Stone Soup

By now, probably everybody has heard the Fable of Stone Soup, including my two youngest Grandchildren. I told them the story as we made the soup. We all enjoyed it and, to my amazement, the soup was delicious and there were no leftovers.

One Sliced Onion (cut in quarters)
3 Sliced Carrots
2 Sliced Yellow Squashes
1 Pound of Stew Beef
1 Small Can of Corn
1/2 Head of Cabbage
1 bag of small potatoes
1 can of green beans
1 can of diced tomatoes
1 pound of fresh button mushrooms
1 Box of Beef Broth
and, of course, 2 small stones

(Which I had the kids place in the rim of the crock pot so that I could remove them after everyone left the kitchen and before they had time to get hot). I didn't feel confident that they wouldn't break up during cooking.


I forgot to take a picture of the final product. We were too busy eating it!


The Fable of Stone Stoup (as published by the Stone Soup Society)

Once upon a time, there was a great famine upon the land. Three soldiers, hungry and weary of battle, came upon a small and impoverished village. The villagers, suffering a meager harvest and fatigued from the many years of war, saw the three soldiers come upon them. Quickly they hid from sight what little they had to eat.

They met up with the three at the village square. "There's not a bite to eat in the whole province," they told the soldiers. "You'd better just keep moving on to the next village."

"Oh, but we have everything we need," one soldier said. "In fact, we were thinking of making some stone soup to share with all of you. You, sir, look hungry. Would you like some?"

"Stone soup! What a ridiculous thing!" the villagers exclaimed. "You can't make soup from a stone!"

But the three soldiers gingerly reached into their pockets, and each of them in turn slowly pulled out a smooth, round stone. They inspected their stones closely and nodded to one another in assent. "We have brought with us some wonderful stones that should make for a great and hearty soup. Do you have a large cauldron we might borrow to make our stone soup?"

Overcome with hunger and unable to feed the guests staying at his inn, the local innkeeper was intrigued with the idea of making soup from stones. With help from the soldiers, he pulled a large iron cauldron from the kitchen of his inn and placed it in the center of the village square. The three soldiers filled it with water, and built a roaring fire under it.

Then, with great ceremony, the three soldiers took the three stones they had collected on their travels and placed them into the water one at a time. They waited for their stone soup to come to a boil, stirring occasionally with a large wooden spoon.

"Do you know what would really help this soup?" asked one of the soldiers. "A hefty dash of salt and pepper! You can't have a good stone soup without salt and pepper, after all."

Timidly, one of the villagers said, "Well, I think might be able to find some salt and pepper that have you might have, if I can share in your stone soup!"

The soldiers quickly nodded and assured the villager that there would be plenty of stone soup to go around, with such a large cauldron of soup on the boil.

By now, hearing the rumor of food, most of the villagers had come to the square or were watching the events of the village square attentively from their windows. As the soldiers fastidiously stirred and sniffed at the "broth," they licked their lips in anticipation. The hunger of the villagers began to abate their initial skepticism.

"Ah," one of the soldiers said rather loudly, "I do like a tasty stone soup. Of course, stone soup with cabbage is hard to beat."

"Oh, yes," added another soldier, "Cabbage really adds flavor to stone soup."

After a few moments, a villager approached hesitantly, holding a cabbage he'd retrieved from its hiding place, and added it to the pot.

Another villager came up and inspected the pot and said, "You know, I have some carrots. That would really add flavor and color to this soup, too!" He ran off to his home to fetch the colorful vegetable.

"Yes, yes, this will be a fine soup," said the third soldier; "but a pinch of some parsley would really make it a soup fit for a king!"

Up jumped a villager, crying, "What luck! I've just remembered where some has been left!" And off she ran, returning with an apron full of parsley and with a turnip, too.

As the kettle boiled on, the memory of the village improved. In short time, barley, salted beef and rich cream had found their way into the great pot. A grand keg of beer was rolled into the square as the entire village sat down to a great feast. They all ate and danced and sang well into the night, refreshed by the feast and delighting in their newfound friends.

In the morning, the three soldiers awoke to find the entire village standing before them. At their feet lay a satchel filled with the village's best breads and cheeses.

"You have given us the greatest of gifts: The secret of how to make soup from stones," said an elder. "Rest assured that this is something that we shall never forget and that we shall forever cherish."

The third soldier turned to the crowd, and said: "Whereas there may be no real secret to stone soup, one thing is certain: It takes many and all to make great feast." And with this, the soldiers kindly accepted their satchel of breads and cheeses and went on their way, never to return.

It is said that soon after meeting these soldiers, the village quickly returned to its former prosperity, and has thrived ever since. The soldiers are said to still walk from town to town collecting stones along the way, and sharing their secret recipe for their famous stone soup.


There are many of versions of the fable. My favorite was told by Caroline on the "Stone Soup" episode of Little House on the Prairie, which can be found on YouTube.

Here is another one for the kids.