 |
The Tea Kettle Story in English - Fairy Tales |
The Tea Kettle Story in English - Fairy Tales
long long ago there was a rich man who needed a tea kettle and wanted one that suited his rather sophisticated artistic taste for antiques one day as he was passing by a tinker shop he saw a beautiful albeit rather an old kettle lying in an innocuous corner of the little shop my man how much for that kettle why such an old one
sir, I have better ones in my shop, oh no this one is the one for my heart how much I want an old one it has to cost much lesser than the others the shopkeeper was only glad to get rid of the old kettle he let the rich man have it for just two rinse the rich man took the kettle back home and gave it to his servant to wash the servant took it to the little tank in the house and started giving the kettle a thorough scrub while he was doing so oh go easy on me man where is that sound coming from who is talking lo and behold the kettle sprouted four hairy legs with claws and a long bushy tail what evil is this
hi I am a tanooki you can think of me as a shape-shifting badger I and my kind live like different things I like to live like a kettle you mind being gentle with me the poor servant was petrified out of his wits I must be dreaming the tanuki followed the servant back to the rich man's house where is the kettle I got oh there
it is I must be dreaming where are you going and I wanted some tea too well I will have to make it myself so the man got his stove ready and picked up the kettle put water in it and kept it on the flames to boil suddenly he heard a sound oh ouch go easy on me man ouch is this fire the tanuki kettle sprouted its four legs its long tail and jumped off the stove scaring the wits out of the men what are you hi I am a tanooki you can think of me a shape-shifting badger I and my kind live like different things I like to live as a kettle you mind being gentle with me this is some kind of evil magic what do I do suddenly
they heard a sound all vessels give me your old vessels if you don't want me why don't you sell me to him the tanooki turned himself into an innocent hapless kettle the man grabbed the kettle and ran out with it hey my man I have an old kettle for you wow this is a neat one thank you just take it the peddler rather liked the kettle and gladly took it home at night he kept the kettle next to his bed so that he would be able to look at it when he woke up but as he was sleeping at night the tanooki became his own self and jumped off the table to explore its new home as it scurried on the floor jumped on the table and other vessels kept in the hut he created quite a ruckus that woke up the peddler what is all this hi I am a tanooki you can think of me as a shape-shifting badger I and my kind live like different things
I like to live like a kettle you mind being gentle with me or will you two scrub me and keep me on fire they kept you on fire yes oops that hurt oh it must have been terrible but that is what they usually do with a kettle you know they do I didn't know that please don't do that to me
please no I think I like you better like this than like a kettle friends so the tanooki and the peddler became really good friends they spent long hours talking joking with each other I wish I had more money I would have taken you and traveled
the world i have an idea what well you have me for a friend we are partners set up a stage and announce come one come all come see a kettle come to life come i shall perform such tricks that people will throng to our show you don't believe me i am sitting here talking to a kettle that can turn itself into a badger and calls itself a tanooki of course i believe you hey partner and so it came to be the peddler set up a ring called out to people come on come on come see a kettle come to life come some people came and saw the delightful tricks that the kettle played the word soon spread and more and more people started thronging to the shows the peddler had become famous all over the country and a few months later the duo performed before the king as well years passed and the once poor peddler had now become a rich man hey friend thank you i couldn't have asked for a better life as a tanooki now we have made more than enough money we won't have to work another day why don't we travel all over the world together what k no friend you can take me if you want but i will not be able to come
I don't understand what are you trying to say we Tanookies are strange creatures we can shapeshift only for a few years and then we turn into our objects forever no by this time tomorrow I will be gone I'm going to miss you my friend is there anything I can do for you when I become a kettle forever give me to the city temple I would love to be there serving all the hundreds who come there each day once I become a kettle the flames of the stoves will no longer torment me that was the last time the tanuki spoke it became a kettle forever true to his word the peddler took the kettle to the temple and offered it to the head monk
there and there it stands to this day the hapless kettle who once was a magical tanuki who made a poor peddler rich the peddler also gave away half his wealth to serve the poor and the needy of the city and dedicated his life to helping others just as the tanuki had once helped him and such is life everything lasts for only some time it is up to us whether we keep lamenting over what we lost or like the tanuki and the peddler make our lives even more meaningful by using what we have to help and serve the world