The Magic Cooking Pot

Once upon a time, long, long ago in faraway China there lived a peasant. He lived in a simple cottage with his wife and his elderly father. Every day he went out into the fields, where he worked hard growing vegetables to sell on the market. They did not have much money and his wife frequently complained to him: “If only we didn’t have to look after your father, we would be better off. We all know he can’t work anymore!”

But the man objected: “If it weren’t for my father, we wouldn’t even have this roof over our heads! You can’t expect me to throw out my own father!”

One day, the man went out to the fields as he did every day, but he returned home much earlier than usual. “Look what I’ve found!” he said to his wife, and showed her an old cooking pot.

“Why are you so excited about an old cooking pot?” she asked. “Take it to market tomorrow and sell it. Mind you, I doubt anyone will even notice it! Meanwhile, I’ll cook some rice in it for our dinner.”

She tipped a meagre handful of rice into the pot and went to fetch some water. Imagine her surprise when she returned and saw that the rice in the pot had doubled! Now there was quite a generous heap in the bottom of the pot.

At once, she changed her mind. “The pot must be magic! Now I know what we’ll do. You’re going to sell rice at the market,” she decided. She took a little of the rice out of the pot and waited for the pot to double the rice again.

The man was delighted too, although his wife’s insatiability worried him a little…