The Wizard and the Hopping Pot

The first of Beedle the Bard’s tales, The Wizard and the Hopping Pot deals with a topic often touched upon in the Harry Potter stories, and one that Hagrid addressed with Harry in the very first book. Should Wizards use their magical abilities to help Muggles? Or should Wizards hide themselves from the Muggle world, and more importantly, should they hide all magic from Muggles?

CategoryInformation
AuthorJ.K. Rowling
TitleThe Wizard and the Hopping Pot
Part of CollectionThe Tales of Beedle the Bard
Published DateDecember 2008
Referenced in BooksHarry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
Referenced in MoviesHarry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1

Overview

The Wizard and the Hopping Pot is a central story from The Tales of Beedle the Bard, a book of wizarding fairy tales by J.K. Rowling. Published in December 2008, the book holds a special place in the Harry Potter universe, embodying the magical world’s folklore and traditions. The story is introduced in “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows”, the seventh book in the Harry Potter series. The Wizard and the Hopping Pot is briefly mentioned in the Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 movie.

Plot Summary

The story is about a kind and generous old wizard who lives in a small village. He uses his magical pot, which has a single, brass foot, to brew potions and remedies to help his fellow villagers. When the old wizard passes away, he leaves all his belongings, including the magical pot, to his only son.

Unlike his father, the son is selfish and refuses to help the villagers with their problems, ignoring their pleas and suffering. The magical pot, mirroring the son’s conscience, starts to act up. It takes on the problems and ailments of the villagers that the son has ignored, such as becoming covered in warts or starting to cry incessantly.

Each ailment the pot acquires makes a loud, obnoxious noise, and it starts hopping around on its single brass foot, following the young wizard everywhere he goes, making his life miserable. No matter what the young wizard does, he cannot silence the pot or stop it from hopping around, as it continues to exhibit the pains and problems of the villagers.

Finally, desperate and unable to bear it anymore, the son decides to help the villagers. He brews the necessary remedies and potions in the hopping pot, solving the villagers’ problems one by one. As he aids each villager, the pot’s ailments disappear gradually, becoming quieter and less troublesome.

In the end, after the son has helped all the villagers, the pot returns to its normal, inanimate state, and the young wizard learns the value of kindness and community help, resolving to be more like his generous father.

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Furious

A long time Potterhead and gamer, I keep up to date with everything in the Wizarding World from Harry Potter and Fantastic Beasts to Hogwarts Legacy.

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Karen Johnson
Karen Johnson
15 years ago

When I read the story (only yesterday, I’m ashamed to say) I thought it was quite obvious what the lesson in the story was. Perhaps wizard-fairytales are more straitforward than their muggle counterparts, because it is much more hard to make out a moral in Cinderella, other than “hard work gets rewarded”.

But, as we can read in Dumbledore’s notes, the story was told differently. Wizard children heart that the pot chased away the muggles. This, however, was not the original story, it was just changed because of the historical circumstances.

It other words, parents will have considered the moral in the story (help your neigbours, especially when they’re muggles) too straitforward to tell their children, out of fear that they might reveal their magical powers to the muggles.

I think that Dumbledore may just have changed his mind, instead of suddenly finding the meaning in an old childrens tale.

Anonymous
Anonymous
15 years ago

I agree with everyone on Dumbledore. When he was younger he just thought his plans were for the “greater good” of people. As he got older, he got wiser and was able to really appreciate the lesson of the tale.

I guess it is possible that Squibs can learn to do very simple spells. Filch does have a letter for a course that teaches squibs. I don’t believe Merope was a squib. I think it is just an insult Marvolo used. The way she is described she seems like a witch, who Dumbledore says, later stops using her powers.

The Warlock’s Hairy Heart shows the evils of the Dark Arts because the the warlock taking out his heart is similar to the making of a Horcrux. In this way he dehumanizes himself. This also shows the importance of love, which should never be underestimated and is emphasized many times in the Potter books.

Perdita
Perdita
15 years ago

Dumbledore didn’t see the lesson behind the story because he was a child when he first heard it. Our perceptions grow and change as we mature, as are the lessons and morals we take from the stories around us. In the grand scheme of things, Dumbledore would take his world view from his parents and the way he was raised by them.

When he became a teenager, he lost his parents and freedom. No wonder he fell so hard in love with Grindelwald. They were both young, brilliant, arrogant, and energetic, and to me it seems quite normal, if regrettable, that Dumbledore allowed himself to be influenced to such an extent by Grindelwald. But it was only a month, then the scales fell from his eyes and he reverted back to his own character and the teachings of his parents. It was his teenage rebellion, as it were, and would undoubtedly have come to a natural end anyway, had Arianna not been killed.

P.S. Do we know for a fact that Kendra was Muggle-born?

Carrie
Carrie
15 years ago

I believe that magic should be used in the presence of a muggle but with a lot of restriction.
Perhaps should the need arise where a Muggle was going to hurt a witch/wizard because of the magic I think that they should perform a memory spell on them so they have no recollection of the incident ever happening. (The human mind would fill in the blanks with fake memories!)However Children should not be allowed to AT ALL until they reach the age of 16,17,or 18. Like driving there is responsiblitity!
I think that the books are amazing and if wizarding was real that would be my opinion.

ithil
ithil
15 years ago

Does anyone think it is weird that the wizard’s father actually had the slipper in the first place?

JADE
JADE
15 years ago

You know over the years I have read and watched everything about Harry Potter. Me and my friends invented a game called Harry Potter siblings and what i had to thank about is that the Harry Potter colection was written for the enjoyment of us muggles. So yes i would like to think that if i needed help, a wizard would help me.

miss cissy
miss cissy
15 years ago

look,

Its true that if wizards exposed themselves, then muggles would want everything done by magic by wizards. that would be a pain, right? thats all the story’s trying to say. i don’t really think there’s any deeper meaning in it other than keep to yourself and you’ll be fine

Nyx
Nyx
15 years ago

ithil
It is not weird that the father had the slipper. It was always there just in case he ever botched something

Elizabeth
Elizabeth
15 years ago

Perhaps the father created the slipper just before he died, knowing that his son had a bit of a learning curve ahead?

Miss Cissy, I thought the meaning of the story was the opposite of that; that wizards ought to be prepared to help their neighbours, including Muggles. They don’t necessarily have to bang Muggles over the head with the fact that they are wizards, but surely the message is that we are all human and ought to help each other. The radio program in DH makes that point precisely, when they pose the question; should wizards just leave the Muggles to their fate and concentrate on saving wizards. The answer is that it’s only a short step from “Wizards first” to “Purebloods first”.

Nyx
Nyx
15 years ago

I always thought that wizards never told anyone that they were a wizard, Isn’t is supposed to be a secret. In the fifth book Harry got “expelled” for doing magic in front of a muggle, which is, telling them that you are a wizard. Why do you suppose, this man wasn’t secretive?

Elizabeth
Elizabeth
15 years ago

Nyx, Beedle is supposed to have written the stories before the International Statute of Secrecy came into effect.

Craig Edwards
Craig Edwards
15 years ago

I think this is a bit odd, Elizabeth but were muggles and wizards once friendly with each other? i would have still been freaked out if someone started waving a stick and performing magic. Or something just happening without me knowing what caused it.

There’s a bit of truth though, when muggles couldn’t solve their own problems, they just asked the wizard for help. Modern day wizards have the same selfish attitude as the son in the story, like Hagrid says “Nah, we’re best left alone” could he have written from experience, or was he warning us to let the muggles be ignorant and them go into hiding?

Elizabeth
Elizabeth
15 years ago

Craig, I’m not sure about “friendly” with each other, but my understanding was that for a long time Muggles were far more aware of witches and wizards living amongst them. Then with all the witch hunts and burnings of the middle ages and later in the 17th century, which actually happened in real life, not just in Harry Potter, the wizards withdrew completely. This is referred to in several places. Dumbledore refers to it in Beedle, and there are references in Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. Of course there are also references in the HP books, too. Interestingly the International Statute of Wizarding Secrecy came into being in 1689 – during the following century Muggles made more and more scientific discoveries, the 18th century coming to be known as the Enlightenment. Not sure if Rowling was intending to suggest this as a result of the Wizarding world’s complete withdrawal! Anyway, I point it out as a possibility that the withdrawal of witches and wizards into their own communities forced Muggles to find scientific solutions to problems such as how to fly without the aid of a broomstick.

My main point is that for wizards and witches to withdraw completely, there must once have been some level of interaction. Take the sad demise of Sir Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington in 1492 for example. His captors knew enough about wizards to deprive Nearly Headless Nick of his wand so that he couldn’t escape. Even if they didn’t know enough to have the axe sharp.
Several of the Tales show fairly matter-of-fact interactions between Muggles and witches and/or wizards. So while there was probably a certain amount of suspicion on both sides, clearly at that time each side knew the other existed.

Nat D. Aiken
Nat D. Aiken
15 years ago

um, it seems that on some level, the mysterious, (i.e. magic) exists, and people were very aware of its abilities and uses. You don’t have to have a muggle/wizard relationship to want someoneelse to do your work, a person just needs to be lazy. I n our so-called dark ages, any mysterious bounty or good fortune was ascribed to magicks and wizardry, rightly or wrongly. In the absence of coinage, the barter system kind of had you being “nosy”.

Geoffrey
Geoffrey
15 years ago

I think this tale is not so good. Worse I think the moral could be misunderstood by children. The son eventually helps the muggles with their problems, did he truly change his mind and began to feel compassion for muggles? That point remains uncertain. Let’s not forget it was only under the threat of the hopping pot going rampant again he hasn’t actually chosen to do so. What kind of moral it that? Use threats and you’ll get everything you want? Generosity must be sincere and not forced!
Dumbledore might’ve thought that in his youth and especially when he met Grindelwald.
We also know that the good old wizard wrote a note to his son “I hope you won’t need it” meaning the father made the same mistake.
One can only be a better man by helping others but the greatest harm can result from the best intentions. Dumbledore paid the price for that lesson.
My other point is that a child with half a brain and a fair bit of imagination would have realised it was in fact very easy to get rid of the hopping pot. I mean, come on what kind of idiot wouldn’t try at least to bury the pot, or to destroy it with magic? And even so he could always leave that place he seemed to loath or even ask help to a fellow wizard, many of them would have been happy to get rid of the damn thing for him when they learnt he was against helping muggles.
I know this is supposed to bed a bedtime story for children…But still.

Craig Edwards
Craig Edwards
15 years ago

Good point Geoffrey but the true moral, as you say can sometimes be misunderstood by children because they are children. They don’t look deeply into books and try to work out what it is telling them. We were all less intelligent than that when you and I were kids.

Of course Dumbledore thought that in his youth because he was in his youth. He became secluded from people his own age for a long time and I think Grindlewald showing up must have influenced him to share his ideas with him.

The moral here si that with magic comes responsibility and letting this magic sort out other peoples problems greatly helps you as well as the people you are helping

Apoorva
Apoorva
15 years ago

When beedle wrote these stories, muggles were not as advanced as they are today…i’m sure modern scientific methods and medicines could have got rid of the warts and the child’s illness, as for the donkey…just too bad. wizards are best left alone as many greedy people may take advantage of them and as hagrid said everyone would be wanting magical solutions to their problems.and anyway we are facing problems everyday and handling the…without wizard help!

Dave Haber
Dave Haber
15 years ago

In Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, Harry and Hagrid are in the row boat returning from the Hut on the Rock. Harry asks Hagrid, what does the Ministry of Magic do? Hagrid replies,

“Well, their main job is to keep it from Muggles that there’s still witches and wizards up an’ down the country.”

When Harry asks why, Hagrid says,

“Why? Blimey, Harry, everyone’d be wantin’ magical solutions to their problems. No, we’re best left alone.”

A sentiment the kindly old wizard in The Wizard and the Hopping Pot didn’t share, but his son did. But the father showed him the error of his ways, and that dismissing the muggles leads to feeling superior to them.

This story is about prejudice of wizards against muggles, something Dumbledore fought against most of his life. He saw in his own experience how feeling superior to muggles could get out of hand.

Dumbledore tells us in the notes of the book that his mother read him these tales as a child. Why do you think he originally missed the lesson in this one?

Ali Akbar
Ali Akbar
15 years ago

I think that these small stories will play a big part in the future…

Mrs. Prongs
Mrs. Prongs
15 years ago

This is exactly what we were talking about in my class (though not about HP). Kids just enjoy stories, and most of the time, they don’t get the lesson behind the story until told.

Ashley
Ashley
15 years ago

Maybe the story was just read and never explained to him. Dumbledore learned the lesson through experience.

Pamela Sue
Pamela Sue
15 years ago

The world through the eyes of an child is much different from the viewpont of an adult. I believe Dumbledore would have said… Wisdom comes with age.

Elizabeth
Elizabeth
15 years ago

Could the story of The Wizard and the Hopping Pot have taken place long before such things as the persecution of witches in the Middle Ages? Beedle’s tales are supposed to be very old; the wizarding equivalent of Aesop’s Fables I think. The Statute of Secrecy only came into force in the 18th century, if I recall correctly. At that time witch hunting and burning was at its height. Think of the Salem Witch Trials. Anyway, wizards withdrew because THEY were being persecuted. In fact, if you think about it, wizards were relatively safe even when they were being persecuted. Unless caught without a wand they would have been able to escape most muggle traps. It would be muggles mistakenly identified as witches or wizards who would suffer the most. Perhaps the wizards withdrew into hiding to protect these innocents.

Alex B.
Alex B.
15 years ago

I feel that what Hagrid said stands. Wizards and Muggles wouldnt mix for obvious reasons such as the muggles being afraid of them and wanting the Wizards to do all of their jobs.

hpl0ver101
hpl0ver101
15 years ago

As Pamela said, the story through a child’s eyes would’ve been different. Adults would understand it better, but a child wouldn’t have seen the lesson. In the seventh book, we find out that Dumbledore was a little prejudice toward muggles, but we know that he wasn’t later on. It could’ve been that Dumbledore must have read the stories later on in his life and realized the true lesson in the story (this is just a suggestion).

Maggie
Maggie
15 years ago

We also know nothing about Kendra Dumbledore’s family, except that they were Muggles. What if she was treated to Durley-like abuse for being a witch? The resulting person would (possibly) be fiercely proud of her talent/gift, and prejudiced towards Muggles — particularly after Ariana’s unfortunate situation.

Thinking about these unknowns could lead us to conclusions about HOW Dumbledore once found common ground with Grindelwald.

miss cissy
miss cissy
15 years ago

I think like Ron said in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows that these were just to scare off young children. its basically just that you should keep your magic to yourself, or else it’ll cause trouble and that once you start something, you can’t let others down who depended on you. ill try to look at it from another point of view but for now, thats all i got.

Prongs
Prongs
15 years ago

The tales of Beedle the bard reminds me of the stories an ancient Greek writer, Aesop. In every Aesop’s tale there was always a moral to make. I think the tales Beedle wrote are what parents in the wizarding world read to their children in order to let them know what’s wrong and what is right. Of course as with everything in the wizarding world there might be something else behind the stories.

diana
diana
15 years ago

i agree with most of the comments. children, most of them anyway, dont really realize life lessons until its too late or they are old enough to recall them. although i quite agree with Hagrid that wizards living in secret is a wise decision. us muggles would pester them with quick solutions to every problem.