On the edge of a fairy-tale village stood a beautiful building. It was painted in rainbow colors and decorated with pictures on all the walls. But these were no ordinary pictures. They were living pictures that moved on their own.
Anyone who looked at them discovered that each one told its own story. What was this magical house? It was a library. A library full of books, living stories and fairy tales.
Children from all over the village came here regularly. They borrowed books, leafed through them, looked at the pictures, and learned all sorts of wonderful things. But one morning something unusual happened.
When the librarian, Luna, wanted to open the library, she heard a tiny squeaky voice behind the door.
In the library’s silent light,
An elf plays with letters day and night.
“A goes last,” he says with glee,
“And B is sitting on a tree.”
Luna pressed her ear against the door and couldn’t understand what was happening in her library. She hadn’t opened it yet. No one should have been inside. She unlocked the door and looked inside. She didn’t see anyone. Yet the little voice continued. The books were rustling.
“It looks like the voice is coming from inside of a book.”, Luna realized. She quickly grabbed the moving book, opened it, and fell backwards in shock. A tiny little man was jumping across the pages, flipping the letters back and forth and singing as he did so.
“Hey, little one, who are you? And why are you moving the letters around in my books?” the librarian blurted out.
The little man jumped in surprise and squeaked, “I am a letter elf. I run between the pages of books and move letters around. That’s what I do.”
“But why do you do it?” asked Luna.
“Well, I don’t really know. I’ve always done it. I can’t read myself, so I mix up the letters and sentences so that reading doesn’t make sense to others and they can’t read either. If I can’t read, the others shouldn’t either. Plus, it’s fun,” the elf explained.
“That’s not fun. You shouldn’t do that. Books give children stories to dream about. They help them imagine new worlds. They make them smarter and help them when they’re sad. When you mix everything up, they lose all that. But you know what? We don’t have to keep it this way. You won’t rearrange the letters, but you’ll learn to read them. I’ll teach you. Then you’ll see how beautiful books are and what they can give you. We’ll meet here early every morning, and I’ll teach you to read,” said Luna the librarian determinedly.
At first, the elf didn’t want to. He wasn’t going to learn anything at his age! He wasn’t little or stupid, so why should he learn? In the end, however, he let the librarian persuade him. He was quite curious about what wonders books might hold. So he gave reading a chance.
It wasn’t easy at first. But the librarian had enough time and patience to teach the elf. After a while, the elf was reading on his own. And books? He fell in love with them!
Now, every morning when Luna enters the magical rainbow library, she hears a soft, squeaky voice. But she is no longer alarmed. She knows that it is the letter elf, who no longer mixes up letters or sentences, but reads them aloud with joy. He devours every word. He is glad that the librarian showed him the magic hidden inside books.