The Elves and the Shoemaker · chapter 1 of 3
One Last Pair
最后一双鞋
With leather for just one last pair of shoes, a poor old shoemaker goes to bed, and wakes to find a mystery waiting on his workbench.
Hear the chapter
Read what you hear
- Narrator 很久很久以前，德国有一个老鞋匠。
Hěn jiǔ hěn jiǔ yǐqián, Déguó yǒu yí gè lǎo xiéjiang.
Long, long ago, there lived an old shoemaker in Germany.
- Narrator 冬天到了，老鞋匠和妻子没有钱了。
Dōngtiān dào le, lǎo xiéjiang hé qīzi méiyǒu qián le.
Winter came, and the old shoemaker and his wife ran out of money.
- The Shoemaker 老伴儿，你看，我们的皮子，就这么一小块了。
Lǎobànr, nǐ kàn, wǒmen de pízi, jiù zhème yì xiǎo kuài le.
Look, dear. This little piece is all the leather we have left.
- The Shoemaker's Wife 这么小？能做几双鞋？
Zhème xiǎo? Néng zuò jǐ shuāng xié?
That small? How many pairs of shoes will it make?
- The Shoemaker 几双？只能做一双了。
Jǐ shuāng? Zhǐ néng zuò yì shuāng le.
How many? Just one pair.
- The Shoemaker's Wife 没关系！卖了这双鞋，我们就能买面包了。
Méi guānxi! Mài le zhè shuāng xié, wǒmen jiù néng mǎi miànbāo le.
Never mind! Once we sell them, we can buy bread.
- The Shoemaker 家里还有半个面包。你吃吧，我不饿。
Jiā lǐ hái yǒu bàn gè miànbāo. Nǐ chī ba, wǒ bú è.
There's still half a loaf of bread in the house. You eat it. I'm not hungry.
- The Shoemaker's Wife 不饿？那你的肚子为什么在叫？
Bú è? Nà nǐ de dùzi wèishénme zài jiào?
Not hungry? Then why is your stomach growling?
- The Shoemaker 好吧，好吧……我们一人一半。
Hǎo ba, hǎo ba… wǒmen yì rén yíbàn.
All right, all right… we'll have half each.
- The Shoemaker 今天晚上，我先剪好皮子。明天，我做一双最好的鞋！
Jīntiān wǎnshang, wǒ xiān jiǎnhǎo pízi. Míngtiān, wǒ zuò yì shuāng zuì hǎo de xié!
Tonight I'll cut out the leather. Tomorrow I'll make my very best pair of shoes!
- The Shoemaker's Wife 最好的鞋？那要做多久啊？
Zuì hǎo de xié? Nà yào zuò duōjiǔ a?
Your very best? How long will that take?
- The Shoemaker 一天！好鞋子，要慢慢做。
Yì tiān! Hǎo xiézi, yào mànmàn zuò.
A whole day! Good shoes take time.
- Narrator 晚上，老鞋匠剪好皮子，放在桌子上，就去睡了。
Wǎnshang, lǎo xiéjiang jiǎnhǎo pízi, fàng zài zhuōzi shàng, jiù qù shuì le.
That evening, the old shoemaker cut out the leather, laid it on the table and went to bed.
- The Shoemaker 天亮了，做鞋吧……啊？这是什么？
Tiān liàng le, zuò xié ba… Á? Zhè shì shénme?
It's morning. Time to make those shoes… Huh? What's this?
- The Shoemaker's Wife 老头子，怎么了？
Lǎotóuzi, zěnme le?
What is it, old man?
- The Shoemaker 鞋！鞋已经做好了！
Xié! Xié yǐjīng zuòhǎo le!
Shoes! The shoes are already made!
- The Shoemaker's Wife 真的！一双新鞋！多漂亮啊！
Zhēn de! Yì shuāng xīn xié! Duō piàoliang a!
It's true! A brand-new pair! How beautiful!
- The Shoemaker 你看，做得真好！比我做的还好！
Nǐ kàn, zuò de zhēn hǎo! Bǐ wǒ zuò de hái hǎo!
Look how well they're made! They're even better than mine!
- The Shoemaker's Wife 老头子，你是不是晚上起来做鞋了？
Lǎotóuzi, nǐ shì bu shì wǎnshang qǐlái zuò xié le?
Old man, did you get up in the night and make them?
- The Shoemaker 没有！我睡得很好，一次也没起来！
Méiyǒu! Wǒ shuì de hěn hǎo, yí cì yě méi qǐlái!
No! I slept soundly. I didn't get up once!
- The Shoemaker's Wife 那是谁做的呢？
Nà shì shéi zuò de ne?
Then who made them?
- Narrator 这时候，一个有钱的客人走进了小店。
Zhè shíhou, yí gè yǒu qián de kèrén zǒujìn le xiǎo diàn.
Just then, a rich customer walked into the little shop.
- The Customer 好漂亮的鞋！老鞋匠，这双鞋我要了！
Hǎo piàoliang de xié! Lǎo xiéjiang, zhè shuāng xié wǒ yào le!
What beautiful shoes! Shoemaker, I'll take this pair!
- The Shoemaker 可是……这双鞋不是我做的……
Kěshì… zhè shuāng xié bú shì wǒ zuò de…
But… I didn't make these shoes…
- The Customer 哈哈哈！你这个人真有意思！给你，我多给你一些钱！
Hāhāhā! Nǐ zhège rén zhēn yǒu yìsi! Gěi nǐ, wǒ duō gěi nǐ yìxiē qián!
Ha ha ha! You're a funny one! Here you go, and a little extra!
- The Shoemaker's Wife 老头子，这么多钱！能买面包，还能买两双鞋的皮子！
Lǎotóuzi, zhème duō qián! Néng mǎi miànbāo, hái néng mǎi liǎng shuāng xié de pízi!
Old man, so much money! We can buy bread, and leather for two pairs of shoes!
- The Shoemaker 两双鞋的皮子，剪好了。明天早上，我自己做。好鞋子，要慢慢做……
Liǎng shuāng xié de pízi, jiǎnhǎo le. Míngtiān zǎoshang, wǒ zìjǐ zuò. Hǎo xiézi, yào mànmàn zuò…
Leather for two pairs, all cut out. Tomorrow morning, I'll make them myself. Good shoes take time…
- The Shoemaker's Wife 老头子，快起来！天亮了，两双鞋都做好了！
Lǎotóuzi, kuài qǐlái! Tiān liàng le, liǎng shuāng xié dōu zuòhǎo le!
Old man, get up! It's morning, and both pairs are finished!
- The Shoemaker 什么？又做好了？我还想自己做呢！
Shénme? Yòu zuòhǎo le? Wǒ hái xiǎng zìjǐ zuò ne!
What? Finished again? And I wanted to make them myself!
- The Shoemaker's Wife 你看，外边的雪上，有很小很小的脚印……是谁在帮我们？
Nǐ kàn, wàibian de xuě shàng, yǒu hěn xiǎo hěn xiǎo de jiǎoyìn… Shì shéi zài bāng wǒmen?
Look, in the snow outside, there are tiny, tiny footprints… Who is helping us?
What changed in the story?
- Why is the shoemaker worried at the start?
“我们的皮子，就这么一小块了……只能做一双了。”
- How does the wife know her husband is hungry?
“不饿？那你的肚子为什么在叫？”
- What is waiting on the table in the morning?
“鞋已经做好了！……一双新鞋！”
- What does the customer do when the shoemaker says he didn't make the shoes?
“你这个人真有意思！……我多给你一些钱！”
- What does the wife spot in the snow outside?
“外边的雪上，有很小很小的脚印……”