Once upon a time, an unfortunate wise man lost his tea kettle. It simply stopped making tea one day, brewing instead some form of Very Berry Fruit Punch.
The wise man hated Very Berry Fruit Punch.
Luckily, he was able to procure a new tea tea kettle quickly enough, bought from the shifty fellow who hung out behind the knitting supplies store.
He brought it home, set it to boil, and was extremely frustrated to find that nothing happened. Quite angry, he threw the kettle against the wall.
And then something amazing happened.
The kettle grew legs and a tail, and suddenly the wise man found himself looking at a badger with the body of a tea kettle.
It growled and charged, and consequently, was the last thing the wise man ever saw.
Some time later, the wise man’s house was looted, and the tea kettle ended up back on the street. It was purchased shortly by a trouser repairman, who brought it home and was mystified when it failed to produce tea.
So, he put a few handfuls of berries in it, figuring it might at least serve as storage, and was thus surprised when it transformed into a badger with a kettle body and began to purr. Suddenly, the faint figure of what looked like a wise man appeared, and haltingly implored him to run from the creature as quickly as he could.
But it looked so friendly, so he gave it a treat and taught it tricks. Eventually, he and the creature began to perform at shows that charged no admission, but sold overly expensive hot dogs and lemonade. The ghostly wise man felt a little bitter about the way things had turned out, but he usually enjoyed the shows, nonetheless.
The End.
Source: The Wonderful Tea Kettle, Japanese folktale
P.S. Beatrix Cottonpants would like those of you not already familiar with The Wonderful Tea Kettle to note that the badger/kettle creature was not, in fact, her invention.
