Page 26 - Introducing The Gratitudes

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■ The Stone Soup
One day, in a time and place almost lost to memory, a traveler was passing through a village. Times were hard, and people were not particularly warm or hospitable to strangers, or to each other for that matter. Hardly anyone responded to the traveler’s hearty greeting or to her warm and cheery attitude. Unfazed by the lukewarm reception, she sat down in a corner and got busy. She took out a large iron pot, whistling a merry tune as she did so. She proceeded to light a fire. She filled the pot with water. While waiting for the water to boil, she made a big to-do about taking out a knife, a soup ladle, and a polished stone, whistling all the while. All this activity attracted the attention of passersby.
“What are you cooking?” asked a curious onlooker.
“Stone soup, ” was the cheerful reply.
elderly lady. She came forward and handed them over to the traveler. She peeled and chopped them expertly, and added them to the soup. Then she took another sip.
She declared it the best stone soup ever, but conceded that it would taste even better if it had carrots in it.
“I think I have some carrots somewhere ” said a man who had been watching the whole thing. He ran home and quickly came back with a handful, which he handed over to the traveler. She chopped and added them
The traveler continued to stir her concoction. Every time she would taste the soup, she would smack her lips and declare it the best ever, but would add that it would taste better if only it had this ingredient or that. Cries of “I have leftover meat,” or “I have some onions,” “salt,” “pepper,” etc, rang through the crowd.
People offered all kinds of stuff from their garden or pantry in the hope that the soup would taste better.
In the meantime, the waiting crowd sat down, exchanged pleasantries and started to play music together. Everyone agreed that it was the most fun they’d had in a long time. Pretty soon, the soup was starting to smell really good. The traveler took another sip of the soup and declared it done. She ladled generous servings of it into bowls and handed them around.
Everyone thanked the traveler for the marvellous stone soup and asked her for the secret. The traveler revealed to them that it was not the stone that made
the soup taste good, but all the other ingredients that everyone contributed. She added that in life, as in the case of the soup, if everyone pitched in a little something, a wondrous thing will come out of such an undertaking.
The villagers thanked the traveler again, especially for her words of wisdom.
From that time on, the villagers became kinder and more helpful to one another. So the traveler, satisfied, went on her merry and purposeful way, determined more than ever to share the secret of her stone soup to anyone who cared to listen.
INTRODUCING THE GRATITUDES Field Guides to Learning and Living Everyday Values
A crowd was starting to gather around the traveler, curious about the so- called stone soup.
She continued to whistle away as she dropped the stone into the huge pot of water.
“Stone soup! I’ve never heard of such a thing,” said another.
“Stick around and have some when it’s done,” was the warm response.
A crowd was starting to gather around the traveler, curious about the so-called stone soup. She continued to whistle away as she dropped the stone into the huge pot of water.
Finally, the water started to boil. The traveler took her ladle and took a sip of the soup.
“How does it taste?” asked a voice from the crowd.
“It tastes good,” said the traveler, ” but it would taste even better if it had a couple of potatoes,” he added wistfully.
“I have some potatoes,” volunteered an