The Sweet Porridge

There was a poor but pious little girl who lived alone with her mother. One day they no longer had anything to eat. So the little girl went into the forest, and there she met an old woman. The old woman knew of the little girl's sorrow, and presented her with a little pot, which when she said, "Little pot, cook," would cook good, sweet millet porridge. Then when she said, " Little pot, stop," the little pot stopped cooking.

The girl took the pot home to her mother, and now they were freed from their poverty and hunger. They were able to ate sweet porridge as often as they want. One day the little girl had gone out. At home, her mother said to the little pot, "Little pot, cook." The little pot did cook, and she ate until she was full. Then, she wanted the pot to stop cooking, but did not know the word. So the little pot 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.

It was terrible, and no one knew how to stop it. At last when only one single house remained, the little girl came home and just said, "Little pot, stop," and the little pot stopped cooking. Anyone who wished to return to the town that day had to eat his way back.

By : Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm

Source : http://www.pitt.edu/~dash/grimm103.html