There is a childrens book about a little girl and her grandmother?

Question

The grandmother had a special pot or bowl that when she said a certain phrase it would make rice or pasta(can't remember which one, I think rice) then she would say another phrase when there was enough. One day when the grandmother lefto run some errands the little girl said the magic phrase to turn it on and because she didn't know that phrase to turn it off the whole town got filled with rice/pasta. Any clue of what the title to this book is?

Answer 1

from "For the Children's Hour"
by Carolyn S. Bailey and Clara M. Lewis, 1906

The Wonderful Porridge Pot
There was once a little girl who lived all alone with her mother, and they were so poor that they had nothing to eat. So the child went out in the world to try and find some food for her mother. As she went along, she met a very old woman, and the old woman gave her a little, iron porridge pot which she had been carrying under her apron.

"You must say to it: 'Little pot, boil,' " said the old woman, "and it will boil sweet porridge for you, and when you say to it: 'Little pot, stop,' then it will stop boiling."

So the child took the pot home to her mother, and she set it on the table, and said to it: "Little pot, boil." It set about boiling at once, and they had all the food they needed for a great many days. But one day when the little girl was gone out, the mother thought she would say: "Little pot, boil."

Well the porridge pot boiled and bubbled away until it was quite full, and then the mother wished it to stop boiling—but she had forgotten what to say. So the little porridge pot just kept right on boiling and bubbling and boiling, and spilling over, until the kitchen table was covered with porridge, and then the kitchen was full, and, next, the whole house was full.

The mother had to pick up her skirts and run for her life, and the porridge poured out the door, and down the road, and into other people's kitchens, enough to feed the whole town. And still no one was able to stop it.

At last there was only one house left in the whole town that was not full of porridge, and that was the house where the little girl had gone. When she saw the stream of porridge coming, and all the people running, she called out, loudly: "Little pot, stop!" And, of course, the little pot stopped boiling porridge at once; but all the people had to eat their way back to their houses again!

from For the Children's Hour
by Carolyn S. Bailey and Clara M. Lewis, 1906

(...but I think that this is a folk tale that has been published in different versions in many books for children over the years. It can be found in many versions, in many countries and many languages. I heard it in Sweden as a child. In Italy, maybe it was pasta or rice instead of porridge in the pot!)

Answer 2

Sweet Porridge is a folkloric German fairy tale recorded by the Brothers Grimm, as tale number 103 in Grimm's Fairy Tales, in the 19th century. It is Aarne-Thompson type 565, the magic mill.

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, which when she said, "Cook, little pot, cook," 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 on a time when the girl had gone out, her mother said, "Cook, little pot, cook." And it did cook and she ate till she was satisfied, and 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, and 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," and it stopped and gave up cooking, and whosoever wished to return to the town had to eat his way back.

Answer 3

strega nona. except that strega nona was some sort of healer, and it was her "apprentice" named anthony (I think) that tried to turn on the pot. Then he had to eat all the pasta as punishment. I don't know if that's the one you're looking for, but it's a good book.

Answer 4

Strega Nona
by Tomie dePaola

Answer 5

Nona Strega...?

Little Red Riding Hood is a good one too... But thats a bit violent really.

Answer 6

Little Red Riding Hood.