The thumbnail and the story of stone soup are not mine.
The thumbnail is from stock, and the story form verbal tradition.

I will be serving stone soup at Wild Nights, during the SuperSponsor meal.


Stone Soup,

A kindly, old gypsy was walking through the land when she came upon a village. As she entered, the villagers moved towards their homes locking doors and windows.
The gypsy smiled and asked, why is everyone so frightened. I am but a simple traveler, looking for a soft place to stay for the night and a warm place for a meal.
"There's not a bite to eat in the whole province," she was told. "A blight has come upon our land and all the food is gone, you’d best move on."
"Oh, I have everything I need," she said. "In fact, I was thinking of making some stone soup to share with all of you." She pulled a huge iron cauldron from her cloak, filled it with water, and began to build a fire under it.
Then, with great ceremony, she drew a smooth highly polished stone from a silken bag and dropped it into the water.
By now, hearing the rumor of food, most of the villagers had come out of their homes or watched from their windows. As the gypsy sniffed the "broth" and licked her lips in anticipation, hunger began to overcome their fear.
"Ahh," the gypsy said to herself rather loudly, "I do like a tasty stone soup. Of course, stone soup with cabbage -- that's hard to beat."
Soon a villager approached hesitantly, holding a small cabbage he'd retrieved from its hiding place, and added it to the pot.
"Wonderful!!" cried the gypsy. "You know, I once had stone soup with cabbage and a bit of salt beef as well, and it was fit for a king."
The village butcher managed to find some salt beef . . . and so it went, through potatoes, onions, carrots, mushrooms, and so on, until there was indeed a delicious meal for everyone in the village to share.
The villager elder offered the gypsy a great deal of money for the magic stone, but he refused to sell it and traveled on the next day.
As he left, the gypsy came upon a group of village children standing near the road. He gave the silken bag containing the stone to the youngest child, whispering to her, “It not the stone, but the villagers that had performed the magic."





The moral of the story? When everyone pitches in and contributes what they can, even the seemingly impossible can be accomplished.