PETER AND THE KINGS TEAPOT 
PETER AND THE KINGS TEAPOT
"Your a tinker" the lady shouted after the young boy disappearing through the crowded market place, munching the apple he had just taken from the ladies market stall.
"Peter, your a real tinker !"
This was said with a smile on her face, for she, like everybody else in the little village of Leapington, had a soft spot for Peter, the young boy who lived in the woods.
Only the previous summer, Peter had suddenly turned up in the village, nobody knew where he came from, or why he had chosen their village to live in.
Peter was one of those children who always have a smile on their face, and seem to bring brightness to any dull day. Not only that, but Peter could `mend things'.
It did not matter what it was, a toy, a clock, pots and pans, Peter would fix it, infact the children in Leapington had a song about Peter.
(Chorus:)
If it goes wrong, it won't take long
With a smile and a song he'll mend it
If your clock won't go, if your cock won't crow
If your glow worm won't glow get Peter
If your kettles got a hole, your gardens got a mole,
If your show has lost it's sole, get Peter
Chorus
If your feeling rather sick, if your back has got a rick,
If your watch it doesn't tick, get Peter
Your cookings gone all flat, there's a hole in your hat,
Or you just can't find your cat get Peter
Chorus
The children used to make up different rhymes about what Peter could do, and though lots of them were not true, Peter did have the knack of being able to fix things.
Peter lived in an old blacksmiths cottage on a little hill, in the middle of the forest. The land around the little cottage was overcrowded with old bits of metal, horse shoes and broken pots, left by the blacksmith who had once owned the cottage, the people in the village called it `Saucepan Hill'. To tell the truth the blacksmith had not been very good at his job, hence the amount of rubbish around the cottage, and the way the village accepted Peter, if not as a new blacksmith, as a person who could mend pots, infact as a tinker.
Peter lived in the cottager at Saucepan Hill for many years, growing up a much loved and respected member of the village.
One day unknown to the people of Leapington, the king and his entourage were out hunting in the forest. It had been a very hot and dusty day, without a single animal being caught.
This the king didn't really mind, as he was not that fond of hunting animals, but it was part of the job of being king.
"Enough !" said the king, after another fruitless dash through the forests had left him hot and bothered, picking the twigs and leaves out of his hair. "I want a cup of tea !"
"Certainly your majesty" replied the weaselly prime minister, "We will set up your royal tent over by that stream"
Soon there was much toing and throwing in the forest as the royal tent was set up, the royal fire was lit, and preparation was made for the royal cup of tea.
After several minutes the king was relaxing on his royal throne, and the royal kettle was boiling on the fire.
All was prepared, but when the water was poured into the royal teapot, calamity !!!, as fast as the water was poured into the teapot, it leaked out again.
All of the courtiers tried as best they could to fix up the hole in the pot, but it was no good.
While this was going on the king was getting very fed up !
Call out the army, call out the guard,
Call all the courtiers in the courtyard.
Call out the wizards with their book of spells
I WANT MY TEA !
Summon the royal chef, summon the cook,
Get all the royal spies to come take a look
Get all the kings horses and all the kings men
I WANT MY TEA !
Everybody dashed all over the place, not knowing what to exactly they should be doing,
but not wanting the king to think they were not actually doing anything
Send out a message throughout the land,
Promise them riches or my daughters hand.
Just mend my teapot, as good as new.
I WANT MY TEA !!.
The last bit about the hand of the kings daughter in marriage was not really correct,
as the king did not have a daughter, but he thought it sounded good.
Soon people came from far and wide to try and mend the kings teapot, wizards waved magic wands and muttered strange sounding words, blacksmiths tried to fix patches on the teapot. Tricksters tried to replace the teapot with a new one, but none could mend the teapot.
At last a page at the kings court mentioned about a young man who lived in Leapington, who it was said, had the knack of mending things.
The King, who by this time was gasping for a cup of tea, ordered the whole court to
follow him and find this boy called Peter.
They say he can fix most anything,
From a babies rattle to a broken wing,
To mend the teapot he's the one
Peter the boy from Leapington.
At last they reached the village of Leapington, where all the villagers directed the king
and his party to where Peter lived.
Peter was surprised when he opened the door, not only to see all the village outside, but the king and all of his courtiers.
"Are you Peter" asked the King, "the boy who can fix anything ?"
"Well I try" replied Peter, quickly adding a "Your majesty" as he tried to bow at the same time.
"Peter" said the king, "I have here the royal teapot, which it would seem nobody can mend, can you fix it ?"
"I'll do my best sire, but it may take a while" replied Peter
So taking the teapot from the king, Peter went back into the old smithy, where soon smoke appeared from the chimney.
Meanwhile the king, his courtiers, and the villagers settled down to wait, the king of course seated on his royal portable throne, in his royal portable tent, waiting for his royal cup of tea.
As they waited, and waited the sound of hammering along with the voice of Peter could be heard.
Mend it, mend it for the king,
Hammer and anvil here them ring.
Fix the teapot, mend it right,
The king will have his tea tonight.
Mend it, mend it for the king
The right bit of metal, that's the thing.
Patch it, fix it seal it tight,
The king will have his tea tonight.
This song and the steady beating of the hammer soon had the king and all the people dosing of to sleep in the warn afternoon sunshine.
Late in the evening the king was wakened from his slumbers by a knock on the royal tent door, not an easy thing to do on a tent.
"Your evening cup of tea, your majesty" said a voice
As the king rubbed his eyes and looked again, there was the smiling face of Peter, in one hand the mended teapot, in the other a fresh steaming cup of tea.
The king took one sip from the steaming cup, and a smile lit up his space, as he burst into song.
A cup of tea, a cup of tea,
Peter the fixer has brought it to me.
Mended the teapot, mended it good.
Here at his workshop, deep in the wood
A cup of tea, a cup of tea.
A cup of tea, a cup of tea,
Peter the fixer has fixed it for me.
Give him the kingdom, shower him with gold,
All over the country let his story be told.
A cup of tea, a cup of tea....
The king his courtiers and all the village people joined in, all pleased that at last the
king was happy. As without his tea, he had been to tell the truth a very grumpy person.
At last they all stopped singing and dancing, the king ordered a fresh cup of tea, and told Peter to kneel before him.
"For fixing the royal teapot, from this day hence you will be known as Sir Teapot, no not Sir Teapot, but er,, Sir Pot, yes that's it Sir Pot of Saucepan Hill.
And so that is how Peter became a knight, and the king got his teapot fixed.
YOU ARE THE
