Welcome to Stone Soup

I don't know if any of you guys are familiar with the old folk tale called Stone Soup. It was one of my father's favorites and I know I had a picture book of it as a child.  There are many variations of the story that take place in many different countries. Sometimes instead of stones, the soup has a nail or an ax in it. Sometimes the story only takes place between a couple of people instead of a whole town. The version I am most familiar with is the French one that takes place during the Napoleonic wars.

For those of you who don't know the story, three French soldiers are trying to return home from the war. Despite carrying around a cooking cauldron, the soldiers ran out of food and were starving. One day they come across a small village and ask the villagers for a place to rest and some food. The villagers, suspicious of the strangers, refuse to help the soldiers. So, the soldiers go to the river, fill up the cauldron with water, and place a smooth stone at the bottom. They then start cooking.

The villagers are extremely curious as to what the soldiers are doing. After all who the heck starts trying to cook a large stone? So, one by one, the villagers go up to the soldiers and ask what they are doing. The soldiers tell each villager that they are making Stone Soup, one of the most delicious meals around, but it's not quite ready. The soldiers then ask each villager that arrives if they can spare one ingredient and promises to share the soup when it's finished.

I'm sure you can guess how the story ends. Each villager contributes an ingredient. By the time the soup is finished, the soldiers have removed the stone and created a wonderful meal for themselves and everyone in the village. Sure the villagers were tricked into helping out the soldiers, but by the end everyone is enjoying themselves that they don't mind. They are sharing a great meal together.

I really liked this story as a kid, though I think the lessons are a little confusing. I mean, usually morals of the story don't include tricking people, right? Tricking someone is usually considered a bad thing and the trickster(s) are typically punished at the end of the story.

So why does this story teach the opposite? Why were the villagers so unwelcoming?

Well, I think the villagers didn't trust the newly arrived soldiers. After all they could have been anyone. The soldiers could have been bad people who harmed the villagers.

But does that really justify the villager's actions? Personally I don't think so. The story clearly states that the soldiers were starving (and likely looked it). The villagers could have likely guessed that the soldiers wouldn't have been able to hurt them. Would the villagers have been guilty of enabling the death of the soldiers? Yes, they would have. Helping them would have also been the right thing to do.

Now are the soldiers wrong for having tricked the villagers?

No, no they aren't. Sometimes a person honestly needs help and after being turned away over and over again, they become desperate. The soldiers needed to eat something to stay alive. If they had been dishonorable, they would have just stolen the food from the villagers. Instead, they make sure that everyone is able to eat a hearty meal.

I find that this is one of the few stories that teach kids that sometimes it's okay to trick people, just as long as its for a good reason.

It also teaches working together as a community brings people together and can solve more problems.

It is better to be welcoming to strangers than leave them out in the cold. It is better to feed someone hungry than let them starve. It's sometimes okay to trick people.

I think that the story of Stone Soup teaches kids that it's okay to be cunning, how to be empathetic, and the importance doing things in an honorable way. Sure bad things can happen, but I think this story teaches that it's more important to help someone in need than turn them away out of fear.

If you enjoyed this post (or it really pissed you off) please like, share, and/or leave a comment. I love hearing from my readers and I hope you guys like hearing from me.

Until next week.