Bedtime Story

นิทานเนือ้ เรื่องภาษาองั กฤษ จำนวน 2 เรือ่ ง

The Elves And The Shoemaker และ Hansel And Gretel

นำเสนอโดย นายวัชระ สถติ โสฬส
ชน้ั ม.4/1 เลขท่ี 17

Preface

A story at bedtime is the best way to de-stress after a long day at work for you
and can turn into cherished memories for your child.

Here are 2 stories,Exampled from me.Enjoy reading them aloud to your kid!

Contents Page

The Elves And The Shoemaker 2
The Elves And The Shoemaker- Chapter 1 3
The Elves And The Shoemaker- Chapter 2 5
The Elves And The Shoemaker- Chapter 3 7
The Elves And The Shoemaker- Chapter 4
10
Hansel And Gretel 12
Hansel And Gretel Story- Chapter 1 13
Hansel And Gretel Story- Chapter 2 14
Hansel And Gretel Story- Chapter 3 15
Hansel And Gretel Story- Chapter 4 16
Hansel And Gretel Story- Chapter 5 17
Hansel And Gretel Story- Chapter 6 18
Hansel And Gretel Story- Chapter 7 20
Hansel And Gretel Story- Chapter 8 21
Hansel And Gretel Story- Chapter 9 22
Hansel And Gretel Story- Chapter 10 23
Hansel And Gretel Story- Chapter 11 24
Hansel And Gretel Story- Chapter 12 25
Hansel And Gretel Story- Chapter 13 26
Hansel And Gretel Story- Chapter 14
Hansel And Gretel Story- Chapter 15



2

The Elves And The Shoemaker

The Elves And The Shoemaker- Chapter 1

Once, there lived a kind, but exceedingly poor shoemaker.
He was an honest, hard-working man, but he had fallen on hard times. So hard, in fact,
that he could no longer make ends meet. All that remained in his workshop was enough
leather to make a single pair of shoes.

In the light of the setting sun, he carefully cut out his last piece of fine leather and
neatly laid it on his workbench, ready to finish his work the following day.
He closed the door of his workshop, let out a heavy sigh and returned home to be with
his wife.

‘Take my hand, dear,’ he said. ‘Let us make a wish for our fortunes to change and for
our years of hard work to finally bring us the ample reward that we deserve.’
His wife stretched out her arms, laid her hands softly into his and they made their wish.

3

The Elves And The Shoemaker- Chapter 2

The shoemaker rose early the following morning. As usual he ate his breakfast, brushed
his teeth, gave his wife a kiss on the cheek and made his way to the workshop.

He was expecting to find his workbench just as he had left it—with his carefully
prepared leather ready to be made into a pair of his finest shoes.
But this is not what he found.
To his astonishment, upon the workbench shone a fully stitched, expertly crafted,
shining pair of the finest shoes your eyes could behold. They were perfect.
Immaculately finished to a standard that he, himself, would have been proud to put his
name to.

He stood there for a moment, utterly dumbfounded.

‘I don’t believe it,’ he thought to himself.
Suddenly, came a loud wrap at the workshop door.
A well-dressed man entered and said, ‘Good morning, kind sir. I was passing and that
pair of fine shoes on your workbench caught my eye.
Could I please try them on?’
‘Why yes, of course,’ said the shoemaker.
The man knelt down and tried on the shoes.
‘Just as I suspected,’ said the man, ‘a perfect fit! I’ll take them.’
What happened next shocked the shoemaker—perhaps even

4

more than the appearance of the shoes. The man asked the shoemaker for the price of
the shoes.
The shoemaker told him and this was the man’s reply.
‘Nonsense!’ cried the man.
The shoemaker looked disappointed.
‘I mean to say,’ the man continued, ‘that the quality and workmanship is plain to see
and I will not pay a penny less than double what you ask.The shoemaker thanked the
man dearly for his generosity. The man smiled, doffed his hat and strode out the door
wearing his new—and very shiny—shoes.

5

The Elves And The Shoemaker- Chapter 3

With the money that he had received from selling the shoes, the shoemaker went out
and purchased more leather.
This time he had enough leather to make two pairs of shoes.
In the light of the setting sun, he carefully cut out two pieces of fine leather and neatly
laid them on his workbench, ready to finish his work the following day.
The next day arrived.
To his astonishment, the same thing had happened again. But this time there was not
one pair of shoes on his workbench, there were two. And as before, the quality of the
workmanship was so exquisite that two well-dressed men came into his workshop and
paid twice the asking price.

This continued day after day. With the takings from the day, the shoemaker would buy
enough leather to prepare twice the number of shoes for the following day. And every
morning, the shoes would be immaculately prepared, polished and stacked on his
workbench, ready to be sold.
Four pairs.
Eight pairs.
Sixteen pairs.
Thirty-two pairs.
This pattern carried on for weeks until the shoemaker was selling many thousands of
pairs of shoes every single day, each as expertly crafted as the last.
The shoemaker and his wife were no longer poor. In fact, they had become quite rich
from selling so many shoes.
One night, the shoemaker turned to his wife.

6

‘Dear wife,’ he said, ‘I feel so blessed for our wonderful fortune of late and I long to
know the secret behind this shoemaking magic, so we can show our deepest thanks.’
‘Perhaps we should stay up tonight?’ replied his wife, ‘we can creep down to the
workshop by candlelight.’
The shoemaker agreed.
That very night—as the clock struck midnight—they each lit a candle, silently made their
way to the workshop and peered in through a slightly open window.
What they saw was so magical it instantly took their breath away.

7

The Elves And The Shoemaker- Chapter 4

An army of beautiful elves filled the workshop. Each elf was no more than six inches tall
and sat upon a tiny wooden stool working furiously—one elf per shoe.

They rapped and tapped and hammered and stitched at such a rapid pace you could
barely see their little arms at all.
One elf stood out.
She was not hammering. Nor stitching.
Instead, she was standing at the front of the workshop facing the other elves, like the
conductor of a miniature orchestra.
She wore a tall, pointed pink hat with the words Grand High Elf neatly embroidered on
the front.

Suddenly, the candle slipped from the shoemaker’s grasp and landed with a thud upon
the stone floor.
Hearing this, all the elves froze in terror.

8

A moment passed, then the Grand High Elf cried, ‘everybody run!’ and that was it.
The scene that ensued was nothing short of pandemonium. The elves scattered in
a frenzied attempt to flee the workshop as fast as they could.
‘Please wait!’ cried the shoemaker.
‘We are here to say thank you,’ said his wife, ‘for all of your amazing hard work and
kindness. And we would like to show our appreciation by doing something kind in
return.’
As the panic subsided all eyes fell on the Grand High Elf.
She stepped forward and said,
‘We are hungry and the clothes upon our backs are threadbare. Would you be so kind
as to feed us and replace our clothes? We would be forever in your debt.’
The shoemaker lay down on the ground, his face now level with the Grand High Elf.

He smiled at her and said gently, ‘of course, your Highness. We will gladly give you all
the food and clothes you desire. And please forgive me, but I’ve noticed that your feet
are bare.
I’d also like to make you each a pair of my finest shoes’.
She smiled back.
‘That would be wonderful,’ she replied.

~~~
From that day forward the elves, the shoemaker and his wife became the very best of
friends. They worked hard and went on to live a happy, prosperous and full life
together.The

---------- End. ----------



10

Hansel And Gretel Story- Chapter 1

Down in the valley was a wood. Next to the wood was a cottage. And in the cottage
lived a wood-cutter and his two children—a little boy named Hansel, and his sister,
Gretel.
The wood-cutter was a very poor man. Work was scarce and he had fallen on very hard
times. He couldn’t even earn enough to feed the family every day, so—more often than
not—the children went hungry.
Despite their situation, Hansel and Gretel’s spirits remained high. They never once
complained. They could see how much their father loved them and how hard he was
working—even if his work brought little reward.

One evening, after the children had gone to bed, the wood-cutter sat talking to his wife
next to the fire.
The woman was Hansel and Gretel’s stepmother. A simply wretched woman that was
desperate to get rid of the children at the first available opportunity.

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‘Oh, wife,’ said the wood-cutter, ‘I can barely support you and myself, never mind the
children. What on earth are we going to do?’
‘I know what to do,’ she said—a wicked smile creeping onto her lips.
‘Tell me, dear wife,’ said the wood-cutter.
‘Tomorrow morning, I will take the children deep into the wood—into the very thickest
part—and leave them there for the wolves. They will then be out of our way, your
wages will support us and we will be freed from this dreadful poverty.’
‘Feed them to the wolves?’ repeated the wood-cutter in horror, ‘I’ve never heard such
nonsense in all my days!’
‘Foolish man!’ she replied, ‘then we will all perish. You are as well to go and cut wood
for our own coffins.’
The wood-cutter said nothing.
Hansel and Gretel’s empty, rumbling bellies had kept them awake. They had heard
everything—especially the bit about being left out for the wolves, which had terrified
both of them beyond words.
‘What is going to happen to us, Hansel?’ sniffed Gretel, as she wiped away a tear.
‘Don’t cry, Gretel,’ he whispered, ‘I know exactly what to do.’

12

Hansel And Gretel Story- Chapter 2

They lay still until the grownups were asleep.
As soon as it was quiet, Hansel got up, put on his coat and slipped outside—making
sure not to wake anyone. The moon shone brightly, lighting up the garden.
Hansel looked around, intently.
Then, without delay, he began picking up handfuls of little white pebbles that lay on the
garden path. He carried on stuffing his pockets until they were full to the brim, then
returned to bed.
The next morning, there came a rap at the bedroom door.

‘Up you get, you pair of lazy rats,’ cried the stepmother.
‘You need to come with me into the wood to gather kindling for the fire. Quick, smart!’

Hansel and Gretel got up.
The stepmother handed Gretel a piece of bread and said, ‘Take this for your lunch. It is
for both of you and must last you all day, so don’t eat it all at once. You won’t get
more!’
Gretel took the bread and they set out into the woods.
Hansel seemed preoccupied. Every few steps he would turn around as if looking for
something. And this strange behaviour did not go unnoticed by the stepmother.
‘Why do you keep dropping back and looking behind?’ she snapped, clearly irritated.
‘I saw a cat,’ said Hansel, ‘and I am checking to see if it is still following us.’
‘Well, hurry along child,’ she said, sharply, ‘we don’t have time for this childish!’

13

Hansel And Gretel Story- Chapter 3

Hansel was lying—he had not seen a cat.
He was staying behind to drop the white pebbles—the ones he had knowingly gathered
the previous night—onto the ground behind him as he walked.

They carried on walking.
After some considerable time they reached an opening.
‘Come children,’ said the stepmother. ‘Gather some sticks and I will make us a fire. It is
getting very cold and you need some rest.’
Hansel and Gretel gathered the sticks.
After making the fire, the stepmother said, ‘sit down and rest here, children. I will return
with your father once we have finished our days work,’ then—without a moment’s
hesitation—she scurried off.
Hansel and Gretel sat eating bread by the crackling fire. The crust had become a little
stale in Gretel’s pocket, but they were too hungry to notice. After wolfing down their
bread they quickly grew tired and fell fast asleep.
In fact, they fell into such a deep sleep that they did not notice the hours passing.

14

Hansel And Gretel Story- Chapter 4

Several hours passed, then Gretel awoke with a start.
‘It’s dark!’ she cried, ‘and there is no sign of stepmother or father. Oh, Hansel, I am so
very scared. What shall we do?’
‘Fear not, dear sister,’ said Hansel, ‘I have a cunning plan that will get us home safely.’
The full moon shone brightly in the night’s sky.
‘Do you see that?’ said Hansel, pointing forward.
As the light hit the path in front of them the white pebbles—that Hansel had dropped
from his pockets along the journey—started to glitter and sparkle in the darkness.

‘Brilliant!’ cried Gretel, ‘you laid the pebbles to guide us home. Oh what a very clever
brother you are.’
Hansel smiled.
They walked hand-in-hand all night and reached home just before dawn the following
day. Their stepmother was utterly furious to see that they had returned home safely.
Her scheming plan had failed.

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Hansel And Gretel Story- Chapter 5

The following year times had not improved.
In fact—just as the stepmother had predicted—their situation had worsened greatly. It
was now so desperate that only half a loaf of bread remained in the larder.
‘Something must be done,’ the stepmother thought to herself.
That evening, after everyone else was in bed, the stepmother stayed up to create her
wicked plan.
‘I’ve got it!’ she said, ‘I’ll take them even deeper into the woods this time—I know just
the place. They will surely never find their way home. A wolf will eat them both up and I
will be able to live in peace and plenty.’

Hansel and Gretel’s empty, rumbling tummies had kept them awake once more. Again,
they had heard everything. As before, Hansel waited until the stepmother had gone to
bed and then made his way to the front door.
But, to his horror the door was locked. His heart sank as he returned to bed without a
single pebble in his pocket.

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Hansel And Gretel Story- Chapter 6

Early the next morning the stepmother burst into their bedroom, yanked the children out
of bed shouting, ‘get dressed at once, you lazy stinking little slugs!’
Once they were dressed she gave them a small piece of bread each—from the single
remaining loaf—and they set off into the woods.
Hansel put his piece of bread in his pocket.
As they walked, he stopped every so often, broke off a few crumbs and dropped them
on the ground—just as he had done with the pebbles.

They carried on walking for some time.
As they walked, the path narrowed. The trees became thick. Very thick. So dense, in
fact, that they could barely see a few yards ahead. At this point, one thing was for sure.
Hansel and Gretel had never been this deep into the woods before—and they were
starting to feel very frightened indeed.
Soon they reached a small clearing.
‘Come children,’ said the stepmother. ‘Gather some sticks and I will make us a fire. It is
getting very cold and you need some rest.’
Hansel and Gretel did as they were told and their stepmother made the fire.
‘Rest here dear children’ she said, with a sinister smile, ‘while I go and help your father.
Eat your bread, then lie down and sleep for a while and we will return in the evening
when our work is finished.’ Before Hansel or Gretel could reply, she was gone.

17

Hansel And Gretel Story- Chapter 7

They sat for a while.
Gretel then took out her bread and offered half of it to Hansel.
‘You have half, brother,’ she said, ‘as you have scattered yours along the path to guide
us home.’
They ate the bread together in front of the roaring fire, then slept. Many hours passed.
Darkness fell. And still no one came to fetch them.
Suddenly, Gretel awoke.
‘It is so dark, Hansel,’ she said, ‘and I am so scared.’
‘Don’t be,’ said Hansel, ‘my trail of breadcrumbs will easily show us the way home. We
must just wait a little longer until the moon is bright and then we will set off.’
The moon came out.
And the path lit up.
But, to their horror, there were no breadcrumbs to be found. You see—unbeknown to
Hansel and Gretel—a little squirrel had been following behind them on their journey.
And no sooner had Hansel dropped a crumb than it was gobbled up by their clever,
bushy-tailed companion.
‘We’re doomed!’ cried Gretel.
‘There there, dear sister,’ said Hansel, placing his arm gently
around her. ‘I’m sure we’ll find our way without any crumbs,
’ he said, confidently.
Hansel may have sounded confident, but he really wasn’t. Not
one little bit. Truth be told, he was just as scared as Gretel
inside, but he managed to kept his fears hidden to protect his sister.

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Hansel And Gretel Story- Chapter 8

They set out into the darkness.
Two nights and two days passed, but they failed to make it out of the wood. Now
disorientated and weary from lack of food, they found themselves heading deeper and
deeper into the heart of the forest.
‘I see something,’ cried Gretel, with delight.
‘It’s a house,’ replied Hansel.

Suddenly buoyed by a new burst of energy, then ran towards the house as quickly as
their legs would carry them. As they approached, Gretel let out a yelp of excitement.
For what stood before them was no ordinary house.
Quite the contrary.
It was a house built entirely of gingerbread and decorated ornately with the finest cakes,
tarts and barley-sugars a child could imagine.
‘Let us stop here and feast for a while,’ mumbled Hansel—through a mouthful of
gingerbread that he had just extracted from a downstairs windowsill.
Gretel looked up briefly.

19

She nodded and then carried on gouging great fistfuls of cake out of the doormat upon
which she sat.

Suddenly, a whispering voice came from behind the front door.

20

Hansel And Gretel Story- Chapter 9

‘Who is eating my house?’ it said, quietly.
‘The wind, the wind, it’s only the wind,’ replied Hansel.
The door creaked, then opened and out hobbled an old woman. She was ever so
frightful to look at. Her skin glowed with a green tinge. Her nose hooked at the tip and
her whole face was covered in enormous worts.
The children were frozen in fear.
‘Dear children, come close as my eyesight is very weak,’ spluttered the old lady, ‘You
are far too young to be out here in this dangerous wood all alone. Come in and stay
with me for a while.’

As she spoke she seized the children by the scruff of the neck, marched them inside,
and sat them at the kitchen table.

21

Hansel And Gretel Story- Chapter 10

Before them lay a gigantic mound of sandwiches, buttered crumpets, steaming
pancakes, fruit and nuts.
‘What are you waiting for?’ said the old lady, ‘help yourself!’
So they did.

Once their bellies were full to bursting, Hansel and Gretel were shown to a beautiful
room with two little beds surrounded by white curtains. They lay down, shut their eyes
and were asleep moments after their heads hit the soft, silken pillows.
This was, however, a nasty ruse. A trick. A scheming ploy by the beastly old lady.
She was not, in fact, a lady at all. She was the wickedest of all witches in the wood and
she had built her house out of gingerbread as bait to snare unsuspecting children.
And once she had them under her power she would feed them until they got very fat,
then boil them alive and eat them for her supper—on a special day that she liked to
call feast day!

22

Hansel And Gretel Story- Chapter 11

Early the next morning, the witch entered the children’s bedroom and stood over them
menacingly as they slept.
‘Ah, yes,’ she muttered to herself as she lent over the bed and sniffed at Hansel’s face.
‘This one will do very nicely for feast day. Yes. Just a bit of fattening up and he will
taste delicious.’
The witch could not see Hansel’s face for her eyesight was much too weak, but with her
terrific sense of smell knew instantly that he was a boy—and boy was her favourite.
She adored the ‘extra meaty’ taste of their flesh.

23

Hansel And Gretel Story- Chapter 12

After this, the witch went back to the bedroom and cried,
‘Wake up, you wretched, lazy girl. You must go immediately to the well and get me
some water.
I must boil up some delicious treats for your brother,
so I can fatten him up before feast day!’
‘Hansel!’ cried Gretel, ‘Where are you?’

‘He can’t hear you,’ replied the witch, ‘I’ve put him in a cage behind the house. Now,
run along and fetch me that water.’
From then on, Hansel was fed a feast at every mealtime, while Gretel—who had now
become the witches servant girl—had to survive on dry crusts and scraps.

24

Hansel And Gretel Story- Chapter 13

Every morning the witch would go to the cage and say,
‘Hansel, stick out your finger, so that I may test if you are fat enough for eating.’
But Hansel, was too clever for that.
He knew the witch had very poor eyesight, so he kept an old chicken bone from one of
his meals and, each day, he would stick this through the bars instead.

Many weeks passed and the witch grew impatient. She had waited long enough for her
feast day and she could wait no longer.

25

Hansel And Gretel Story- Chapter 14

‘The time has come,’ she said, ‘I will have my feast today. Go, Gretel, and fetch me a
pale of water—enough to fill a whole pot to boil your brother!’
Gretel howled as tears rolled down her pale face.
‘Your sobbing is useless little girl,’ said the witch, ‘there is not a single soul that can
hear you out here in the deepest woods.’
Alas, the witch was right and, reluctantly, Gretel obeyed.
When Gretel returned from the well, the witch was busy kneading dough. She turned to
Gretel and said, ‘I have heated the oven. We will bake some bread while I wait for the
pot to boil. Creep inside the oven, my dear, and see if it is hot enough.’
But Gretel was wise to this request. She knew precisely why the witch wanted her to
creep inside the oven—to bake her alive and gobble her up. So Gretel replied,
‘But witch, I don’t know how to open the door.’
The witch opened the oven door.
‘But witch, I can’t possibly fit through that narrow door.’
The witch placed her head inside the oven door to show Gretel how it should be done.
But, in that moment, Gretel pounced. She leapt forward, shoving the witch with all her
might into the flaming oven. Then she quickly slammed the door and bolted it shut,
baking the witch alive inside.

26

Hansel And Gretel Story- Chapter 15

Gretel grabbed the keys, rushed to the cage and opened the door shouting;
‘Hansel, Hansel, we are free. The wicked old witch is dead!’
Hansel flew like a bird from the cage and, as the door opened, the children ran into
each other’s arms and held each other for a few seconds.

‘Come on,’ said Hansel, ‘let’s get out of here!’
‘Wait,’ said Gretel, ‘I’ve seen a chest in the witch’s bedroom which is full of the most
magnificent jewels.’
The children filled their pockets with as many jewels as they could carry and set off into
the enchanted wood.
They walked for days and then, as if by magic, their surroundings became clear to them
once more and they returned home safely.
Their father wept great tears of joy to see his children safe and well.

27

Hansel said, ‘Look, father!’ taking enormous handfuls of shining gemstones from his
pockets and placing them on the table, ‘We’re rich now!’

Gretel then looked very slowly and cautiously around the room and finally said, ‘Where
is wicked stepmama?’
To which the father replied, ‘she left us my darling children—and is never coming back.’
From that moment on, all of their worries disappeared and they went on to live a happy
and prosperous life together. And—as the story goes—Hansel and Gretel have still not
touched another piece of candy.

---------- End. ----------

References
https://www.storyberries.com/category/fairy-tales/english-fairy-tales/
https://sooperbooks.com/bedtime-stories/