小精灵和鞋匠

小精灵和鞋匠

很久很久以前，一个鞋匠和他的妻子住在森林边。这个鞋匠是一个好人，但他们非常穷。最后，他们只剩下够做一双鞋的皮子。

鞋匠对他的妻子说：“明天早上我来做好这双鞋。”说完，他划好鞋皮，然后把它放到长凳上睡觉去。

第二天一早，鞋匠就来到长凳边，但是那里却摆着一双做得好好的鞋。鞋匠惊呆了！是谁做了这双鞋呢？

鞋匠和他的妻子正在发呆的时候，进来一个人。“有鞋卖吗？”这个人问。

The Little Elves and the Cobbler

Long, long ago, there was a cobbler and his wife, who lived on the edge of the forest. The cobbler was a good man, but they were very poor. In the end, they only had enough leather left to make one pair of shoes.

The cobbler said to his wife, "Tomorrow morning I will make a pair of shoes." On saying this, he cut the leather to size and placed it on the bench before going to sleep.

Early the next morning, the cobbler went to the bench and found a pair of brand new shoes sitting there. The cobbler was flabbergasted! Who could have made this pair of shoes?

The cobbler and his wife were still standing there, stunned, when a man walked in. "Have you any shoes to sell me?" asked the man.

“我有一双漂亮的鞋，”鞋匠说，“看看做得多好呀！”这个人很喜欢这双鞋，他用高价把它买走了，鞋匠现在有钱可以买两双鞋的皮子了。

第二天一早，这个鞋匠来到长凳边准备做鞋。但是，长凳上又摆着两双完全做好的鞋。像这样一天天过去了，最后鞋匠成了有钱人，但是他还是不知道是谁做的鞋。

一天晚上，鞋匠告诉妻子说：“今晚我们不睡觉，看看到底是谁在帮我们。”

这天晚上，当钟敲响十二点的时候，窗子外爬进来两个小精灵，他们跳着舞走过房间，来到长凳旁，跳了上去，坐下来后，他们拿起鞋皮开始工作。

一针、一针、一针，他们来回地缝着；吧嗒、吧嗒、吧嗒，他们轻轻地敲着。最后，他们做完了所有的鞋。

第二天早上，鞋匠对他的妻子说：“我们应该给小精灵做点儿什么，感谢他们。”

"I have a pair of beautiful shoes," said the cobbler,"Look how well made they are!" The man liked the pair of shoes very much, and he bought them for a high price. The cobbler now had money to buy the leather for two pairs of shoes.

Early the next morning, the cobbler came to the bench to make shoes. However, he saw two pairs of fully made shoes sitting there. This continued to happen, and in the end the cobbler became very rich, but he still did not know who it was who made the shoes.

One evening, the cobbler told his wife, "Today let's not sleep, but go and see who on earth it is who is helping us."

That evening, when the clock struck twelve, two little elves crawled in from the window, and started to dance across the room. They came to the bench and jumped up onto it. After sitting down, they took up the leather and started to work.

Stitch by stitch, the elves sewed back and forth. With a pitter and a patter they gently knocked at the shoes. Finally, they had finished the shoes.

The next morning, the cobbler said to his wife,"We should give something to the little elves to thank them."

于是，鞋匠的妻子做了两套小衣服，一套是红的，一套是蓝的；又做了两顶小帽子和两双袜子。鞋匠也做了很合脚的两双小鞋子。

在晚上，他们把做好的东西放在长凳上，又躲到门后等着。

当钟敲响十二点的时候，两个小精灵又沿着窗户爬了进来，他们蹦蹦跳跳地走过房间，跳上长凳。他们看见了小衣服、小袜子、小帽子和小鞋子。

他们高兴地拍起手来，然后脱下旧衣服，穿上了新衣服，在长凳上跳起舞来。接着，他们跳下长凳，不停地跳啊，滑呀，跳啊，滑呀，最后又穿过房间，爬到了窗外。

从此，这两个小精灵再也没来过。可是，鞋匠的运气一直很好，干什么事情总能成功。

And so, the cobbler and his wife made two small outfits. One was red and one was blue. They made two little hats and two pairs of socks. The cobbler also made two pairs of well fitting shoes.

That evening, they put the clothes on the bench and hid behind the door to wait.

When the clock struck twelve, the two little elves came in through the window. They pranced and danced their way across the room and leapt up onto the bench. They saw the small clothes, the small socks, the small hats and the small shoes.

They clapped their hands happily, took off their old clothes, and put on their new clothes. They started to dance on the bench. Then they jumped down from the bench and continued to dance, slide, dance, slide until finally they had crossed the room and crawled out of the window.

From this time on, the two little elves never came back again. However, the cobbler continued to be fortunate, and he was successful in everything he did.

flabbergasted adj.大吃一惊

on earth 究竟

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