Sweet Porridge
itEs waswar onceeinmal aein poorarmes piousfrommes girlMädchen, whodas livedlebte withmit herseiner motherMutter aloneallein, andund theysie hadhatten nothingnichts moremehr tozu eatessen. thenDa wentgieng thedas childKind outhinaus intoin theden forestWald, andund metbegegnete herihm thereda aneine oldalte womanFrau, whodie knewwußte herseinen miseryJammer alreadyschon andund gaveschenkte herihm aein little potTöpfchen, tozu whichdem she shouldsollt shees saysagen little pot„Töpfchen, cook!koche,“ thenso cookedkochte ites goodguten sweetsüßen millet porridgeHirsenbrei, andund whenwenn shees saidsagte little pot„Töpfchen, stop!steh,“ thenso ceasedhörte ites againwieder (stopped)auf tozu cookkochen. theDas girlMädchen broughtbrachte theden potTopf to herseiner motherMutter homeheim, andund nownun werewaren theysie of theirihrer povertyArmuth andund of theirihres hungerHungers freeledig andund ateaßen sweetsüßen porridgeBrei asso oftenoft theysie wantedwollten.
Once upon a time there was a poor, pious girl who lived alone with her mother, and they had nothing left to eat. So the child went out into the forest, and there an old woman met her who already knew her sorrow and gave her a little pot: she was to say to it “Little pot, cook,” and it would cook good sweet millet porridge; and when she said “Little pot, stop,” it stopped cooking again. The girl brought the pot home to her mother, and now they were free of their poverty and hunger and ate sweet porridge as often as they liked.
atAuf oneeine timeZeit hadwar thedas girlMädchen gone outausgegangen, thenda spokesprach thedie motherMutter little pot„Töpfchen, cook!koche,“ thenda cookskocht ites, andund shesie eatsißt herselfsich fullsatt; nownun wantswill shesie thatdaß thedas little potTöpfchen againwieder stopaufhören shouldsoll, butaber shesie knowsweiß thedas wordWort notnicht. soAlso cookskocht ites onfort, andund theder porridgeBrei risessteigt overüber theden rimRand outhinaus andund cookskocht everimmer onzu, thedie kitchenKüche andund thedas wholeganze houseHaus fullvoll, andund thedas secondzweite houseHaus andund thendann thedie streetStraße, as ifals it wantedwollts thedie wholeganze worldWelt fullsatt to makemachen, andund isist thedie greatestgrößte distressNoth, andund nokein personMensch knowsweiß himselfsich thereda tozu helphelfen.
One time when the girl had gone out, the mother said “Little pot, cook,” and it cooks, and she eats her fill; now she wants the little pot to stop again, but she does not know the word. So it cooks on, and the porridge rises over the rim and keeps on cooking, filling the kitchen and the whole house, then the second house and then the street, as if it meant to feed the whole world; and it is the greatest distress, and no one knows what to do.
at lastEndlich, whenwie onlynur stillnoch oneein singleeinziges houseHaus leftübrig isist, thenda comeskommt thedas childKind homeheim, andund saysspricht justnur little pot„Töpfchen, stop!steh,“ thenda stopssteht ites andund ceaseshört (stops)auf tozu cookkochen; andund whoeverwer againwieder intoin thedie townStadt wantedwollte, heder had tomußte his waysich eat throughdurchessen.
At last, when only a single house was left, the child comes home and just says “Little pot, stop” — and it stops and ceases cooking; and whoever wanted to get back into the town had to eat his way through.
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