Sweet Porridge
A magic pot cooks sweet millet porridge when told "Cook, little pot, cook"; when the stopping words are forgotten, the whole town is flooded with porridge.
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Once upon a time there was a poor, good-hearted girl who lived alone with her mother. There was nothing left for them to eat. One day the girl went into the forest and met an old woman there. The old woman already knew about the girl's trouble. She gave her a little pot: "If you say to this pot, 'Cook, little pot, cook,' it will cook good, sweet millet porridge. And if you say, 'Stop, little pot, stop,' it will stop cooking."
The girl took the pot home to her mother. Now they were free of poverty and hunger, and they ate sweet porridge whenever they liked. Every morning and every evening the pot bubbled away, and the house filled with the smell of cinnamon and honey.
One day, when the girl had gone out, her mother said, "Cook, little pot, cook." The pot began to cook, and the mother ate until she was full. Then she wanted the pot to stop, but she had forgotten the words! "That's enough," she said, but it didn't work. "All right now," she said, but it didn't work. The pot kept on cooking. The porridge spilled over the edge of the pot and filled the kitchen, and then the whole house. Then the house next door, and then the street, as if it wanted to feed the whole world.
The townspeople were in great trouble. Porridge was flowing through the streets and up to the doors of the houses. Nobody knew what to do. Just when the very last house in the town was about to fill up, the girl came home. All she said was: "Stop, little pot, stop!" At once the pot stopped and cooked no more.
That day, anyone who wanted to get back into town had to eat their way through the porridge to reach their front door. The children shrieked with delight and grabbed their spoons. Even the cats, dogs and birds had a feast. By evening everyone had eaten their fill, and nobody in the town was hungry.
The girl hugged her mother: "Mother dear, let's write the words on a piece of paper and hang it above the stove." And so they did. From then on the pot always cooked exactly the right amount. But now and then the children of the town knocked at the girl's door and asked: "Do you think you might forget the words again today?"
The tale ends here. Sleep well.
Sweet Porridge is a children's tale from Brothers Grimm, suitable for ages 3-8 and about 2 minutes long. Read it free on Masal Merkezi, play a lullaby or nature sound in the background, tap any word to see its Turkish meaning and save it to your favorites. For similar tales browse the Grimm Fairy Tales category.
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