The Soup

There lived a rich merchant in a small village. He lost all his wealth after a period of time. So he decided to travel to explore the world. He had no food or money and had not eaten in days. The one thing he did have was a cooking pot that he used on those rare occasions when he had something to cook.

He built a small cooking fire, placed his pot on it, and poured in some water. When a few villagers asked what he was doing, he replied that he was making Stone Soup which was an ancient tasty recipe from him from his ancestors. He then dropped in a smooth, round stone he had in his pocket into the pot.

As the soup warmed, the traveller told the villagers stories of his travels and the exciting things he'd seen. He tasted his soup and said it was coming along nicely, but a bit of salt would bring out the flavor. One curious villager went into her home and returned with some salt for the soup.

A few more villagers walking by stopped to see what was going on when they heard the traveller speaking. The traveller told more stories and said that a couple carrots or onion would be a nice addition to the already delicious soup. So, another villager figured he could give a few carrots and retrieved them from his cellar.

This continued on with the traveller casually asking for onions, seasoning, a bit of meat, celery, potatos to bring out the full potential of the soup.

Finally, the soup was ready and everyone and the traveller enjoyed the tasty meals prepared from just a stone, and a few other items.