Learn English > English lessons and exercises > English test #85052: Elves and Shoemaker

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Elves and Shoemaker

The Elves and the Shoemaker

'The Elves and the Shoemaker' is a story by

Jacob and Wilhem Grimm.

It's a fairy tale: a poor shoemaker gets some unexpected help just when he needs it.

A Christmas story about the joy of giving.

Première partie/First part

Once upon a time there lived a kind shoemaker and his wife.
Sadly, nobody bought his shoes anymore and they had become poor. He only had cloth left to make one last pair of shoes.
To console him his wife said: 'Don't worry too much, everything will soon be all right. Leave the cloth on the table, you can stitch the shoes tomorrow. Let us go to bed now!'

However, four little elves, who had been outside their window, had heard them talking. They felt sorry for the kind man.
'We must help the poor shoemaker', they decided. The smart, talented elves fluttered into the house through the window.
They took the cloth and soon began cutting, sewing and decorating it. Before morning they made the most beautiful pair
of shoes in the whole world and flew away.

   In the morning the shoemaker and his wife were amazed to see the pretty little shoes lying on the table.
   'Who made this?' they both wondered. 'They are lovely!'
   Soon, a merchant saw the shoes in the shop window and immediately bought them. He gave the shoemaker enough money to buy cloth for two pairs of shoes.

   That night too, the shoemaker left the cloth on the table before going to bed. The elves returned. Before sunrise they had
made two pairs of shoes that were much prettier. This continued for many more nights: lovely shoes that the elves
made used to wait for the shoemaker every morning.
   The shoemaker and his wife were puzzled. 'I wonder who our friends are?', they said. 'We must thank them for their kindness.'

They decided to stay awake that night and hide behind the door to find out who made the shoes for them. As they waited
they saw the elves flying, laughing, singing and quickly stitching the shoes. 'How lucky we are!' exclaimed the shoemaker
once the elves had left.

Deuxième partie/Second part

We must give them something in return...

The wife suggested: 'their clothes were torn, let us make tiny clothes for them.'
They both worked hard to make the best clothes including the cutest pairs of shoes for the friendly
elves and left them on the table the next night.

When the elves came they were thrilled to see their new clothes. They danced and sang in happiness
and flew out of the window, never to return again.

The shoemaker continued to make the best shoes in town and sold them. He and his wife never
forgot the kind elves who had helped them in their time of need.

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1.
                                          Ces questions portent sur la première partie.
Choisir la réponse correcte.
Choose the right answer.
Why is the shoemaker so poor?
Why does his wife tell him to go to bed?

How do the elves get into the house?
Where are the shoemaker and his wife hidden while the elves are making the shoes?

2.
                                       Ces questions portent sur la deuxième partie.
Choisir la réponse correcte.
Choose the right answer.
Which of these things are not made for the elves?
Where do they leave the things they have made?
When will the elves come back?

3.
Quel mot n'est pas un synonyme de?
Which word is not a synonym of?
cute (adj.)
to puzzle (verb)
to amaze (verb)

4.
                              The shoemaker continued to make shoes.
Mettre le verbe à la forme négative.
Turn the verb into the negative form.
The shoemaker to make shoes.
Mettre cette phrase à la forme interrogative.
Turn the sentence into the interrogative form.
   to make shoes?

5.
Choisir l'expression correcte.
Choose the right answer.
The elves made the pair of shoes in the whole world.
The shoemaker continued to make the shoes in town.
Is there anything than the shoes the shoemaker made for the elves?

6.
Choisir la forme correcte des verbes.
Choose the right form of the verbs.
How did the elves their clothes? It's possible that they them while playing in the forest.
After they had found their gifts the elves away.
I think they have to the North Pole to help Santa Claus.

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