The elves and the shoemaker - wikipedia The elves and the shoemaker For the 1935 animated film, see The Shoemaker and the Elves ( film ). Illustration from Lucy Crane 's 1886 edition `` The Elves and the Shoemaker '' is an often copied and re-made 1806 story about a poor shoemaker who receives much - needed help from elves. The original story is the first of three fairy tales, contained as entry 39 in the German Grimm 's Fairy Tales under the common title `` Die Wichtelmänner ''. In her translation of 1884 Margaret Hunt chose The Elves as title for these three stories. The Aarne -- Thompson folklore classification system categorizes the story as type 503 * : Helpful Elves and also as a migratory legend, type 7015. Contents 1 Plot summary 2 In popular culture 3 See also 4 References 5 External links Plot summary There are variations depending on the rendition of the story. A poor shoemaker and his wife need money to pay the rent. He gives away the last pair of shoes he has to a needy lady. He has leather to make one more pair of shoes. He cuts out the pieces of leather, before going to bed, so that he can sew them into a pair of shoes on the morrow. Elves come in the night and make the pair of shoes which he sells for more than his asking price the next day. He uses that money to pay the rent, buy food and more shoe leather. He feeds a poor traveler. He has just enough money to buy enough leather for two pairs of shoes. He cuts the pieces of leather for two pairs, and retires for the night. The elves come, again, that night and make two pairs of shoes with the additional leather. He gives away one pair to a needy person and sells the other pair to a referral from the first customer who is immensely satisfied. He buys leather for three and stays up to find the elves making the shoes. The shoemaker and wife make clothes for the elves the next day, but the elves are freed when given clothes, so they leave, and the shoemaker and his wife never see them again. In popular culture Friz Freleng created a musical adaption of the story for his 1946 Merrie Melodies cartoon Holiday for Shoestrings. Four years later, Tex Avery adapted the story for his 1950 MGM cartoon short The Peachy Cobbler. The 1956 Looney Tunes cartoon short Yankee Dood It is based on this fairy tale, with Elmer Fudd as the king of industrial elves. 150 years after this fairy tale took place, he visits the shoemaker to retrieve the elves he has employed, while also imparting the virtues of mass production capitalism to him. The same basic plot was also used in the 1946 cartoon short Holiday for Shoestrings. In the Due South episode, `` The Deal '', Det. Ray Vecchio vaguely recollects this story when discussing a poor cobbler with his partner, Constable Fraser. In Cinderella : From Fabletown with Love, a spinoff miniseries of the Vertigo comic - book series Fables, the shoemaker appears as an employee in Cinderella 's shoe store, while the elves are the builders and suppliers of the store 's inventory. Muppet Classic Theater had a version where a shoemaker ( played by Kermit the Frog ) faces ruin until his livelihood is saved by a group of philanthropic entertainers ( played by The Elvises ) who, naturally, make only blue suede shoes. In a Barney & Friends episode called If the Shoe Fits..., the kids are rehearsing for their play about this story. In the Harry Potter series of books, there is a large volume of House Elves. These elves take care of the needs of human wizards. They are also free of their obligation once given clothes. In the TV show Supernatural, the season 6 episode Clap Your Hands If You Believe has a variation of the tale, of a watchmaker and some fairies. In Jane Shields and Rosemary Doyle 's The Shoemaker and the Pantomimes Cinderella goes looking for elves to help her father in his obligation to the evil designer Kenneth Coal, but all she ends up with are Mimes, a resourceful mother Twanky, and an even more resourceful cat. Premiered Red Sandcastle Theatre, Toronto, 2012. The fairytale is alluded to in two episodes of The Big Bang Theory. In The Extract Obliteration, Leonard Hofstadter mentions it to Penny after he does her essay for her. In The Bus Pants Utilization, Sheldon greets Leonard in the morning with `` Good morning, Shoemaker '', in reference to the fact that he has been up all night working on Leonard 's differential equations app project. In the 2003 Christmas movie Elf, shoe making is one of the jobs for elves. See also Grimms ' Fairy Tales Children 's literature portal References Jump up ^ `` Household Tales by brothers Grimm '' at gutenberg.org Jump up ^ Heidi Anne Heiner, `` Tales Similar to the Elves and the Shoemaker '' Jump up ^ D.L. Ashliman, `` The Elves '' External links The full text of The Elves and the Shoemaker at Wikisource Media related to The Elves and the Shoemaker at Wikimedia Commons The Brothers Grimm Key articles Jacob Grimm Wilhelm Grimm Grimms ' Fairy Tales Deutsche Sagen Deutsche Mythologie Notable tales `` Bearskin '' `` The Brave Little Tailor '' `` Brother and Sister '' `` Cat and Mouse in Partnership '' `` Cinderella '' `` The Devil with the Three Golden Hairs '' `` The Dog and the Sparrow '' `` The Elves and the Shoemaker '' `` The Four Skillful Brothers '' `` The Frog Prince '' `` The Fisherman and His Wife '' `` The Golden Bird '' `` The Golden Goose '' `` The Goose Girl '' `` The Goose - Girl at the Well '' `` Hans My Hedgehog '' `` Hansel and Gretel '' `` The Hut in the Forest '' `` Jorinde and Joringel '' `` The Juniper Tree '' `` The King of the Golden Mountain '' `` King Thrushbeard '' `` Little Red Riding Hood '' `` Mary 's Child '' `` Mother Holle '' `` Old Hildebrand '' `` Old Sultan '' `` The Queen Bee '' `` Rapunzel '' `` The Riddle '' Rumpelstiltskin `` The Seven Ravens '' `` The Six Servants '' `` The Six Swans '' `` Sleeping Beauty '' `` Snow White '' `` Snow - White and Rose - Red '' `` The Story of the Youth Who Went Forth to Learn What Fear Was '' `` The Three Little Men in the Wood '' `` The Three Spinners '' `` Thumbling '' `` Town Musicians of Bremen '' `` Trusty John '' `` The Turnip '' `` The Twelve Brothers '' `` The Twelve Dancing Princesses '' The White Snake `` The Wolf and the Seven Young Goats '' `` The Wonderful Musician '' Other Grimm 's law Göttingen Seven Grim Tales The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm Grimm 's Fairy Tale Classics The Brothers Grimm Grimm Tales The Sisters Grimm Fairy tale American McGee 's Grimm German Fairy Tale Route Grimm Once Upon a Time Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=The_Elves_and_the_Shoemaker&oldid=850964636 '' Categories : Grimms ' Fairy Tales Fictional elves Fictional shoemakers Talk Contents About Wikipedia Wikisource Català Deutsch Français Nederlands Norsk Polski Edit links This page was last edited on 19 July 2018, at 04 : 43 ( UTC ). Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution - ShareAlike License ; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia ® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization. About Wikipedia

Question: who helps the shoemaker make the nice shoes
Answer: Elves