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在日本中部，高踞于山上，有一位老人住在一间小屋里。他在屋角里找到了一只旧铁壶，决定用它来烧水。令他惊奇的是，在火上烧时,铁壶变成了一样奇怪的小东西。然后它又变回到铁壶。老人决定卖掉它。一位商人买走了它。 晚上，商人被很大的响声吵醒。壶又变成了奇怪的小东西，而且在房间里跑来跑去。但第二天早晨，他发现壶仍旧静悄悄地躺在屋角里。商人的一位邻居听说了他晚上见到的情形，就建议他到全国各地去展览它。 后来，铁壶会在商人的要求下变幻和表演。演出吸引了大量观众，商人赚到了很多钱。但他是一个诚实的人。虽然富了，但他认为他的财富跟卖给他铁壶的人有关。 一天早晨，他放了一百块金币在壶里，将壶挂在胳臂上，回来见售出它的老人。老人感谢了商人，说很少有人如此诚实。 The Magic Kettle Right in the middle of Japan，high in the mountain，an old man lived in his little house. He decided to use it to boil water. To his surprise, the kettle became a strange creature when it was on fire. And then it changed back into 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 awakened by a big noise. The kettle became a strange creature again and was running about in his room. But early next morning he found the kettle still quietly lying in the comer. One of his neighbours, 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 owed 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. |
