“Good day,” said the stranger. “Good day,” answered the old man. “I have come a long way,” said the stranger, “and I am footsore and weary. May I come in and rest?” Yes, he might do that and welcome. The stranger came in and sat down in the most comfortable place. “I am hungry as well as weary.” “Alas,” cried the old man, “this is a poor house in which to seek for food.” The stranger looked all about him. “Is not that rice that I see?” he asked, pointing to the kettle. “Yes, it is rice, but my little dog and cat are hungry also, and not another morsel have we in the house beside that.” “Nevertheless, it is right that a man should be fed before dumb brutes,” said the stranger. “Give me at least a taste of the rice before you feed them.” The old man did not know how to refuse him. “Take some of it, then,” he said, “but leave a little for them, I beg of you.” At once the stranger dipped into the kettle and began to eat, and he ate so fast that before the old man could stop him, all the rice was gone from the kettle, to the very last grain. The old man was cut to the heart to think that his guest could have done this. Now his little dog and cat would have to go to bed hungry. All the same, he said nothing. He took up the empty kettle and was about to put it back on the shelf when the stranger said to him, “Fill the kettle with water and hang it over the fire again.” “Why should I do that?” asked the old man. “Water will not fill our stomachs or satisfy our hunger.” “Nevertheless, do as I bid you,” said the stranger. He spoke in such a way that the old man did not dare to disobey him. Muttering to himself, he filled the kettle with water and hung it over the fire. The stranger drew out a piece of something that looked like amber and threw it in the pot. At once the water began to boil, and as it did so it became filled with rice. And such rice! The grains were twice as big as usual, and from them arose a smell more delicious than anything the old man had ever smelled before in all his life. Filled with wonder and fear, he turned toward where the stranger had been sitting, but the guest was gone. He had disappeared, and only the little cat and dog were left in the room, waiting hungrily for their dinner. The old man lifted the kettle from the fire and began to serve out the rice. And now a still more wonderful thing happened. No matter how much was dipped out from the kettle, still it was always full. He could hardly believe his eyes. He dipped and dipped. Soon all the pots and kettles and bowls in the house were full of rice, and still the more he took out the more there was. “It is magic,” cried the old man. “It must be that the amber the stranger threw in the pot was a charm. If so, puss and my dog and I need never suffer hunger again.”