“Very well,” said Sanja politely, for there was really nothing else to say.
The Oni put her in a boat and rowed away across a river to his castle. There she cooked for him such dishes as he had never before tasted, and they were good.
But when she came to make rice dumplings, the Oni said to her, “You are a good cook, but you are wasteful. When you cook rice put but one grain into the pot.”
“One grain!” she cried. “Tee-hee-hee! how could any one live on one grain of rice?”
“I will show you,” said the Oni. “For though you are a woman and think you know much, there are some things which I know better than you.”
Sanja was silent; but she tossed her head a little, and said to herself, “How impolite he is! And how vain to think he could possibly know more than I do!”
“Be sure you have your water boiling,” said the Oni. “Put one grain of rice in the pot, then take this paddle in your hand and if you want rice for ten persons stir ten times, in this way;” and he stirred the paddle about in the water. “See!” and lo! the grain of rice burst into ten pieces, and each piece into ten more, and each a perfect grain, until the pot was filled.
Sanja fairly gasped with astonishment.
“This is a magic paddle,” said the Oni; “and with it you can cook every thing, serve every one, and always have enough.”
So Sanja stayed with the Oni and cooked for him, and she gave perfect satisfaction. The dumplings she made were always perfect, and the rice pot was never empty, because of the magic paddle.