The heroic teakettle or you get what you pay for

Once upon a time there was woman who enjoyed drinking hot tea. Her favorites included Jasmine, Earl Grey and Peppermint. She always used a little pot to heat the water and ladle it out. When she discovered that her tea drinking had become a habit, she decided to buy an actual teakettle.

Whilst in the store, looking at this one and that, she saw a few models with and without whistles, some rather inexpensive (ok, cheap) and some with a little more substance and a higher price tag. Being on a perpetual budget, she weighed the pros and cons and decided on the little higher priced one with a whistle in white enamel with black trim. The directions said to heat the kettle on medium heat as to not stress the enamel, causing it to chip. Fair enough.

This same woman also enjoyed taking her beloved little dog for walks around the lake. One day, having more than two things on her mind, she prepared to have tea and also take her dog out for a walk. Having totally forgotten about the teakettle sitting on an electric burner in the medium position, she took off for her walk that generally lasts anywhere from 60 to 90 minutes. After all, it's the dog's walk and doggy gets what doggy wants - at least for the duration of said walk.

Upon arriving back home, all seemed well at first, but oh no, the teakettle was hissing and spitting, being hoarse from whistling for so long, no doubt - it was almost totally black, covered with soot inside and out, all the water was gone and the electric burner was red hot. What a fright! The woman imagined that the house could have burned down while she was out lallygagging around the lake...that was a secret she intended to take to her grave - or at least never, ever tell her apartment manager about.

Poor little tea kettle saved her day! But, it looked so pitiful and beyond ever shining again. The woman thought about discarding it, but on second thought, she realized that this teakettle was her hero - it served her well and didn't even chip the enamel. It deserved to be revived. So, the woman scrubbed and buffed and got the teakettle all clean and shiny again....and every day, when she uses her tea kettle, she remembers her near disaster ...and ponders whether a few dollars more may have helped prevent a terrible thing from happening.

Henceforth, when ever that tea kettle whistles, it sounds just a little bit louder with a bit more urgency than before... and they lived happily ever after.

THE END!