Wednesday, November 19, 2008

the Elves and the shoemaker



Author: Southgate, Vera
Imprint:
Loughborough : Wills and Hepworth, 1965

Review:
Kind shoemaker Hans and his beloved wife Claudia are worried that their holiday will be the bleakestever.Business is poor and there is little money for food or to buy the leather needed to make shoes to sell. To make matters worse, Wolfgang, the landlord of their tiny shop, is demanding their rent payment. When Wolfgang learns that the rent cannot be paid, he insists that Hans help
him capture an elf, a magical creature that Wolfgang believes to be capable of turning straw into gold. Hans reluctantly agrees to help Wolfgang, hoping
that thelandlord will give them more time to pay their rent. Meanwhile, a smart elf, Ivy, attempts to teach his new fun-loving elf partner, Holly, how to distinguish a good human from a bad human. Holly learns quickly that Wolfgang, with his awful elf-finding machine, is a bad human, while Hans, who frees Holly from Wolfgang’s net, is a good human. The elves
vow to help the good Hans in return for his kindness. For a week, the two elves sneak into Hans and Claudia’s shop at night and make beautiful shoes for the shoemaker to sell. As their fortunes change, Hans and Claudia are able to afford food and coal and to pay off the villainous Wolfgang
with a bag of gold. By helping out the goodhearted Hans and Claudia, Holly’s elf
training is complete, and the two elves happily return to their home in the Black
Forest.



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