Sweet porridge
by Brothers Grimm
The Little Pot of Porridge
A little girl and her mama are hungry. They are very, very hungry. They have no food. The kitchen is empty. They are so sad. What will they eat?
One day, the girl walks into the forest. The trees are big and green. The sun shines. Birds sing in the trees. She walks and walks. Then she meets a kind old woman. The old woman smiles at her.
The old woman holds a little pot. "This pot is for you," she says. "Say these magic words." She says the words slowly. "Cook, little pot, cook!" The pot bubbles. Sweet porridge fills the pot! It smells so good. The girl claps her hands.
"You must know the stop words too." The old woman says them slowly. "Stop, little pot, stop!" The pot stops. "Say them back to me." The girl says, "Stop, little pot, stop!" The old woman smiles. "Good. Do not forget."
The girl runs home to Mama. "Look, Mama! A magic pot!" Mama looks at the pot. The girl says the magic words. "Cook, little pot, cook!" The pot bubbles. It makes sweet, hot porridge. They eat and eat. It is so yummy. Now they have food each day.
One day, the girl goes out to play.
Mama is hungry. She looks at the little pot. "Cook, little pot, cook!" she says. The pot bubbles. It makes sweet porridge. Mama eats and eats. But now she is full. She wants the pot to stop. "What are the words?" says Mama. She cannot think of them! "Oh no!" says Mama.
The porridge goes up and up. It fills the bowl. It fills the table. It fills the kitchen! "Oh no, oh no!" says Mama. It will not stop!
The porridge fills the house. It goes out the door. It fills the street. It fills the whole town! People look out. They see porridge! No one knows the magic words!
The little girl comes home. She sees porridge all around. "Oh my!" she says.
She says the magic words. She says them loud and clear. "Stop, little pot, stop!" The little pot stops. No more porridge. They are all so happy!
But there is porridge all around! In the streets. In the houses. On the roofs! They all eat and eat. They eat porridge for days and days.
Can you say the magic words?
Original Story
Sweet porridge A fairy tale by the Brothers Grimm There was a poor but good little girl who lived alone with her mother, and they no longer had anything to eat. So the child went into the forest, and there an aged woman met her who was aware of her sorrow, and presented her with a little pot, which when she said, "Cook, little pot, cook," would cook good, sweet porridge, and when she said, "Stop, little pot," it ceased to cook. The girl took the pot home to her mother, and now they were freed from their poverty and hunger, and ate sweet porridge as often as they chose. Once on a time when the girl had gone out, her mother said, "Cook, little pot, cook." And it did cook and she ate till she was satisfied, and then she wanted the pot to stop cooking, but did not know the word. So it went on cooking and the porridge rose over the edge, and still it cooked on until the kitchen and whole house were full, and then the next house, and then the whole street, just as if it wanted to satisfy the hunger of the whole world, and there was the greatest distress, but no one knew how to stop it. At last when only one single house remained, the child came home and just said, "Stop, little pot," and it stopped and gave up cooking, and whosoever wished to return to the town had to eat his way back. * * * * *
Moral of the Story
Knowledge and control are necessary to manage even the greatest blessings, lest they become a burden.
Characters
Little Girl ★ protagonist
Poor but good
Attire: Simple peasant dress, perhaps patched, wooden shoes
Kind, resourceful
Mother ◆ supporting
Thin, careworn
Attire: Worn peasant dress, apron
Dependent, easily overwhelmed
Aged Woman ◆ supporting
Wise and knowing
Attire: Simple, perhaps slightly magical, clothing
Generous, enigmatic
Little Pot ◆ supporting
Small, earthenware
Obedient, relentless
Locations
Edge of the Forest
A path at the edge of a forest.
Mood: Hopeful, mysterious
The girl receives the magic pot from the old woman.
Girl's Kitchen
A small kitchen, initially bare, but eventually overflowing with porridge.
Mood: Initially impoverished, then chaotic and overwhelming
The pot begins to overflow, filling the house with porridge.
Town Street
A street completely filled with sweet porridge.
Mood: Distressed, absurd, overwhelming
The porridge floods the entire town.
Story DNA
Moral
Knowledge and control are necessary to manage even the greatest blessings, lest they become a burden.
Plot Summary
A poor girl receives a magic pot from an old woman that cooks sweet porridge with a command and stops with another. She and her mother are saved from hunger. One day, the mother uses the pot but forgets the stop command, causing it to overflow and fill their house, street, and eventually the entire town with porridge. The girl returns just in time to speak the magic word, stopping the pot and leaving the townspeople to eat their way through the delicious, but overwhelming, flood.
Themes
Emotional Arc
suffering to relief to chaos to resolution
Writing Style
Narrative Elements
Cultural Context
Reflects a time when food scarcity was a real and pressing concern for many, making a pot that endlessly produces food a powerful wish fulfillment.
Plot Beats (11)
- A poor girl and her mother are starving.
- The girl goes into the forest and meets an old woman.
- The old woman gives the girl a magic pot that cooks porridge with a command and stops with another.
- The girl brings the pot home, and she and her mother are freed from hunger.
- One day, the girl leaves the house.
- Her mother uses the pot to cook porridge and eats until full.
- The mother forgets the command to stop the pot.
- The pot continues to cook, filling the kitchen, then the house, then the next house, and then the whole street with porridge.
- The town is in distress as porridge spreads uncontrollably.
- The girl returns home and says the magic word to stop the pot.
- The pot stops, and the townspeople must eat their way back through the porridge.
