Hans' father is the least wealthy shoemaker in town, though he's good at his work. Hans has a good imagination; it helps that his town is a little on the fantastic side, with talking mice and cats, and the mysterious stranger, Uncle Oley, who comes by to have his shoes repaired and pays with a piece of red leather. The leather is well timed, since there's a contest to make red shoes for the princess to wear to the opera, and Hans' father couldn't afford the red leather. Oley tells Hans his jobs include polishing the stars weekly and acting as the sand man; he lets Hans help in the latter. The poor flower-seller next door to Hans is evicted, in large part because the Mayor/landlord's daughter wouldn't pay for the flowers she ordered. Her granddaughter, Elisa, is a good friend of Hans; he later sees her selling matches to pay for her grandmother's medicine and uses the money he earned for an opera ticket to buy all her matches instead.