The Elves and the Shoemaker · chapter 3 of 3
Tiny Clothes, Tiny Shoes
小衣服，小鞋子
The shoemaker and his wife sew a secret Christmas surprise, and at midnight two tiny visitors find something on the workbench they never expected.
Read what you hear
- Narrator 第二天，老鞋匠和妻子忙了一天。
Dì èr tiān, lǎo xiéjiang hé qīzi máng le yì tiān.
The next day, the old shoemaker and his wife were busy from morning till night.
- The Shoemaker's Wife 绿衣服给哥哥，红衣服给弟弟。还有小裤子，小袜子！
Lǜ yīfu gěi gēge, hóng yīfu gěi dìdi. Hái yǒu xiǎo kùzi, xiǎo wàzi!
A green coat for the big brother, a red one for the little brother. And tiny trousers, and tiny stockings!
- The Shoemaker 老伴儿，你看这双鞋！我做了五十年鞋，没做过这么小的鞋！
Lǎobànr, nǐ kàn zhè shuāng xié! Wǒ zuò le wǔshí nián xié, méi zuò guo zhème xiǎo de xié!
Look at this pair, dear! I've made shoes for fifty years, and I've never made any this small!
Chapter 3 is part of SayMei Stories ($2.99 a month) and SayMei Premium. Chapter 1 of The Elves and the Shoemaker is free, and so are The Second Cup of Tea, Mulan, The Butterfly Lovers, Journey to the West: The Monkey King, Cinderella, The Night of the Nian, Chang'e and the Moon, The Great Race: The Twelve Animals, Aesop's Fables, Little Red Riding Hood, The Three Little Pigs, The Ugly Duckling, Pangu and Nüwa: How the World Began, Beauty and the Beast, The Magic Lotus Lantern, Alice in Wonderland, Zhong Kui the Demon Queller and The Odyssey from start to finish.
- The Shoemaker's Wife 他们的脚，真有这么小吗？
Tāmen de jiǎo, zhēn yǒu zhème xiǎo ma?
Are their feet really that small?
- The Shoemaker 有！昨天晚上，我一直在看！
Yǒu! Zuótiān wǎnshang, wǒ yìzhí zài kàn!
They are! I watched them the whole night!
- The Shoemaker's Wife 一直在看？我看你一直在睡！
Yìzhí zài kàn? Wǒ kàn nǐ yìzhí zài shuì!
The whole night? Looked to me like you slept the whole night!
- The Shoemaker 没有！我……我是在想事情！
Méiyǒu! Wǒ… wǒ shì zài xiǎng shìqing!
I did not! I… I was thinking!
- Narrator 这天是圣诞节的前一天。晚上，他们把礼物放在桌子上。
Zhè tiān shì Shèngdànjié de qián yì tiān. Wǎnshang, tāmen bǎ lǐwù fàng zài zhuōzi shàng.
That day was Christmas Eve. In the evening, they laid the presents on the table.
- The Shoemaker's Wife 好了！快，快，站到大衣后边去！
Hǎo le! Kuài, kuài, zhàn dào dàyī hòubian qù!
There! Quick, quick, get behind the coats!
- The Shoemaker 今天晚上，我一定不睡！
Jīntiān wǎnshang, wǒ yídìng bú shuì!
Tonight, I'm not falling asleep, I promise!
- The Shoemaker's Wife 你昨天也是这么说的。
Nǐ zuótiān yě shì zhème shuō de.
That's what you said yesterday.
- Narrator 半夜十二点，两个小精灵又跑了进来。
Bànyè shí'èr diǎn, liǎng gè xiǎo jīnglíng yòu pǎo le jìnlái.
At midnight, the two little elves came running in again.
- Big Brother Elf 弟弟，快！上桌子，做鞋！
Dìdi, kuài! Shàng zhuōzi, zuò xié!
Little brother, hurry! Up on the table! Time to make shoes!
- Little Brother Elf 哥哥……皮子呢？桌子上没有皮子！
Gēge… pízi ne? Zhuōzi shàng méiyǒu pízi!
Big brother… where's the leather? There's no leather on the table!
- Big Brother Elf 这是什么？一件小绿衣服……还有一双小鞋子！
Zhè shì shénme? Yí jiàn xiǎo lǜ yīfu… hái yǒu yì shuāng xiǎo xiézi!
What's this? A little green coat… and a tiny pair of shoes!
- Little Brother Elf 这件红的，和我一样小！是给我们的吗？
Zhè jiàn hóng de, hé wǒ yíyàng xiǎo! Shì gěi wǒmen de ma?
This red one is just my size! Are they for us?
- Big Brother Elf 是给我们的！弟弟，快穿上！
Shì gěi wǒmen de! Dìdi, kuài chuānshàng!
They're for us! Little brother, quick, put them on!
- Little Brother Elf 我穿上了！哥哥，我不冷了！一点儿也不冷了！
Wǒ chuānshàng le! Gēge, wǒ bù lěng le! Yìdiǎnr yě bù lěng le!
I've got them on! Big brother, I'm not cold anymore! Not one little bit!
- Big Brother Elf 新衣服，新鞋子，我们是漂亮的小先生！
Xīn yīfu, xīn xiézi, wǒmen shì piàoliang de xiǎo xiānsheng!
New clothes and new shoes, we're two fine little gentlemen!
- Little Brother Elf 漂亮先生不做鞋，我们跳舞去！
Piàoliang xiānsheng bú zuò xié, wǒmen tiàowǔ qù!
Fine gentlemen don't make shoes, so off we go to dance!
- Narrator 他们在桌子上跳舞，跳过椅子，跳出了门。
Tāmen zài zhuōzi shàng tiàowǔ, tiàoguò yǐzi, tiàochū le mén.
They danced on the table, leaped over the chairs, and skipped right out of the door.
- The Shoemaker's Wife 老头子，他们走了……他们还会回来吗？
Lǎotóuzi, tāmen zǒu le… tāmen hái huì huílái ma?
Old man, they've gone… will they ever come back?
- The Shoemaker 我想，他们不会回来了。
Wǒ xiǎng, tāmen bú huì huílái le.
I don't think they will.
- The Shoemaker's Wife 你难过吗？
Nǐ nánguò ma?
Are you sad?
- The Shoemaker 不难过。你看，他们跳舞跳得多高兴啊！
Bù nánguò. Nǐ kàn, tāmen tiàowǔ tiào de duō gāoxìng a!
Not at all. Look how happily they danced!
- The Shoemaker's Wife 是啊。老头子，圣诞节快乐！
Shì a. Lǎotóuzi, Shèngdànjié kuàilè!
That's true. Merry Christmas, old man!
- The Shoemaker 圣诞节快乐，老伴儿！
Shèngdànjié kuàilè, lǎobànr!
Merry Christmas, dear!
- Narrator 小精灵没有再来。可是老鞋匠的日子，一天比一天好。
Xiǎo jīnglíng méiyǒu zài lái. Kěshì lǎo xiéjiang de rìzi, yì tiān bǐ yì tiān hǎo.
The little elves never came again. But life for the old shoemaker got better and better, day by day.
- The Shoemaker 现在，我又自己做鞋了。好鞋子，要慢慢做……
Xiànzài, wǒ yòu zìjǐ zuò xié le. Hǎo xiézi, yào mànmàn zuò…
Now I make the shoes myself again. Good shoes take time…
- The Shoemaker's Wife 慢慢做吧，老头子！我们有很多时间！
Mànmàn zuò ba, lǎotóuzi! Wǒmen yǒu hěn duō shíjiān!
Take your time, old man! We have all the time in the world!
Hear the chapter
What changed in the story?
- What does the wife make for the elves?
“绿衣服给哥哥，红衣服给弟弟。还有小裤子，小袜子！”
- Why does the wife laugh when her husband says he watched the elves all night?
“一直在看？我看你一直在睡！”
- How does the little elf feel once he puts on his new clothes?
“我不冷了！一点儿也不冷了！”
- What do the elves decide to do in their fine new clothes?
“漂亮先生不做鞋，我们跳舞去！”
- Why isn't the shoemaker sad when the elves leave?
“不难过。你看，他们跳舞跳得多高兴啊！”