Question

Selection 1: The Elves and the Shoemaker
adapted from the Brothers Grimm

1 There was once a shoemaker who worked very hard but still could not earn enough to live on. Eventually, he had only enough leather left to make one pair of shoes.
2 The shoemaker cut out the leather, readying it for the next day, and went to bed. In the morning, he sat himself down to his work—when, to his great wonder, there stood the shoes upon the table, already made. The shoemaker did not know what to think.
3 That same day, a customer came in, and the shoes suited him so well that he willingly paid a higher price than usual for them. The poor shoemaker used the money to buy enough leather to make two more pairs. In the evening, he cut out his work and went to bed early, but when he got up in the morning, the work was done. This went on for some time. Before long, the shoemaker’s business was thriving, and he became affluent.
4 One evening, he said to his wife, “I’d like to sit up and watch tonight, so that we may see who it is that helps me.” The wife liked the idea, so they left a candle burning, hid in a corner of the room, and watched to see what would happen.
5 As soon as it was midnight, two little elves came in, sat upon the shoemaker’s bench, took up all the work that was cut out, and began to ply with their little fingers. On they went until the job was done, and then they rushed off.
6 The next day, the wife said to the shoemaker, “We ought to be thankful to them and do them a good turn if we can, so why don’t I make each of them a set of nice clothes and you make them a little pair of shoes?”
7 When all of the items were ready, the couple laid them on the table, in place of the work they used to leave out. The couple hid, and at about midnight, the elves came in, dancing and skipping before finally sitting down to do their work. When the elves saw the clothes and shoes laid out for them instead, they were delighted!
8 The elves dressed themselves and sprang about, as merry as could be, until they danced out the door.
9 The good couple never saw them again, but everything went well from that time on as long as they lived.
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Jacob Grimm and Wilhelm Grimm. “The Elves and the Shoemaker.” Translated by Margaret Hunt; 1884.
Which paragraph in Selection 1 most clearly establishes the conflict, or problem, in the story?
A. Paragraph 2; the conflict concerns the mystery of who is making the shoes.
B. Paragraph 3; the conflict concerns the reactions of the shoemaker’s customers.
C. Paragraph 7; the conflict concerns the quarrel between the shoemaker and the elves.
D. Paragraph 9; the conflict concerns the question of when the shoemaker’s luck will change.

Answer 1

A. Paragraph 2. It introduces the problem/mystery: the shoemaker finds the shoes already made and “did not know what to think,” which establishes the central question of who (or what) is making them.