Stone Soup

It was late afternoon and the man was tired and hungry. Up ahead he saw a small village. "I’ll get something to eat there and find a place for the night," he thought.

Suddenly the horse tripped, throwing the soldier to the ground. As he brushed himself off, he saw that the horse had stumbled over a rock sticking out of the ground in the middle of the road. He walked back to the rock, and with the help of his sword, dug it out of the earth. It was a splendid rock, almost perfectly round and smooth. The soldier liked the rock, so rather than throw it away he put it in his saddle bags, climbed upon his horse, and continued into the village.

As he rode past the first houses the village people stopped their work to stare. He waved to several of the townsfolk, but no one waved back. Dismounting, the soldier approached a woman standing in front of a small house. "Good evening," he said cheerfully. "Could you spare a bit of food for a hungry man?"

The woman shook her head sadly and sighed, "We have had a poor harvest. There is barely enough for our family. I am sorry." With these words she walked into the house.

The man continued to the next house where a farmer was working on his wagon. "Do you have a place at your table for a hungry soldier?" he asked.

"It didn’t rain during the last month before harvest," the farmer said. "What little we have is needed for our children."

At every home he visited, the soldier heard the same sad story: The harvest had been poor, there was not enough food to make it through the winter, the family needed the grain for seed.

Completely discouraged, and very hungry, the soldier tied his horse to the branch of a tree and sat down. "In a few weeks these poor people will be as hungry as I am," he thought. "I wish I could help them find food."

Suddenly an idea hit him. He reached into his saddle bags, took out the stone and addressed the villagers. "Ladies and gentlemen," the soldier shouted, "you are fortunate that I came to your town. I have in my hands a special rock that will help take you through the long winter. This is a magic rock. With it you can make stone soup."

"Stone soup?" and old man repeated. "I have never heard of stone soup."

"The wonder of stone soup," the soldier continued, "is that it not only feeds hungry people, it helps bring people together. Now, who has a large empty kettle?"

Quickly a huge iron pot was found, and delivered to the soldier in a wheelbarrow. "The kettle is barely large enough, but it will do," the soldier said. "Now we must fill the pot with water and start a fire."

Eager hands carried buckets of water and firewood. Soon the pot was placed over a roaring fire. As the water began to boil the soldier dramatically raise the magic stone above his head, and then he gently placed it in the kettle.

"The stone looks just like the ones we have in our backyard," a little boy whispered to his mother.

The mother picked up the child and assured him, "You can’t tell if something is magic by looking at the outside."

"Stone soup needs salt and pepper," the soldier announced.

Two children ran to find salt and pepper.

After the water had boiled for a few minutes the soldier sipped the brew. "This stone makes excellent soup, but it would be better if we had a few carrots."

"I have a few carrots that I’m willing to share," a farmer replied. Immediately his daughter ran home and returned with an apron full of carrots.

"It is too bad the harvest was so bad," the soldier said sadly. "Stone soup is always more tasty when we add a cabbage or two."

"I think I know where to find a cabbage," a young mother shouted over her shoulder as she left for home. When she returned she was carrying three large cabbages.

The soldier was busy slicing carrots and cabbages with his sword. "The last time I made stone soup was at the castle of a rich man. He added a few potatoes and a bit of beef."

Several people talked quietly. "A bit of beef and we can eat like rich people," they whispered. They went home and soon returned not only with beef and potatoes but milk, onions, and barley.

By the time the soup was ready it was almost dark. Men brought large tables, women brought soup bowls and others carried cider and bread. It was the most delicious soup they had ever smelled, and to think it all came from the magic stone.

After everyone ate their fill, people brought out the fiddles. They danced and sang until the wee hours of the night. Never had people experienced such a wonderful party.

The next morning the whole village gathered to say good-bye to the soldier. As he mounted his horse a small child cried, "You are forgetting the magic stone."

"I am leaving the stone with you as a gift," the soldier smiled.

As the soldier rode off a young girl said to her grandfather, "As long as we have the magic stone we shall never be hungry."

"Remember," the grandfather added, "that the soldier promised another bit of magic from the stone. He said that the stone also brings people closer together."

They both agreed that the stone had done everything the soldier had promised.