rise early the next morning to finish them.

But he was spared the trouble. The next morning there on his work-bench stood the shoes already made.

These, too, were soon sold, and the shoemaker bought leather for four pairs more. He cut these out and laid them ready as before. But when he came down in the morning, he found the shoes finished as before.

So it went on. He had only to buy the leather and cut out the shoes. He always found them finished the next morning. The good man soon became rich.

One evening just before Christmas he said to his wife, “My dear, I should like to find out the good people who helped us. Let us sit up to-night and watch.”

His wife thought this a good plan, so they hid themselves in a corner of the workroom.

Just at midnight two little naked elves came running into the room. They sat down upon the shoemaker’s bench and took up the work already cut out.

They worked so well and so fast that in a little while all the shoes were finished. Then they skipped off the bench and ran away.

III

Next morning the woman said, “The good little elves have been very kind to us. I would like to do something for them. They run about so and have nothing on, and they must be cold.

“I’ll tell you what we can do: I will make them some clothes, and you can make them some little shoes.”

This plan pleased the shoemaker very much. So he and his wife set to work at once. You may be sure they spared no pains in making the shoes and the clothes.

At night everything was ready, and the good man and his wife laid the clothes on the work-bench. Then they hid to see what the little elves would do.

At midnight the elves came running in. They jumped on the bench, expecting to find the leather cut out for them to make into shoes. But there was nothing to be seen but the beautiful little clothes.

At first the elves were surprised, and then they showed great delight. They dressed themselves quickly, dancing about for joy. At last they danced out of the room and they never came back any more.

But everything went well with the good shoemaker and his wife, who had been kind to those who helped them. They were never in want again as long as they lived.

(GRIMM)

一

很久很久以前，鞋匠和他的妻子生活在一个小镇上。鞋匠是个诚实的人，工作也很努力，他和妻子对待穷人总是很和善。

世事艰难，虽然鞋匠没犯过错，可生活还是越来越贫困，最后他剩下的皮革只够做一双鞋了。

晚上，他把皮革裁剪好，打算第二天再制鞋，然后就做祷告上床睡觉了。

早上他起得很早，走到工作用的长凳边一看，鞋子竟然已经做好了。

他吃了一惊，仔细地检视了一番，发现鞋子比他自己做的还要漂亮。

于是他把妻子叫来，她看到鞋子也吃惊极了。

那天早上恰好有位男士来买鞋，看到那双鞋满意得不得了，就出了个好价钱把它买走了。

二

鞋匠用这些钱又买了够做两双鞋的皮革，在晚上裁剪好，打算起个大早来做鞋。

奇迹又发生了。早上他的长凳上已经有了两双新鞋。

这两双鞋也很快就卖了出去。鞋匠这次买了够做四双鞋的皮革，像以前一样裁剪好，等到第二天一看，已经变成了四双新鞋。

接下来每天都是如此。他只要买来皮革、裁剪好，第二天就会有做好的新鞋。很快，善良的鞋匠就富裕起来。

平安夜到了，他对妻子说：“亲爱的，我想知道是哪个好心人在帮我们。我们今天别睡觉，看看那是谁吧。”

妻子觉得这个主意不错，于是他们就在工作间的一个角落里藏了起来。

午夜时分，两个没穿衣服的精灵跑进屋里，在鞋匠的长凳上坐下，拿起皮革开始制鞋。

他们的手艺精湛，速度也很快，不一会所有的鞋都做好了，于是他们就跳下长凳跑了。

三

第二天早晨妻子说：“好心的小精灵对我们太好了，我想也为他们做点什么。他们那样光着身子在外面走，一定觉得很冷。”

“我觉得我们可以这样：我来给他们缝衣服，你就做两双小鞋子。”

鞋匠觉得这个办法好极了，于是和妻子立刻开始行动。可以想见，他们做鞋和衣服的时候一定非常认真投入。

到了晚上，一切准备完毕。鞋匠和妻子把衣服放在长凳上，自己躲起来想看看精灵的反应。

午夜十二点精灵来了以后就跳上长凳，却发现没有制鞋的皮革，只有两件漂亮的小衣服。

精灵们起初很惊讶，不过后来似乎很高兴。他们穿上衣服，快乐地跳起了舞。他们跳啊跳啊，跳出了房间，再也没有回来过。

不过好心的鞋匠和妻子一直生活得很好，并善待曾给予他们帮助的人。他们再也没有遇到经济上的困难。

（格林）