"The Sweet Porridge.” More tales from Grimm, Brothers Grimm, Wanda Gág, Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2006, pp. 43-46.
Tale Summary
Once there was a poor girl who lived with her mother, and they had hardly enough to eat. After they completely ran out of food, the girl went searching in the woods for nuts and berries, but came across an old woman. She handed the girl a kettle and told her that if she said the words “Cook, little kettle, cook,” it would make sweet porridge for her and her mother, and when they were satisfied with the amount she should say “stop, little kettle, stop”. The two were never hungry from then on, but one day while her daughter was away for a few hours, the mother asked for the kettle to begin cooking, but could not remember the words to stop it. The kettle cooked and cooked and cooked and flooded the cottage before pouring out of the windows and into the village. People ran from their homes to escape the flood of porridge, which began to flood the countryside. The girl returned home and cried “stop, little kettle, stop!” and it obeyed. The village people had to eat their way through the porridge to return home.
Fairy Tale Title
The Sweet Porridge
Fairy Tale Author(s)/Editor(s)
Brothers Grimm, Wanda Gág
Fairy Tale Illustrator(s)
Wanda Gág
Common Tale Type
The Magic Mill
Tale Classification
ATU 565
Page Range of Tale
pp. 43-46
Full Citation of Tale
"The Sweet Porridge.” More tales from Grimm, Brothers Grimm, Wanda Gág, Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2006, pp. 43-46.
Original Source of the Tale
The Brothers Grimm
Tale Notes
This tale is the same type as the popular children's story "Strega nona"
Research and Curation
Kaeli Waggener, 2024
Book Title
More tales from Grimm
Book Author/Editor(s)
Brothers Grimm, Wanda Gág
Illustrator(s)
Wanda Gág
Publisher
University of Minnesota Press
Date Published
2006
Decade Published
2000-2006
Publisher City
Minneapolis
Publisher Country
United States
Language
English
Rights
Copyright not evaluated
Digital Copy
Available at the Internet Archive
Book Notes
Written and illustrated by celebrated children's author/illustrator Wanda Gág and originally published in 1947.