A shoemaker and his wife worked hard but were very poor. I love how the visual text on this story draw attention to the character’s feelings. The author has not created character developed except for the critical emphasis on the fact that he is a shoemaker. He or his wife do not get given names as it is not them that are the focus in the story but it is the struggle they are going through.
The
shoemaker had one piece of leather left, just enough to make one pair of shoes.
Before he went to bed he cut out the leather and left it on the work bench
ready for him to sew the next morning. The next morning the shoe maker got up
to sew the shoes, but where the leather was were two perfectly made shoes. That
morning a woman came into the shop to buy a pair of shoes, she was so pleased
with how they were made she paid twice the usual price. The shoemaker used that
money to buy two pieces of leather. Before he went to bed he cut out two pairs
of shoes ready to be sewn the next morning. The next morning the shoemaker went
to his workshop to find the two pairs of shoes had been sewn perfectly. A man
came into the shop that morning and was so astonished at how well the two pairs
of shoes were bought he took both pairs. The shoemaker bough four pieces of
leather and this went on every morning, many rich people came into the store to
buy his shoes, so in time he and his wife became rich. The shoemaker still had
no idea how his shoes were being sewn, so he and his wife stayed up to see who
helps make the shoes. They hid in the back corner and at twelve o’clock in came
two tiny elves, they were dressed in old clothes and had no shoes. The elves
did not finish until all the cut out shoes were sewn then they ran quickly
away. The shoemaker wanted to thank the elves for all their work so he and his
wife used the softest leather to make clothes for the elves. They cut and sewed
socks, shirts, jacket, pants, hats with a feather in it and of course tiny
shoes. On Christmas Eve instead of leaving pieces of leather for the elves he
left the clothes and hid in the corner again. At twelve o’clock still in their
old clothes the elves came in. Talking and laughing they put on all the new
clothes, caps and shoes and dancing and singing they skipped out the door. The
shoemaker and his wife never saw the elves again, but they were rich and happy
and from that day forward they always had good luck. The story guides the reader with intrigue through the discovery behind the mystery shoe maker. It is an exciting tale, which creates hope for the reader that the character will find happiness. The Grimm brother’s create a warm feeling in the text that would be an excellent activity for shared reading or independent reading for year 2 – 3 students (depending on their reading ability).
New adaption by mike Kenney includes teacher resources
http://www.bgfl.org/bgfl/custom/resources_ftp/client_ftp/teacher/english/elves/index.htm
Heather
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