The Elves’ Work Complaint and the Shoemaker

Once upon a time there was a shoemaker

Who lived with his wife in the town of Shoeville.

Their beloved shop located next to the baker

Lost business until new customers were nil.

What could be causing the lack?

Realizing a shoe shop opened down the street,

The cobbler labored to improve his designs.

Night and day he created until he was beat;

Blue, red, purple, heeled and flats, dozens of kinds

But nothing drew clients back.

Then the elves arrived looking for a new life.

They were the cunning shoemaker’s solution.

Not realizing or foreseeing future strife,

The elves sought employment in his institution

Hoping to bring business back.

Piles of fancy fabric and cobbling tools,

Rolling up their sleeves, the elves dove into work.

Hundreds of shoes, the shop was the crowning jewel

Of Shoeville, the land, and the cobblers’ network.

All moving up the fast-track.

Longer hours and worsening conditions,

The elves slaved away at night for their bosses.

Enough was enough. The higher commissions

Should mean better conditions not big losses.

All tools drop with a thwack.

If the boss refused to improve conditions,

Then the elves refused to work. Plan and simple.

The cobbler couldn’t believe these petitions.

How dare these elves cause such a drastic ripple!

With luck business will not lack…

Weeks pass and the customers dwindle to none.

How is the shoemaker to earn a living?

His workers refuse to work and claim they’re done!

The shop dying again, a nightmare reliving.

Does he push on or backtrack?

On the edge of closing his beloved shop, he

Addresses the elves demands. Compromising

And talking, the cobbler concedes to their plea.

Changes made, elves returned, sales began rising.

The store needed the elves’ knack.

Throughout the land, elves bravely followed their lead.

Unions grew and ensured a hospitable

Environment for all workers to succeed.

Decades later, these elves were the citable

Cause for a unionized track.