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The Kettle
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Once upon a time there was a temple called Morinji on the
island of Japan. The abbot of this temple was quite fond of
tea and took great delight in making it every day. One day
the abbot bought a new tea kettle, one that was so beautiful
and well-shaped that he could not wait to return to the
temple and use it. "It is certainly a fine kettle," he said to
himself as he turned it around in his hands.
"I must quickly invite some guests over and share its beauty."He first prepared
a nice hot fire and then filled the lovely kettle with
water. But just as he set it on the dancing flames, the kettle
cried out "Too hot! Too hot!" and promptly jumped off of the
hearth. The poor abbot was frightened out of his wits. He
looked at the strange pot, which was now sitting quietly on
the floor."Oh, it is bewitched," he cried, but the kettle did
not move again.The abbot was certain that he no longer wanted the unusual pot, but
wasn't sure how to get rid of it.Soon he thought that perhaps he should sell it to
someone else, such as a rag peddler, who might in turn sell it and make some profit.
It was, after all, still a lovely kettle. When the abbot had found a suitable peddler
and offered the item for sale, the peddler was perplexed. "Your reverence," he
asked, "why would you want to sell such a beautiful kettle?""It is a pity," replied the abbot, "but I have
bought a better kettle and no longer have need for this
one."The peddler gladly paid for the kettle and took it
home, quite impressed at his good fortune in finding such a
lovely treasure.
That night, the peddler was roused from his
deep slumber by a peculiar scratching noise. He quickly lit
the lamp near his bed and was astonished by what he saw.There, on the floor, moving about was the very same
kettle he had purchased that day. But it was no longer quite the
same. It had sprouted four furry legs, a big bushy tail, and
now had a striped furry head with short white whiskers!"What marvel is this?" he cried out. "Are you the
very same kettle I purchased earlier today?" The little kettle
turned to face him and its little head nodded. "That I am," it
said with a little bow. "I am called the Tea Kettle of Good
Luck, though I am actually a badger in disguise." "Then
you are not a real kettle at all?" asked the peddler. "No,"
replied the badger, "I am much nicer. I bring good luck to
whomever is my owner.""But you must take care of me properly," continued the badger. "For I do not like to be
filled with water and put on the fire." "Oh, no," replied the
peddler. "I would never do such a thing!" "I also don't care
to be shut in a box. For I would soon suffocate and that
would be the end of me."
The peddler nodded agreement.
He would not do that either.The peddler thought for a moment. "I am a poor man, but I will gladly share
what I have with you." "You are a generous person," said the
badger, smiling. "Allow me to return your gratitude in this
way... you will give up peddling and start a public show with
me as your performer. I can do many acrobatic feats and
know many entertaining dances." And at that, the little
badger began to do an amusing dance that set the man to
laughing. The peddler suddenly grew very excited. Such an
unusual performer as this would be sure to bring in many
viewers.And so the peddler constructed his stage and managed
to find just enough money to hire some musicians. He painted the sign for the outside door and then, after putting
on his ceremonial robe, began to announce his performance.
"I have here a most unusual thing: a tea kettle with arms and legs that can dance about like no one else.
Hurry and see for yourself, for you may never have another chance to experience such a
remarkable display!" The people nearby grew curious and one
by one decided to enter. When the performance began they were immediately glad they had come
in. The little tea kettle put on an amazing series of acrobatics and comical skits. He dazzled them with
tricks and leaps, and entertained them with silly dances. Soon there wasn't a face in the house that
was not smiling and pointing in wonder. And so it went for many weeks, with the peddler announcing
his companion and the badger bringing happiness to the
audiences so that they shouted things like "Marvelous!"
and "Astounding!" The news of the amazing kettle spread
far and wide and the shows were always packed with spectators.
The once poor man had grown quite wealthy, and, not being a greedy man, turned to his friend and said, "You
have certainly earned your name of `Tea Kettle of Good
Luck,' for I am rich beyond my dreams. But I should think
that you would be growing tired of so many performances. I
would like to stop them with your permission. I certainly
have all that I could ask for." "As you wish," smiled the
badger as he was a very agreeable sort of fellow. The next
day the peddler went to the Morinji Monastary and asked
for an audience with the abbot. He told the abbot all of the
wonderful history of the tea kettle and how it truly was good
luck. He also gave the monastary half of his money saying,
"It is really to you that I owe this fortune, for you sold me
the treasure to begin with. I have come to thank you."
Unwrapping the box he had brought with him, the peddler
brought out the kettle and set it before the abbot, bowing
deeply.The monks of the monastary saw what a special tea
kettle it really was and decided to honor it with appropriate
measures. They built a little shelf for the kettle with many
fine silks and golden treasures. After this we hear of no
more of the marvels but the tea kettle was kept ever after
at Morinji as its greatest treasure.
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