Stone Soup

Many years ago, in the time of Jesus, two men were traveling and came upon a town. The men were hungry and had no money. They walked through the Farmer's Market and asked the various vendors if they had anything to spare for a hungry man. Every time, the answer was the same -- "No".

Finally they met after asking everyone for food and neither had anything to eat. These men did not despair. The first man said in a bold voice, "What we need is some stone soup. We have a good stream here and I can see several stones that would do just fine."

The second man then asked "Where will we get the pot to make the soup?"

A couple of the children had heard the first man's comment about stone soup and had wandered closer to see what these men were going to do. Everyone knows you can't eat stones.

"I will get a pot from home" said one young boy and darted off.

While he was going to get the pot, the men moved to the stream and began examining the rocks to see which one was most suitable for their dinner. By the time they found the stone they were looking for, the boy returned with a pot. It wasn't a real good pot. It was dented but, it was very large and would do just fine.

They put the stone in the pot and added some water from the stream. Next they started a fire and sat the pot on it.

People were walking near them and would pause to see what these men were doing. Many shook their heads and walked on. After the stone cooked for a few minutes, the second man said to the first "This is going to taste very good but it would taste even better if there were some tomatoes or cabbage in it."

A girl who had been watching said, "My mother had some this morning. I'll go see if I can get some" and off she ran.

An older boy suggested an onion or two. When the men agreed, the boy went to a nearby field and dug up two large onions. The vegetables were cut up and added to the pot. Now the aroma was beginning to drift throughout the Farmer's Market and many of the people could smell it.

An older man slowly walked over and said, "A soup of vegetables is OK, but a soup with some lamb in it is much better. I have a little left that has not sold today. If you like, you can add that." What he brought back was several pounds of lamb and looked very good. It was added to the soup which was now cooking slowly over the fire. Many of the children would run to get more wood to keep the fire going. The men continued to stir the soup occasionally.

Finally after a few hours of cooking the soup was ready. "Oh my, the first man said. We have this soup and no bowls to eat it from or spoons to eat it with."

A lady was nearby and said, "I can bring you a couple of bowls and spoons."

"Kind lady, please also bring a bowl and spoon for yourself. Please join us in this delicious meal of stone soup." Then in a loud voice said to all who had gathered, "There is more stone soup here than we can possibly eat. Anyone who brings a bowl to eat from may have a bowl of soup. We would hate for this to go to waste."

Now many people came to them with their bowls. Someone added several loaves of bread and everyone had a great meal. Even the teenage boys had enough to fill themselves and you know how much teenage boys can eat.

The people sat around and enjoyed not only the soup, but each other's company. They all had a good time of that meal.

Finally as the pot was nearly finished, an old woman came to the two men and asked "Could I please have the stone from your soup? Occasionally, we all need some stone soup." The men smiled and handed the rock to her.

The moral to this story is that if everyone pitches in, there is enough food for everyone.

The background of this page is the original work of and copyrighted by Jean Keaton, Kaysville, Utah. It is not to be copied or duplicated without the express permission of the artist.