The Magic Kettle¹

Right in the middle of Japan, high in the mountain, an old man lived in his little house. He found in one corner of the room an old iron² kettle. He decided³ to use it to boil water. To his surprise, the kettle became a strange creature when it was on the fire. And then it changed backinto a kettle again. The old man decided to sell it. So a merchant came and went away with the kettle.

At night, the merchant was awakened⁴ by a big noise. The kettle became a strange creature again and was running about in his room. But early next morning found the kettle still quietly lying in the corner. One of his neighbors, after hearing what he had seen in the night, advised him to travel in the country to display it.

Now the kettle could be asked to change and perform by the merchant. The performances drew big audiences, and the merchant earned a lot of money. But he was an honest man. Though he was rich now, he thought that he owed⁵ some of his wealth to the man from whom he had bought the kettle.

One morning, he put a hundred gold pieces into the kettle and, hanging it on his arm, he returned to the old man who had sold it to him. The old man thanked the merchant，saying that few people would have been so honest.

The kettle brought them both luck. Everything went well with them till they died.

注释

l·right adv· 正好，恰好

2·to his surprise 使他惊奇的是

3·run about 四处跑动

4·drew a big audience 吸引了一大批观众

5·owe...to 归功于

点评 这个商人生财有道，但他饮水思源，不忘自己曾受人之惠。正如老人所说，很少有人会像他这样诚实。