Adapted from an old tale
One day long, long ago an old man was wandering through the mountains. He was tired and hungry, for he had been walking all day with nothing to eat. Finally he came to a small village, and knocked at the door of a farmhouse. A woman came to the door and said rudely, “I can’t let you in, for my husband is not at home. And I haven’t a thing to give you to eat. You’ll have to go somewhere else.” She was scornful toward the man she thought was a beggar.
“If you have no food in the house, then you would probably be very happy to know about my soup stone,” the old man replied. And from his pocket, he removed a very ordinary looking stone.
“Soup stone?” said the woman, with an eager look on her face. “You have a stone that can make soup?”
“Oh yes,” he said. “If I just had a big pot of water heating over a fire, I could show you how it works. This stone and boiling water make the best soup you’ve ever eaten.”
“Why don’t you show me?” said the woman, her curiosity and desire for an easy meal overcoming her suspicious nature. “I have a big pot and it will only take a moment to build a roaring fire in my cooking stove. Let me just fill the pot with water and then you can put the stone in.”
Soon the pot of water was boiling merrily. The old man dropped in his stone and stirred it around with the woman’s big soup ladle. Then he tasted the hot water. “The stone is working quickly, and the soup is already delicious. But it would be even better if it had a little salt and a handful of barley,” he said. “And some butter would make it truly tasty.” So the woman brought salt, barley, and butter, and he added them to the pot, stirring them well with the big ladle.
The crafty old man tasted the soup again. “Much better!” he cried. “You are going to love this soup. Do you like it very thick and hearty? Then all we need is a few vegetables. Of course the stone can make it thick without the vegetables, but the vegetables will help the stone to make a perfect soup. Perhaps carrots, onions, and potatoes would be the right thing. Do you not have any of these in your larder? Turnips and beans would bring a wonderful flavor to the soup, too.”
“Let me see what I can find,” said the woman. She was becoming very excited about the miracle soup that could be made from only a stone in a pot of boiling water. As the old man stirred the big pot with the ladle, the woman ran down to her cellar to get the vegetables he had mentioned.
After the mixture had boiled for some time with all the vegetables in it, the man put the ladle in and stirred it once again. “The soup is coming along very well. It is nearly as good as I’ve ever tasted it,” he said. “The stone is working just as it should. The only thing I can think of that could possibly make it any better would be some chunks of meat or chicken, and a little meat broth.”
The woman loved good thick soup, and she was eager to see just what the stone could do when given the chance. So she ran to get some meat broth and chunks of chicken, and the old man stirred them into the soup pot with the big ladle. “Soup stone, do your magic!” said the man. And he and the woman sniffed the savory smell of the soup and could hardly wait for it to be finished.
When the old man finally said the soup was ready, he ladled it out into big bowls. The woman ate greedily, slurping and gulping the soup. “I declare that this is the best soup I have ever had!” she cried. “And all from your soup stone. I can hardly believe it!” The old man just smiled, and ate his soup contentedly. The two ate their fill, and – thanks to the magic stone – there was still enough left over for the woman’s husband’s supper.
As evening approached and the old man knew the husband would soon be arriving home, he prepared to depart. “Many thanks to you for the use of your fire and your pot. My soup stone never lets me down, and it performed as well today as I’ve ever seen it.” Using the ladle, he fished the stone up from the bottom of the soup pot, licked it clean, and put it into his pocket.
“Please come again,” said the woman, thankful for such a delicious and fulfilling meal. “You are welcome here any time.”
“I will indeed,” said the old man, and he walked down the road and out of the village.
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