In “The Elves and the Shoemaker,” two elves come to help the shoemaker. The poor craftsman has only enough leather to make one pair of shoes, so he cuts the materials and leaves them unfinished overnight. By morning, the shoes are completed perfectly and sell for enough money to buy more leather.
The shoemaker and his wife eventually stay awake to discover who has been helping. They see two small men working quickly at the workbench before disappearing. To thank them, the couple makes each elf a set of clothes and shoes. Delighted, the elves dance away and never return, while the shoemaker’s business continues to prosper.
A common mix-up comes from the Grimm collection’s structure. “The Elves and the Shoemaker” is the first of three related tales published together as tale number 39 under the German title “Die Wichtelmänner.” Those three tales are not three elves; the shoemaker’s story specifically features two. The tale appeared in the first edition of “Children’s and Household Tales” in 1812 and is classified as a helpful-elves folktale.