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Author
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Comment
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nate
Unregistered User
(5/7/06 6:06 am)
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Trying to identify/find a story
This was a story I read/heard when I was little and recently I've been trying to find it in some form and to learn more about it.
The story is about a poor potato farmer and his wife who find/are given a magic box. They end up putting some potatoes in it and learn that the box cannot be emptied. They take potatoes out but there are neverending potatoes still inside. So the farmer sells these neverending potatoes at the market and they aren't so poor anymore. The wife puts her hair ribbon in the box and now the box has a neverending supply of hair ribbons, which she sells at the market to make even more money. At some point they may have gotten greedy and put money straight into the box, I'm not sure. The story ends with the farmer's old father/grandfather dying and accidentally put inside the box.
Thats really all I can remember, specific-wise. I may have misremembered some of the details (for example, it may be a pot instead of a box), but I'm sure one may recognize the story from the gist of it. I've tried searching for it for a while now, but the keywords in the story don't really lead in the right directions, so I'd greatly appreciate if someone could help solve this mystery.
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Matt
Unregistered User
(5/9/06 8:41 pm)
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maybe
Maybe you dreamed it, or the person you heard it from made it up. I personally prefer the second one.
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Matt
Unregistered User
(5/9/06 8:48 pm)
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maybe
Maybe the person that told you the story made it up on the spot. when your little, you don't care if it is a just barely made up story, or a real story, just as long as they get a story.
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oooiooo
Registered User
(5/9/06 11:37 pm)
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Re: Trying to identify/find a story
The Chinese folktale Treasure Basin is quite alike your story. A poor couple lived in a shabby wealth god・s temple, they worked hard and worship the wealth god sincerely. One day the farmer had a special dream, he dreamed that while plowing the field he found a big earthen basin, and an old man came to him saying ：this is a treasure basin, if you put a grain of rice in it, soon the basin would be full of rice. If you use it in the right way, it would bring you the happiness. On the other hand, if you use it in the wrong way, it would ruin your whole family.； The dream did come true, they found the treasure basin in the field, but the wife didn・t allow her husband putting money in the basin, because she thought making money without efforts would eventually lead to the disaster to them. They then used the basin to produce flour, and made their living by selling noodle. Many years past, there came a serious drought and famine in the country, the kind couple used the basin to make incessant steamed roll supply for people lived there. Some people became curious about where the food came from, but after all no one discovered their secret. When the couple got old, the wife was terrible sick. She thought if her sons are too greedy to use the basin in the right way, the basin could bring misfortune to her family. Therefore, she wanted her husband to bury the basin underground, unfortunately, she was too weak to speak. Her husband misunderstood her sign language, and kept the basin with him. By accident, their sons knew the treasure basin・s secret. After quarreling, three sons decided to hold the treasure basin by turn. In the first night, the elder son brought it home, he and his wife busily made money as fast as he can, the silver coins gradually piled around his house and even the house was already full of money, the greedy couple still kept running the money-making procedure. Finally, the house was collapsed, the four walls were push down by the coins. The couple was buried under the coins and the house wreck. The noise arouse his father and other brothers attention, however, when they arrived in the elder son・s house, they found nothing but the wreck, both basin and the couple were gone. In this moment, the old father reminded the waning of his dream, ：if it is used improperly, it would ruin your family.；
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AliceCEB
Registered User
(5/10/06 7:06 am)
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Re: Trying to identify/find a story
This isn't your story, but I recall another story from my childhood that had a box that produced whatever you put in it. I believe the name of the story was "Pucette" (which translates as "little flea"). In it there were three sisters (?) who were given a box for a day each. Whatever they started they day doing with the box would continue for the rest of the day. The fist sister put in a hair ribbon and removed it, thereby getting nonstop hair ribbons all day. The second did something related to food, although I no longer remember what it was. The third sister, Pucette, decided to put a coin in the box and then take it out, so that she'd collect a large number of coins. However, as she was about to put the coin in, a flea landed on her. She shooed it off, it landed in the box (?) and then for the rest of the day she was bitten by a never ending number of fleas.
I do hope you find this story. I'm now curious about it too.
Best,
Alice
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Chris Peltier
Registered User
(5/14/06 3:24 pm)
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Re: Trying to identify/find a story
Howard Pyle's "Clever Peter and the Two Bottles" from his 1885 collection of fairytales, Pepper and Salt or Seasoning For Young Folk, strikes me as a variation of this theme.
In need of money, Peter is bid by his mother to sell the hen's eggs at market. On the way Peter encounters a mysterious stranger interested in striking a bargain for the eggs. He produces a magical bottle that contains two tiny men that will supply the owner anything his or her heart desires. Peter agrees, and returns home to his mother.
For a while Peter is content to redecorate his mother's home with all manner of beautiful and exquisite furnishings. At last he takes it into his mind that he lacks for a bride, and sets out to ask the king for his daughter's hand in marriage. The king hemms and haws, and Peter is asked to produce a basket full of precious stones, a bird made of pure silver, and finally a sword studded with rare gems.
All of this is done, but the king wheedles and begs until Peter finally reveals where he found all of these items. The king and the princess conspire and plot to steal the bottle while Peter sleeps. The next morning Peter is evicted from the castle.
Peter's mother tells him, "Never mind," and sends Peter back to market with another basket of eggs. Again he meets the mysterious stranger who offers to strike a bargain for a magic bottle. The gentleman informs Peter that when he wishes for the two little men to pop back into the bottle, he must say, "brikket-ligg".
Peter continues happily homeward, content with his bargain. Finally he tires, and uncorks the bottle with the intention of asking for a horse. This bottle is different from the first, for upon uncorking it, two little men pop out and proceed to beat Peter about the head and shoulders. Finally, Peter remembers the words "brikket-ligg" and the two little return to the bottle.
On the following morning, Peter returns to the castle to ask the king if he will let Peter marry the princess in exchange for another bottle. The king eagerly accepts the bottle, and he and his daughter quickly uncork it. The two little men beat the royal pair black and blue until they are willing to both return the first bottle and agree to the marriage.
I hope that this is of some use to you!
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