When the tinker saw the kettle,
he offered twenty copper coins for it, and the priest was only too
glad to close the bargain and be rid of his troublesome piece of
furniture. But the tinker trudged off home with his pack and his new
purchase. That night, as he lay asleep, he heard a strange noise near
his pillow; so he peered out from under the bedclothes, and there he
saw the kettle that he had bought in the temple covered with fur, and
walking about on four legs. The tinker started up in a fright to see
what it could all mean, when all of a sudden the kettle resumed its
former shape. This happened over and over again, until at last the
tinker showed the teakettle to a friend of his, who said: "This is
certainly an accomplished and lucky teakettle. You should take it
about as a show, with songs and accompaniments of musical instruments,
and make it dance and walk on the tight rope."
The tinker, thinking this good advice, made arrangements with
a showman, and set up an exhibition. The noise of the kettle's
performances soon spread abroad, until even the Princes of the land
sent to order the tinker to come to them; and he grew rich beyond all
his expectations. Even the Princesses, too, and the great ladies of
the court, took great delight in the dancing kettle, so that no sooner
had it shown its tricks in one place than it was time for them to keep
some other engagement.
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