Fire Tribe Gathering

Stone Soup

Once a wise beggar came upon the house of a poor lonely widow. Being cold and hungry, the beggar walked up to the door and knocked; nothing happened. He knocked again, and this time the curtain moved. On the third knock the door opened, and an old woman stood there. She had been alone for many years and she loved company so she invited him in.

She treated him well and in return he offered to cook her a meal. A bit embarrassed, she had to decline because there was no food in the house. The beggar thought about this for a moment and then brought forth from his pocket a small smooth silver colored beautiful pebble which glistened like a star.

The beggar told the widow that the stone was magic and that all he needed was a pot of water and the use of her stove. So the woman busied herself and when all was ready the beggar dropped the stone into the pot and left it to boil. Soon he came back and tasted it "Mmm," he said "it just needs a little something else". The widow ran around, looking for something to put in the pot. Finally she found an onion and some carrots. Soon these were cut up and thrown into the soup.

While the beggar waited for the soup to boil, the widow rang her neighbor and told her about the beggar and his magic stone. The neighbor came over and met the beggar.

About then the beggar tasted the soup and said, "Mmm, it needs a little something else". "I've got some meat at home" the neighbor said, "you can have it." As she ran home to get the meat she decided to ring one of her friends and tell him about this amazing beggar. Soon they both arrived at the widow's house. They met the beggar, just as he was tasting the soup.

He said, "Mmm, wonderful! But it needs a little something else". The second friend suggested that he could go home and get some delicious, rich spices to flavor the soup.

So he ran home and while he found the spices he rang a friend and together they went to meet the beggar. And so it went, as more and more people arrived with more things for the soup, and some brought salads and others even brought desserts! Soon the widow's house was full of joy and happiness and delicious foods!

All through the house the rich aroma of the soup made the people's mouths water, and when they sat down to eat the meal they enjoyed the most amazing time of their lives.