"Porridge Pot" is one of the tales of German writers, linguists and collectors of folklore brothers Wilhelm and Jacob Grimm. This article contains a brief retelling of this wonderful story, a few lines for the reader's diary, as well as its folklore origins.
In Russia, the fairy tale about a pot of porridge was published by A. I. Vvedensky, and the most famous illustrations for the book were made by Russian Soviet artist Vladimir Konashevich.
Summary
One girl in the forest met an old woman and shared with her collected berries. As a thank you for the kindness, my grandmother gave her a magic pot that cooked tasty and sweet porridge (in the original version - millet). It was only necessary to say the magic words:
One, two, three, a pot, cook!
And when there is enough food:
One, two, three, do not cook anymore!
- and the pot ceased.
Once the girl’s mother, in her absence, decided to cook porridge, and forgot the magic phrase that stopped the pot. And there was so much porridge that she got out of the house and crawled along the streets of the city. It is good that the girl returned on time and prevented an environmental disaster.
For reading diary
This is a fairy tale about a pot of porridge of one good girl. But once, due to an oversight, the magic pot boiled so much porridge that it filled up the whole city, and the travelers had to eat their way. One should also be able to use magic items - this is the essence of the tale.
Another version of the interpretation of the plot: it is known that it basically relies on an ancient legend that true magic can belong only to a pure and immaculate soul. That is why the magic pot was received as a gift from the old fairy by a kind girl. And when the mother herself wanted to use the magic item, there were almost big troubles. Hence another moral: you cannot use someone else's magical gift, it belongs only to the one who received it.
Where did the tale come from
The Grimm brothers heard the tale of the porridge pot from the girl-storyteller Henrietta Dorothea Wild. She was the fifth daughter of a pharmacist who kept his pharmacy next door to brothers nearby. It was in the German city of Hesse. Subsequently, Dorothea became the wife of William.
The fairy tale about the Grimm brothers’s porridge pot in different versions could have other names - for example, “Pot, cook!”, “Sweet porridge”, “Magic pot”.
As for the source of the tale, it is known that famine was a very common occurrence in the Middle Ages. It was believed that only miracles could make everyone full. Hence, various fabulous stories about getting magic items that contribute to satiety and well-being. Such, for example, is an old Indian tale of a magic vessel from which you can get an endless amount of porridge. And all of it was cooked from one rice grain.
Porridge (most often in Europe it was just millet) was generally a common food of the lower layers of the population. It is known that in some lands of Germany, in particular in Thuringia, there was a custom during the week before Lent, that is, Pancake week, to eat this dish so that the whole subsequent year would be satisfying.
Above was a brief retelling of the fairy tale about the magic pot with the Grimm brothers porridge, as well as the interpretation and history of this work.