Stone Soup

By Adrija Datta

Once upon a time, a famine struck a village. People started hoarding their food items. They hid these things from their friends. Three soldiers were on their way home after a war. Their journey was very long. There were forests and roads on their way.One of the soldiers said, 'Oh! What a tiring journey! I hope we reach our homes soon.'Another soldier said, 'Same here! I would really like a good dinner tonight.'The third soldier said, ' I really need a bed to sleep in right now, I am so tired. 'Suddenly one of them said,' Oh! I see some lights over there. I think it is a village. 'So the two other soldiers said that they should go and check whether it was a village or not.When the people of the village heard that three soldiers were coming down the road, they started talking among themselves.One of the peasants said ' Three soldiers are coming towards our village and these soldiers are always hungry.'One of the women said, 'But what can we give them? We have so little for ourselves.'The village chief then said, ' What you are saying is true. We really have very little food for ourselves I think we should hide all the food that we have.'All the people of the village said that it was a very good idea and nodding their heads in agreement, they all departed from the meeting spot.The soldiers stopped at the first house and a man stepped out.The soldiers wished the man good evening and asked whether he could spare a bit of food for three hungry soldiers.The peasant said, 'Oh! I wish I could help you, but there is not a bite to eat in the whole village. We have been struck by a famine. Sorry.The soldiers go on to the next house.The second soldier asked, 'Could you spare a bit of food? 'The third soldier added,’ And, do you have a place where we could sleep for the night? 'The present replied 'Oh no, we don't. Actually we gave all we could spare to the soldiers who came before you and now all our beds are full.' He lied.There was a 'no' at each door. No one was ready to give them food or shelter for only one night. The soldiers stood in the street and sighed. They looked tired and hungry. They started talking among themselves.The first soldier said, 'Nobody is willing to give us any food or shelter for the night. 'What should we do now? 'The second soldier said, 'I think we should execute our plan of teaching them togetherness. 'The third soldier said, 'What are we waiting for? Let's do it.'The soldiers sat in a corner and got busy. The first soldier took out a large iron pot, whistling a merry tune as he did so. The second soldier proceeded to light a fire. The third soldier filled the pot with water. All this activity grabbed the attention of the villagers.One of the peasants asked the three soldiers, 'What are you cooking? 'The first soldier replied saying that they were cooking a 'stone soup'.The present was shocked to hear it and he said, ' I have never heard of such a strange thing before.'The second soldier said, 'Stick around and have some when it is done. 'A crowd was starting to gather around the soldiers curious about the so called stone soup. The soldiers continued to whistle as they dropped a polished stone into the huge pot of water.The third soldier said, ' I should take a sip of the soup and see how it tastes.' So he did just as he said.One of the peasants asked, 'How does it taste?'The first soldiers say that it tested good but it would taste even better if it had some carrots, so one of the women who heard this said that she thought she had a carrot or two at home and she went to get them.The second soldier said, 'A good stone soup should have some spinach but there is no use asking for something that is not available. 'Another woman said that she thought she could probably find some spinach.Then the third soldier said that if they only had a bit of meat and some potatoes the soup would be fit for a rich man's table.Hearing this all the villagers huddled together and discussed something. Then they ran and went to their homes and fetched whatever they had and gave them to the soldiers.While all this activity was going on two of the women started whispering among themselves and started saying that a rich man's soup and all from a stone seemed like a work of magic.Then the first soldier again said that if only they had a bit of corn and some milk then the soup would be fit for a king.All the villages ran and fetched some corn and milk from their houses and gave them to the soldiers.Then the soldiers announced that the soup was ready and they could all taste but first they needed to set the table.All the villages came together and set up the tables and torches in a square and sat down to eat.Then the villages thought that such a great soup would be better to taste with bread so all of them went and got the last loaf of bread from their houses to share with everyone.Everybody ate and drank and enjoyed the soup.Then everyone thanked the soldiers for the amazing meal.The soldiers again asked the villagers whether they could have a place to sleep for the night.The village chief said, 'You wise men must have the best beds in the village. One of you should spend the night at the priest's house, one of you at the trader's house and one of you in my house.The soldiers departed to go to the respective homes they wanted to go to.Dawn broke and the soldiers prepared to leave. All the villages came to see them off.All the villagers told the soldiers,' Many thanks to you we shall never go hungry again because you have taught us how to make soup from a stone.

By Adrija Datta