Folk & Fairy Tale Easy Readers: The Elves and the Shoemaker © Scholastic Teaching Resources

TM

The Elves and

A retelling by Violet Findley • Illustrated by Martha Aviles
the Shoemaker
Folk & Fairy Tale Easy Readers: The Elves and the Shoemaker © Scholastic Teaching Resources

TM

The Elves and

A retelling by Violet Findley • Illustrated by Martha Aviles
the Shoemaker
Folk & Fairy Tale Easy Readers: The Elves and the Shoemaker © Scholastic Teaching Resources

Guided Reading Level H

No part of this publication may be reproduced in whole or in part or stored in a retrieval

system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying,
recording, or otherwise, without written permission of the publisher. For information
regarding permission, write to Scholastic Inc., 557 Broadway, New York, NY 10012.
Written by Violet Findley
Illustrated by Martha Aviles
Designed by Maria Lilja
ISBN: 0-439-77406-3
Copyright © 2006 by Scholastic Inc.
All rights reserved. Published by Scholastic Inc. Printed in China.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 62 13 12 11 10 09 08 07 06
Folk & Fairy Tale Easy Readers: The Elves and the Shoemaker © Scholastic Teaching Resources

Once upon a time, there lived a kind

shoemaker and his wife. Times were hard
and they became very, very poor.
2
 Folk & Fairy Tale Easy Readers: The Elves and the Shoemaker © Scholastic Teaching Resources

to make a single pair of shoes.

One day, they had only enough leather

3
Folk & Fairy Tale Easy Readers: The Elves and the Shoemaker © Scholastic Teaching Resources

The shoemaker put the leather on his table.

“Tomorrow, I will make one last pair of
shoes to sell at the market,” he said sadly.
4
Folk & Fairy Tale Easy Readers: The Elves and the Shoemaker © Scholastic Teaching Resources

But a magical thing happened. When the

shoemaker woke up, the leather had already
been turned into a fancy pair of shoes!
“Wow! I will sell these at the market,” he said.
5
 Folk & Fairy Tale Easy Readers: The Elves and the Shoemaker © Scholastic Teaching Resources

6
The shoemaker sold the shoes for a bag of
gold. With the gold, he bought more leather.
Folk & Fairy Tale Easy Readers: The Elves and the Shoemaker © Scholastic Teaching Resources

The shoemaker put the leather on his table.

The next morning, he found two fancy
pairs of shoes!
“Wow! I will sell these at the market,” he said.
And so he did.
7
Folk & Fairy Tale Easy Readers: The Elves and the Shoemaker © Scholastic Teaching Resources

Again, the shoemaker used the gold to buy

more leather. He put the leather on the
table. The next morning, he found three
fancy pairs of shoes!
8
Folk & Fairy Tale Easy Readers: The Elves and the Shoemaker © Scholastic Teaching Resources

Life went on like this for many months.

In time, the shoemaker and his wife sold
many shoes and became very, very rich.
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Folk & Fairy Tale Easy Readers: The Elves and the Shoemaker © Scholastic Teaching Resources

The shoemaker and his wife were happy,

but also very curious. Who was making all
the fancy shoes? One night, they decided
to find out. Instead of going to bed, they
hid behind a curtain.
10
Folk & Fairy Tale Easy Readers: The Elves and the Shoemaker © Scholastic Teaching Resources

When the clock struck midnight, in came

two little elves. Zippity, zip! They made 100
pairs of the fanciest shoes ever seen. Then
they danced a joyful jig and left.
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Folk & Fairy Tale Easy Readers: The Elves and the Shoemaker © Scholastic Teaching Resources

“Two elves have been making the shoes!”

said the shoemaker.
“Did you see their tattered clothes? Let’s
make them some new ones to say thank
you,” said his wife.
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Folk & Fairy Tale Easy Readers: The Elves and the Shoemaker © Scholastic Teaching Resources

All day, the shoemaker and his wife worked

and worked. She made two tiny outfits. He
made two tiny pairs of shoes.
13
Folk & Fairy Tale Easy Readers: The Elves and the Shoemaker © Scholastic Teaching Resources

They put the new clothes on the table and

hid. When the clock struck midnight, in
came the two elves.
14
Folk & Fairy Tale Easy Readers: The Elves and the Shoemaker © Scholastic Teaching Resources

The elves were surprised to see the fine

clothes instead of the leather. Zippity, zip!
They put on the shirts, pants, and shoes.
Then they danced a joyful jig and left.
15
Folk & Fairy Tale Easy Readers: The Elves and the Shoemaker © Scholastic Teaching Resources

The shoemaker and his wife never saw

the two elves again. But thanks to their
good deeds, all four of them lived
happily ever after.
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Folk & Fairy Tale Easy Readers: The Elves and the Shoemaker © Scholastic Teaching Resources

Glossary
curious wanting to find out more
about something

deeds behavior or actions

jig dance

shoemaker a person who

makes shoes

tattered old and torn

 Folk & Fairy Tale Easy Readers: The Elves and the Shoemaker © Scholastic Teaching Resources

ISBN: 0-439-77406-3
TM