One day, Mary’s mother, Pat, wanted to boil a kettle of water to make tea. Pat put the kettle to boil on the back burner of the stove. The plan was to watch the kettle until it boiled before making a cuppa hot tea to refresh the throat and body.

After tea, Pat and Mary planned to go down to the ground floor of their highrise apartment block. They were supposed to check their mail box.

Mary stood watching the kettle in the kitchen. She was anxious to have the kettle boil, have tea and walk downstairs to check for their mail. After watching for an infinite amount of time, the kettle never boiled.

“Mother! Why isn’t the kettle boiling yet?” Mary asked her mother with a touch of impatience.

Pat laughed as she told Mary, “Haven’t you heard of the proverb, “A watched kettle never boils”?”

“No, what does it mean?”

“Watching and excessive worrying over a problem will not solve your problem. You should relax and let the kettle take care of itself. Soon, in no time, the kettle will boil.”

“Ooo … if I don’t watch the kettle, will it boil sooner?”

“No, but it helps if you don’t fret over it.” Mother smiled at Mary.

Just then, while Mary and Pat were talking, the kettle began to boil.

“Hoo-hoo, hoo-hoo …” The sound of steam pushing through the stopper of the kettle’s snout made a loud sound.

Mary and Pat laughed.

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