Grimm
Today I was playing around with my phone and learned that it has the equivalent of an e-reader on it. After a little more investigation, I found that there were already some books loaded on my phone. I opened on that sound like a fun read. It was the works of the Brothers Grimm. Fairy/Folk tales that I have heard, but never really read.
The first story I read was titled "The Cobbler and the Elves". I don't know that I really understood the moral of this story. Why would you tell it to your children or grandchildren.
The cobbler found himself in a recession. The price of leather was going up, but the demand for shoes was not. Soon he found himself running out of food and only enough leather to make a single pair of shoes. To save time, he cut shape of the shoes out of the leather and went to bed.
The story does say that he prayed before going to sleep. I thought that was interesting. However, the next morning the leather was fashioned into shoes of a quality he had never seen before. He marveled over them.
That same day, a customer noted the quality and purchased them for more money than the cobbler would have ever expected. With his profit, he was able purchase enough leather to make two pair of shoes.
Do you remember the story? This continues for several days. Each day the cobbler sales the shoes and buys enough leather to double the amount of shoes the day before. Who knows how long it goes on, but after a while the cobbler decides to find out how the shoes are made.
He and his wife stay up and watch. At midnight, two naked elves come into the shop and complete all the shoes. The cobbler and his wife decide to pay them back and make clothes for the elves and slick little shoes. The next night the elves find the clothes, do a little dance of joy and are never seen again.
That is the version I read.
I tried to imagine telling this same story to my children before they went to bed. My mind will suddenly filled with questions that I would have to answer. Who does the cobbler think is making the shoes? Why did he wait so long to figure it out? Was it because of prayer? Why doesn't he thank God for helping him? There is never any mention them buying food, did there pantry get filled as well? Isn't there a law for slave labor or something? Where these elves trapped because they did not have clothes? Where did the elves go when they were done making shoes each day? Why didn't the cobbler ask the elves to teach him how to make the high quality shoes they were making so he could continue supporting himself after they were gone? What are we supposed to learn from this story?
Anyone have any ideas? I have been thinking about it all afternoon.
Heavenly Father does work in mysterious ways. Sometimes it is the humble and meek that he works through to perform his miracles because they are the ones that hear the whisperings of his spirit.
Like the cobbler, we should be using the profits of our blessings to bless the lives of others.
We should give thanks for all that we are given.
The best ideas always come from my wife as well.
I would be interested in your thoughts on the story? How could we turn it into a Disney movie? Is there enough to go on?
The first story I read was titled "The Cobbler and the Elves". I don't know that I really understood the moral of this story. Why would you tell it to your children or grandchildren.
The cobbler found himself in a recession. The price of leather was going up, but the demand for shoes was not. Soon he found himself running out of food and only enough leather to make a single pair of shoes. To save time, he cut shape of the shoes out of the leather and went to bed.
The story does say that he prayed before going to sleep. I thought that was interesting. However, the next morning the leather was fashioned into shoes of a quality he had never seen before. He marveled over them.
That same day, a customer noted the quality and purchased them for more money than the cobbler would have ever expected. With his profit, he was able purchase enough leather to make two pair of shoes.
Do you remember the story? This continues for several days. Each day the cobbler sales the shoes and buys enough leather to double the amount of shoes the day before. Who knows how long it goes on, but after a while the cobbler decides to find out how the shoes are made.
He and his wife stay up and watch. At midnight, two naked elves come into the shop and complete all the shoes. The cobbler and his wife decide to pay them back and make clothes for the elves and slick little shoes. The next night the elves find the clothes, do a little dance of joy and are never seen again.
That is the version I read.
I tried to imagine telling this same story to my children before they went to bed. My mind will suddenly filled with questions that I would have to answer. Who does the cobbler think is making the shoes? Why did he wait so long to figure it out? Was it because of prayer? Why doesn't he thank God for helping him? There is never any mention them buying food, did there pantry get filled as well? Isn't there a law for slave labor or something? Where these elves trapped because they did not have clothes? Where did the elves go when they were done making shoes each day? Why didn't the cobbler ask the elves to teach him how to make the high quality shoes they were making so he could continue supporting himself after they were gone? What are we supposed to learn from this story?
Anyone have any ideas? I have been thinking about it all afternoon.
Heavenly Father does work in mysterious ways. Sometimes it is the humble and meek that he works through to perform his miracles because they are the ones that hear the whisperings of his spirit.
Like the cobbler, we should be using the profits of our blessings to bless the lives of others.
We should give thanks for all that we are given.
The best ideas always come from my wife as well.
I would be interested in your thoughts on the story? How could we turn it into a Disney movie? Is there enough to go on?
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