Stone Soup

When I was in kindergarten, we made stone soup. I brought the carrots. I don’t remember what else was in the soup, where we made it, or what it tasted like. I do remember my snack-sized Ziplock bag full of carrots cut by my mom. That’s all. 

Sometimes it’s easy to focus on those small things. 

Recently inspired by that kindergarten cooking class, I reenacted the stone soup story with groups of children as part of the holiday program. With Christian as narrator, the children as villagers and myself as the wise old woman, we told the following story: 

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There once was an old and very wise woman who traveled around the country. She did not have a home. She did not even have a bed in which to sleep. Everything she had fit into a bandana tied to the end of a stick. Inside the bandana she carried a book, a toothbrush, a key (though she did not know what it unlocked), some money from a country to which she had never been, and a stone. 

The woman traveled from village to village. Some days she walked, some days she danced, and on Tuesdays she skipped. 

One day she was walking through a big forest. She looked up but could not see the tops of the trees, they were so tall. As she looked up, her stomach rumbled. It had been some time since she last ate and she had no food with her, so she wandered through the forest until she found a village. Upon reaching the edge of the small village, she knocked on the door of the nearest house. 

A beet farmer named Dwight opened the door. He looked big and grumpy. Behind him stood his wife and three children. 

The wise lady explained that she had walked, skipped and danced from village to village and that now she was very hungry.  She asked if the man could spare some food. The man, his wife and his children all replied, “No, we have only cabbage and it is not enough.” 

So the wise lady danced to the next house. She knocked on the door with a big smile. 

A tall man named Jim opened the door. His hair was messed but his clothes were clean. He had a lovely wife and two daughters. 

Again the wise lady explained that she had no home and no bed and that she was very hungry. She asked if the man could give her some food, but the whole family answered, “No, we have only carrots and they are not enough.”

The lady became a bit disappointed, but she skipped on to the next house. It was a very big house. 

She knocked and a man named Oscar answered the door. He lived in the big house with his five brothers. 

The lady told the same story again, how she had walked through the big forest and saw trees that were very tall, and that she found this village. It was the end of the day and she was hungry. She asked politely for some food. All the brothers came to the door and said, “No, we have only potatoes and they are not enough.” 

The wise lady was still hungry and more tired. She walked to the next home, dragging her feet. She knocked on the very small door. It opened and a woman named Angela answered. It appeared that she lived with many, many cats. She seemed very sweet. The wise lady thought this woman would give her food for sure! But the lady and all her cats meowed, “No, we have only broth and it is not enough.” 

There was only one house left in the village. The old woman was tired and hungry. Slowly she walked to the next house, though it was more of a shuffle than a walk. In the yard she saw a large pot over a fire. 

“These people must be cooking!” thought the lady. She got excited and knocked enthusiastically. 

A young girl named Pam opened the door. She lived with her father and mother. They were all wearing clothes made of paper. 

The wise lady explained that she had gone to all the houses in the village to ask for food but no one had helped her. She asked for food one more time, but the girl, her father and mother said, “No, we have only onions and it is not enough.” 

Then the wise lady said, “In that case, can I use your pot, your fire and your water to make stone soup?” 

The family did not understand. “You will make a soup out of stones?” 

“Yes,” the wise lady replied as she removed the stone from her bandana-bag. “This is a special stone and it can make delicious soup!” 

The family became curious and wanted to see if the woman really could make soup out of a stone. She began by putting the stone in the pot with water. She stirred and stirred, then smelled the soup. “Yes, this soup will taste wonderful!” she said. “But with just a few onions it would be even better.” 

The family of the small girl said, “We have onions! Let us add them!” So the family cleaned, peeled, and cut the onions into small pieces. They brought them to the wise lady and she added them to the soup. 

Then the farmer named Dwight saw the group standing around the pot and he became curious as well. He wandered over to ask what was going on. 

“We are making stone soup, and it will be delicious!” said the wise lady as she tasted the soup. “Now if only we had some cabbage it would be twice as good.”

The farmer, who had not had soup in a long time, rushed home. He washed his cabbage, cut it into pieces, and then cut those pieces into pieces. He ran back to the old lady and she added it to the soup.

“Oh yes, this soup will be delightful,” she said as she stirred and stirred. 

Then the tall man named Jim and his family also joined the group. They were wondering how the soup would taste so nice. 

“Oh, this stone is very special,” said the woman. “It adds flavor. But with some carrots it would be even nicer!” 

So the tall man named Jim went home and found some carrots. He and his family washed the carrots and cut them in half, then cut the halves into pieces and added them to the soup. 

By then Oscar and his brothers had also come. They smelled the lovely soup and wondered how it had gotten so nice. The wise lady told them the stone was what did the trick, but that adding some potatoes would make the good soup perfect. 

So Oscar went back home with his brothers. They cleaned the potatoes, peeled them, and cut them into small, small pieces. One of his brothers brought them to the woman and she added them to the bubbling soup. 

It was almost suppertime and the whole village had come to see what was cooking. 

“The stone soup is almost ready,” said the wise old lady. “We could eat it as is, but if only we had some broth it would become the best soup in the world!” 

The cat lady named Angela remembered she had some broth at home. She rushed to get it and poured it into the pot of soup. 

The wise lady stirred and stirred, jumped and stirred, and danced and stirred, until finally she tasted the soup. 

“It is perfect!” she exclaimed. “It is the best soup I have ever tasted!” The whole village shared the soup, and there was more than enough for everyone. They filled bowl after bowl, cup after cup until all that was left at the bottom of the pot was the stone. The people went to bed satisfied, and Jim invited the old woman to stay with him and his family for the night. 

The following morning the wise old lady was getting ready to travel ahead. The whole village gathered to wish her farewell. 

“Thank you for the soup,” they said. “It was delicious!”

The old lady removed the stone from her bandana-bag and gave it to the smallest girl in the family with paper clothes. 

“Keep this stone,” she said. “It will work forever to make stone soup… just don’t forget to add onions, cabbage, carrots, potatoes, and some broth!” 

The villagers were grateful and sent their guest off with smiles and waves. As the wise woman danced and skipped into the distance, she paused to pick up a new stone and put it in her bag. 

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I will admit, sometimes it feels like the work I do here isn't worth much. I mean, it’s not like I am the worship leader in church or a teacher at school or in charge of finding children to sponsor in the village. One day I told Christian, “You actually know how to do real things. I just teach kids to read so they can learn how to do real things.” 

I think we all want to be the stone. Yet in our desire, we forget that the stone is only inspiration, not substance. The people added their bit and they made something great. So what’s your bit? What’s mine? How do we fit into Noah’s Ark and the greater church? 

Some days I’m just a carrot. But I think that’s enough.