English Original
There was a poor but good little girl who lived alone with her mother, and they no longer had anything to eat. So the child went into the forest, and there an aged woman met her who was aware of her sorrow, and presented her with a little pot. When she said, "Cook, little pot, cook," it would cook good, sweet porridge, and when she said, "Stop, little pot," it ceased to cook.
The girl took the pot home to her mother, and now they were freed from their poverty and hunger, and ate sweet porridge as often as they chose. Once, when the girl had gone out, her mother said, "Cook, little pot, cook." And it did cook and she ate till she was satisfied. Then she wanted the pot to stop cooking, but did not know the word.
So it went on cooking and the porridge rose over the edge, and still it cooked on until the kitchen and whole house were full, and then the next house, and then the whole street, just as if it wanted to satisfy the hunger of the whole world. There was the greatest distress, but no one knew how to stop it. At last, when only one single house remained, the child came home and just said, "Stop, little pot." It stopped and gave up cooking, and whosoever wished to return to the town had to eat his way back.
中文翻译
从前，有一个贫穷但善良的小女孩，她和母亲相依为命，家里已经没有东西可吃了。于是，孩子走进森林，在那里遇到了一位知晓她困境的老妇人。老妇人送给她一口小锅。当她说“煮吧，小锅，煮吧”，它就会煮出美味香甜的粥；当她说“停吧，小锅”，它就会停止烹饪。
女孩把锅带回家给母亲，从此她们摆脱了贫困和饥饿，可以随心所欲地吃甜粥。有一次，女孩出门了，她的母亲说：“煮吧，小锅，煮吧。”锅便开始煮粥，她吃饱了，想让锅停下来，却不知道那个词。
于是锅继续煮着，粥漫过了锅沿，不停地煮啊煮，直到厨房和整座房子都满了，接着是隔壁的房子，然后是整条街，仿佛要满足全世界的饥饿。人们陷入了巨大的困境，却没人知道如何让它停下。最后，当只剩下一栋房子没被粥淹没时，孩子回家了，她只说了一句：“停吧，小锅。”锅便停下来，不再煮了。而任何想回镇上的人，都不得不一路吃回去。