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Show Fairy Tal Hilary GraharcO M Bonner l jh IN THE KITCHEN "I'm not angry," said the kettle, "but I'm hurt. My poor porcelain feelings are most dreadfully hurt." "Tell us all about it," said the frying fry-ing pan. "We're interested to know, and it will make you feel better." "Yes," said the water in the kettle, "tell your kitchen friends about it. "They're used to being dropped and burnt and they don't mind much of anything. "Tell them this story and they'll feel sorry for you, and will also cheer you up. "You're becoming entirely too unhappy un-happy about this whole affair." "Wouldn't you be unhappy if you had been accused of something that wasn't your fault?" "I'm really to be sympathized with more than you. I was the guilty one." said the water, "although I am not really to blame." "Please, please," called the frying pan. "Yes," said the pancake turner, "don't talk among yourselves any more. "Let us hear what It is all about' "Go on with your story," said the water in the kettle. "The kitchen friends are weary of these delays." "That's right, we are," agreed the frying pan. "All right," said the kettle, "I'll tell you all about what has hurt my feelings, feel-ings, and I'm sure you will all agree with me that your feelings would be hurt too If you were in my place." "Wre've often been in your place," said the frying pan. "We go on the stove too when the meals are being cooked. "You've no special place. We're all shoved around wherever the cook wants to put us. So there !" "I mean," said the kettle sadly, "that if you had been In my place regarding "Tried to Move Mc." my feelings and not my position on the stove." "Oh, our feelings have been hurt too," said the frying pan, and the pancake pan-cake turner agreed. "We're used to having all sorts of things happen to us." "Let the kettle tell the story," said the water. "Are you cool and calm now?" asked the kettle of the water. "Quite cool," said the water. "But you musn't blame me because I couldn't help being so hot. It was the fault of the fire. "It made me get so warm and excited ex-cited that I bubbled over." "There ! Now you're blaming me," said the fire. "I couldn't help it if they put sticks and coal and paper in me. They built me up so I would go." "It's not our fault," said the sticks and coal and paper. "Without the match we couldn't have gone." "Mean of you to blame our family," said another match. "The match couldn't have been lighted if the cook had not struck it on the side of the box." "We still don't know what the trouble trou-ble is," said the frying pan. "Stop abusing each other and tell us." "A child," said the kettle, "tried to move me, and in so doing some of the boiling water went over her." "I wasn't quite boiling," said the water. "Very nearly, however." "Don't interrupt," said the kettle. "You have caused me enough trouble. "Well, the child was quite badly burned. It hurt awfully, for burns always al-ways do." "Yes," said the butter, from the Ice box in the corner of the kitchen, "she came to me to be comforted. Butter is excellent for burns." "But she blamed me for burning her," said the kettle. "She said that 'the horrid old kettle' had bunied her, and I wasn't to blame at all." And the water, lire, paper, sticks, coal and match each said in turn they were not to blame but only the cook for starting the fire in the first place! |