The Elves and The Shoemaker

(based upon the story collected from Gretchen Wild (1787-1819) by Jacob Grimm (17851863) and Wilhelm Grimm (17861859), the Brothers Grimm; adapted by Toria Crooks)

This wonderful and loving tale of a weary shoemaker who is visited at night, shortly before Christmas, by little men (elves) who help him, without thought of reward, by working on the unmade shoes.

The charm of this tale has endured across the world to the point that it has been translated into more than one hundred languages and has been adapted into film by Walt Disney, the Muppets (is there a theme developing here?) and others, including a passing reference in the Harry Potter series of books.

The Brothers Grimm were German academics who collected and published folktales, thereby making popular stories such as Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood, Sleeping Beauty, Snow White, Hansel and Gretel, Rapunzel and Rumpelstiltskin. Their collection of folktales, Childrens and Household Tales was first published in 1812.