The Magic Teakettle

There was once an old priest who was very fond of drinking tea. He always made the tea himself and was very fussy about the utensils he used. One day in an old secondhand shop he discovered a beautiful iron kettle used for boiling water for tea. It was a very old and rusty kettle, but the old priest could see its beauty beneath the rust. So he bought it and took it back to his temple. He polished the kettle until all the rust was gone, and then he called together his two young pupils, who lived with him in the temple.

"Just look at what a fine kettle I bought today," he said to them. "Now I'll boil some water with it and make us all some delicious tea."

So he put the kettle over a charcoal fire, and they all sat around waiting for the water to boil. The kettle started getting hotter and hotter, and then suddenly a very strange thing happened—the kettle grew the head of a badger, and a bushy badger tail, and four little badger feet!

"Ouch! It's hot!" cried the kettle. "I'm burning, I'm burning!" And with these words the kettle jumped off the fire and began running around the room on its badger feet.

The old priest was very surprised, but he didn't want to lose his kettle. "Quick! Quick!" he said to his two pupils, "Don't let it get away! Catch it!"

One pupil grabbed a broom and the other a pair of fire tongs. And away the two of them went, chasing after the kettle. When they finally caught it, the badger head and the bushy badger tail and the four little badger feet disappeared, and it became an ordinary kettle again.

"This is most strange," said the old priest. "This must be a bewitched teakettle! Now, we don't want anything like this around the temple. We must get rid of it."

Just then a junk dealer came by the temple. The old priest took the teakettle out to him and said, "Here's an old iron kettle I'd like to sell, Mr Junkman. Just give me whatever you think it's worth."

The junk dealer weighed the kettle with his scale and then bought it from the old priest for a very low price. He went home whistling, pleased at having found such a bargain.

That night the junk dealer went to sleep and all the house was very quiet. Suddenly a voice called out, "Mr Junkman! Oh, Mr Junkman!"

The junk dealer opened his eyes. "Who's that calling me?" he said, lighting a lamp.

And there he saw the kettle, standing by his pillow, with a badger's head, and a bushy badger tail, and four little badger feet. The junk dealer said with surprise, "Aren't you the kettle I bought from the old priest today?"

"Yes, it's me," said the kettle. "But I'm not an ordinary kettle. I'm really a badger in disguise and my name is Bumbuku, which means 'good luck.' That old priest put me over a fire and burned me, so I ran away from him. But if you treat me kindly and feed me well and never put me over a fire, I'll stay with you and help you make your fortune."

"Why, this is very strange," said the junk dealer. "How can you help me make my fortune?"

"I can do all sorts of wonderful tricks," said the kettle, waving his bushy badger tail. "All you have to do is to put me in a show and sell tickets to the people who will come to see me perform."

The junk dealer thought this was a splendid idea. The very next day he built a little theater in his yard and put up a sign that said, "Bumbuku, The Magic Teakettle of Good Luck, and His Extraordinary Tricks!"

Every day more and more people came to see Bumbuku. The junk dealer would sell tickets and when the theater was full he would go inside and start beating a big drum. Bumbuku would come out and dance and do all sorts of acrobatics. The trick that pleased people most was when Bumbuku walked across a tightrope carrying a paper parasol in one hand and a fan in the other. People found this most wonderful and would cheer and cheer for Bumbuku. And after every show the junk dealer would give Bumbuku delicious rice cakes to eat.

The junk dealer sold so many tickets that he finally became a rich man. One day he said to Bumbuku, "You must be very tired of doing these tricks every day. I have all the money I need. Why don't I take you back to the temple, where you will be able to live quietly?"

"Well," said Bumbuku, "I am getting a little tired and wouldn't mind spending my time quietly in a temple. But that old priest might put me on the fire again, and he might never give me delicious rice cakes."

"Just leave everything to me," said the junk dealer.

The next morning, the junk dealer took Bumbuku back to the temple. There he explained to the old priest everything that had happened and told him about the good fortune that Bumbuku had brought. When he had finished, the junk dealer asked, "So will you please let Bumbuku live here quietly, always feeding him rice cakes and never putting him over the fire?"

"Indeed I will," said the old priest. "He shall have the place of honor in our treasure house. Bumbuku is truly a magic kettle of good luck, and I'd never have put him over the fire if I'd known!"

So the old priest called for his two pupils and together they placed Bumbuku on a wooden stand. Then they carried Bumbuku to the temple treasure house and placed some rice cakes beside him.

It is said that Bumbuku is still there in the treasure house of the temple today, where he is very happy. He is given delicious rice cakes to eat every day, and never, ever put over a fire. He is peaceful and happy.