The Tale of Stone Soup
Been thinking way too much about the edibility of these rocks…If rock candy exists than clearly there is a precedent.
In the past I’ve briefly touched on the value of a good stew, and it’s about time that I set aside a post dedicated to its leaner cousin. Rather than our usual restaurants or recipes, we’re going to instead be taking a look at a story. An old one at that. Today we’re talking about the folk tale of Stone Soup,
As its various iterations go, the tale goes roughly like this:
A hungry traveler or group of travelers come into a village and beg the locals to spare some food for them. Initially being refused, the traveler(s) cleverly devise(s) a plan to convince the villagers otherwise. Going down to a nearby stream, they fill up a pot with water before placing a large stone in it to boil over a fire. One villager, curious, walks over and asks what they are doing. The traveler(s) say(s) that they are making stone soup, which is incredibly delicious once complete. The only thing that the soup is missing is a little extra ingredient. The curious villager, anticipating that they will get a share of the soup for contributing to its creation, happily offers a few carrots. Soon, another villager walks by, and the same exchange occurs. Enticed by the promise of such a tasty dish, they offer some potatoes. Another villager offers onions. Another some sort of meat. Celery. Seasonings. So on and so forth. Finally, the traveler(s), having successfully tricked the villagers, remove(s) the inedible stone from the pot, declaring the soup to be complete. With that, they have successfully transformed the lone stone into a delicious and nourishing dish, one that can be shared with the whole village.
I first came to hear about the tale (as with many other folk tales) from an episode of Barney that I watched growing up (thank you Stella the Storyteller). I’m not sure what it was about the presentation, but so help me if the idea of that stone didn’t sound like an incredible meal. I guess it just goes to prove the point of the villagers’ curiosities. Alternatively, the prop team working on Barney circa ‘99 just happen to know where to find the tastiest looking rocks.
You can’t tell me that rock doesn’t look appetizing. — screenshot from Barney & Friends
The story of Stone Soup originated in Europe, although the nature of its centuries-old age make it difficult if not impossible to properly place. Unlike so many other European tales, it did not make its way into print with the Brothers Grimm.
According to William Rubel, (who founded the aptly titled Stone Soup children’s literary magazine and the Children’s Art Foundation), the earliest written version of the tale can be found in French author Madame de Noyer’s “Soupe au Caillou,” published posthumously in 1720. To reference another late ‘90s kids’ show, I have now come to understand that “Caillou” is French for “pebble” or “stone.” All of a sudden, I’m reevaluating why that little bald kid had such a perfectly round head…
Across Europe, differences in detail tend to involve those related to the travelers or alternatives to the stone. Some versions of the tale present the travelers as soldiers returning from war. Others as monks. Stone alternatives include button soup, nail soup, wood soup, or even axe soup.
All of these tales follow more or less the same narrative structure, in turn carrying with them the same intrinsic moral. Although the villagers are always “tricked” into donating to the collective soup, the deception is harmless. In fact, it ends up being beneficial.
As has always been the case, soup is about community. The story of Stone Soup is a tale of strangers and neighbors coming together, of people contributing to a collective meal, one whose nutritious qualities could have only been achieved through a joint effort. The tale’s timelessness highlights the importance of giving, of the shared virtues that can be brought about when everyone does their part.
Putting aside the clever bit of trickery and the self-interest surrounding donation (or at least that of expecting a return for the act of giving), Stone Soup reminds us to be kind to one another, especially when so many people have lost sight of that.
That or it’s a wake-up call telling us all to boil rocks to see what kind of flavor they impart. Surely I can’t be the only one who’s wondering. Surely.
