kaana iskaafiyyun faqiirun laa yamliku illaa qiṭʿata jildin waaḥidatanA poor shoemaker owned only one piece of leather.
qaṣṣahaa fii al-masaa’i wanaamaHe cut it in the evening and went to sleep.
fii aṣ-ṣabaaḥi wajada ḥidhaa’an jamiilan jaahizanIn the morning he found a beautiful pair of shoes, ready!
baaʿahu bisiʿrin jayyidin waashtaraa jildan aktharaHe sold them for a good price and bought more leather.
takarrara dhaalika kulla laylatin ḥattaa ṣaara al-iskaafiyyu ghaniyyanThis repeated every night until the shoemaker became rich.
sahira huwa wazawjatuhu liyaʿrifaa as-sirra fara’ayaa qazamayni ṣaghiirayni bilaa thiyaabin yaʿmalaaniHe and his wife stayed up to find out the secret, and they saw two little elves without clothes at work.
ṣanaʿat lahumaa az-zawjatu thiyaaban daafi’atan waṣanaʿa al-iskaafiyyu ḥidhaa’an ṣaghiiranThe wife made them warm clothes, and the shoemaker made them small shoes.
fariḥa al-qazamaani waraqaṣaa thumma dhahabaa walam yaʿuudaaThe two elves were delighted and danced, then left and never came back.
al-maʿruufu laa yaḍiiʿuA good deed is never wasted.