Hungarian Folk Tales: Stone Soup
Once upon a time a poor young soldier was coming home from the war.
The poor soul wandered from one village to another,
threadbare and hungry.
He was offered no bread or even a little hot soup anywhere at all.
He went from house to house asking for something to eat.
But the people either set the dogs on him or told him they themselves were too poor to eat.
As he carried on from gate to gate, he made up his mind to go into the first house
and make a pot of soup for himself, whoever the owner of the house might be.
He picked up a stone at the entrance of a house and walked in.
The owner was an old woman.
Good morning, old lady!
Good morning to you, young soldier!
Are you well today, old lady?
I am well! And how are you, young soldier?
I'm also well, but I have to say that I would love to eat a little soup if you have any to spare.
Oh young soldier, I gladly give you some if I had any.
But I'm as poor as the church mouse. I have nothing.
My pantry, my attic and my whole house are all empty.
I have nothing, not even a crust of bread.
Well, – said the soldier – I'm not so poor, I have a stone right here in my pocket.
I could make a soup out of it. All I need is a pot or a pan or something to cook it in.
Well I could give you one, I have plenty of pots in the house – said the old woman.
But I have nothing to put in them.
The soldier washed the stone nice and neatly and placed it in the pot.
The old woman lit the fire.
The soldier poured water over the stone and placed it on the fire to cook.
He even stirred it with a long wooden spoon.
The old woman watched him with curiosity.
The soldier even tried the soup.
Well, it's good enough, – he said – but if it had a little salt in it, it would be even better.
I'll get you some salt, I have plenty.
The soldier put the salt into it, stirred it and said:
If you had a spoonful of fat, that would make it even better.
The old woman said: I do have some.
I'll bring it right away.
She brought a spoonful of fat and they put it in the pot.
The soldier stirred it and tried it, while the old woman watched his every move.
The soldier said:
Well you know, I'm used to making stone soup but I usually make it with a piece of sausage.
That gives it a better flavour.
Oh, I have some sausage – said the old woman.
I'll give you some from the pantry.
Then the soldier said:
Bring two pieces, so then you'll have one and I'll have one too.
Very well, I shall bring two.
And the old woman brought two pieces of sausage.
The soldier put them both in the pot then stirred it and tried it.
Do you know, – he said – if you have some potatoes, we could cut some up and put them in here too.
And if you have some vegetables, that would really top it all.
Oh, but I do have some – said the old woman.
And now bring them at once.
So she hurried off right away, pulled up some potatoes and vegetables,
which they cleaned, and cut into pieces, and put into the soup.
Then the soldier stirred, it tasted it and said to the old woman:
You should try it too, it's really good.
The old woman tried the soup and said :
Well, I would have never believed that you could make such a good soup from a stone.
They left it to cook a while, then the soldier said:
A little rice would improve it but I'm not sure you have any.
Oh, but I do have some rice.
Then they'll put some rice into the soup too.
Now it's just like the soups I usually make.
Then they waited for the soup to be ready,
and the soldier served the old woman and himself about full each.
And they both began to eat.
The old woman couldn't help wondering, how such a good soup like this had been made out of a stone.
When they had had enough to eat, the old woman said to the soldier:
Tell me, young soldier, would you sell me this stone?
Quite often I have nothing to cook, but with this stone I would always have at least a little soup.
Well why not? It's yours for one hundred florins.
The old woman quickly gave him the one hundred florins and wrapped the stone from the soup in a cloth,
so she could use it again to make soup whenever she wanted.
Then the young soldier left with a hundred florins before the old woman could change her mind.
So he had satisfied his hunger and he had a hundred florins for his troubles.
He walked cheerfully until nightfall when he met another old woman,
who had no idea how to make good soup out of a stone either.
He played his trick again and had a good meal on top of it.
And I don't know what kind of soup the old woman made after that,
as I was told this story by an old aunt of mine.
But I suppose they tried it when they were poor back in the old country,
but whatever the case they all lived happily ever after.