Traditional Literature Fairy Tales Think about the characteristics of a fairy tale as you read the story below. Use it to answer the questions on the next page. The Shoemaker and The Elves Once there was was an old shoemaker. He worked hard, but he was out of money. He only had enough leather to make one more pair of shoes. Late in the evening, the shoemaker carefully cut the leather for this last pair of shoes. Then, he laid the leather out so he could finish the shoes when he woke up the next morning. He went to bed sadly. When he woke up, he found a pair of already made shoes. These shoes were nicer and more durable than anything he had ever seen before! The old man was amazed and wondered how this could have happened.. A young man came into the shoemaker’s shop that morning. When he saw the shoes, he bought them right away. The shoes were so well made that the man was willing to pay double the cost of other shoes. Now the shoemaker had enough money to buy leather for 2 more pairs of shoes. That night, the shoemaker carefully cut the leather for 2 pairs of shoes. Again, the shoemaker laid the leather out so he could finish the shoes the next morning. When the shoemaker woke up the next morning, he found 2 pairs of beautiful shoes already made! This kept happening, night after night. The shoemaker kept selling more and more shoes. One night, the shoemaker stayed up late to see what happened to his shoes while he was sleeping. He peeked out his bedroom door, waiting. At midnight, two very tiny elves with pointed ears appeared and began working with the leather. The elves were grown men, but they were no taller than a small child. Their clothes were worn out and full of holes, and they didn’t have any shoes! They worked quickly and quietly, finishing the shoes before dawn. The next day, the shoemaker worked all day making clothes and shoes that would fit the tiny elves. That night, instead of laying out leather for shoes, the shoemaker laid out the tiny clothes and shoes he had made. He stayed up and watched the elves come in at midnight. The elves were expecting to find leather and instead found new clothes and shoes. They were delighted and danced around in their new outfits. After that night, the elves never returned to the shoemaker’s house. The shoemaker had enough money now for plenty of leather. The shoemaker continued working hard, and he lived a very happy life. © 2018 Kalena Baker: Teaching Made Practical. All rights reserved.
Traditional Literature Fairy Tales Use the fairy tale “The Shoemaker and the Elves” to answer the questions below. 1. Think about the characteristics of a fairy tale. What characteristics does the story of “The Shoemaker and the Elves” have? ___________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________ 2. How did the elves help the shoemaker? ___________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________ 3. Would you rather be the shoemaker or one of the elves? Why? ___________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________ 4. Think about other fairy tales you know. How is this story similar to another fairy tale? ___________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________ 5. Why wouldn’t the story of “The Elves and The Shoemaker” be considered a legend? ___________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________ © 2018 Kalena Baker: Teaching Made Practical. All rights reserved.