The Fable of Rock Soup

The war had been long and hard. A lone soldier wandered through the cold. He was literally starving. At last he came upon a village, but everywhere he went, the villagers said they had nothing to spare.

The soldier then built a campfire in the village square, and borrowed a large, black iron pot. He filled it with snow, and then dug about the ground until he had gathered a dozen or more smooth, dark stones. He inspected each closely, smelled them individually, and kept only a few. He wiped them clean, and then placed them gingerly, one by one, into the pot.

The soldier then began stirring the water and occasionally taking a taste.

"Mmmmmm," he finally said, "This is the best Rock Soup I have tasted in a long time." The villagers couldn't believe their ears. Rock Soup? Surely he was mad!

The soldier took one more taste and then said, "This is good soup but it needs something, perhaps a carrot..... Yes, that's it, a little bit of carrot would make it perfect!"

An elderly villager leaned over the pot and inhaled deeply. He closed his eyes and remembered the aromas of soups and stews long gone. "I think I might have a couple of carrots in my cellar, I will bring them," and the carrots were added to the Rock Soup.

Again the soldier continued to stir and taste. "It is still missing something. Perhaps a few onions would make it even better. A few villagers scurried off, bringing back many onions. All went into the pot.

Again, the soldier continued to stir and taste. The soldier said, "This is very good Rock Soup, the carrots and onions made it better, but it is still missing something. If only it had a few potatoes."

He let a few villagers sample the delicious smelling brew. Several left, each returning with a potato, until he had enough to fill the pot.

As he let it simmer, others brought bits of this and that to add to the flavor. Tasting it one more time, he exclaimed it was "Perfect!"

Starting with the children, everyone had a bowl of this wonderful soup.

Everyone in the village exclaimed that it was the best Rock Soup that they had ever eaten, and they all ate their fill.

"What about neighboring villages?" someone asked. "They are hungry, too."

Saving a rock for themselves, the others were cleaned, placed in baskets, and sent out by messenger. There was enough Rock Soup to save a nation!