Stone Soup
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Authors
Forest, Heather
Issue Date
2000
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Type
Book, Whole
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Abstract
Here is a paperback version of a book first published in hardbound in 1998. There is a good "Author's Note" on the variety of versions of this story, "a popular European folktale that has been told and retold for centuries." The author takes note of the French version, in which soldiers find townspeople fearful of being generous after the ravages of war. In the Swedish version, a tramp teaches a stingy old woman generosity by using a nail to start a sumptuous broth. In Russia, an axe serves as the soup starter. This version "takes place in a village located anywhere that people learn about the pleasures of sharing." The characters here are largely people of color. Two travelers seeking food receive a cold welcome of doors closed in their faces. Everywhere they hear "I don't care. I won't share. There is no food!" One traveler says to the other that, if they speak truly, the people in this village are in greater need than they are. "We should make them our magical soup." They call for and get a large pot. They fill it with water and heat it. Then, as they put a stone into the water, they claim that this soup has a magical ingredient. With a repeated request "Bring what you've got," they add one ingredient after another, at first in very small quantities. Everyone in town ends up bringing one small thing. The magical ingredient turns out to be sharing. After a wondrous feast, the town bids a fond farewell to the two travelers, and they recite a verse "recipe" worth remembering: "Bring what you've got. Put it in the pot. Every bit counts, from the largest to the least. Together we can celebrate a Stone Soup feast!" The last page is a recipe for "Your Own Stone Soup." Well done!
Description
Citation
Publisher
August House LittleFolk
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DOI
Identifier
11183 (Access ID)