About the Story.
This guide is part of the Values & Virtues library — a free collection of 400+ book guides and activities organized around 12 core virtues for children from pre-K to 6th grade. Each guide includes Guiding Questions designed to open a real conversation with your child in 10 minutes or less.
Read-aloud video · Best with headphones
Story: “Stone Soup”
A French soldier was traveling home after fighting in a war. He was alone, and on foot. He came to a village, hungry and tired, and started knocking on doors. The first person who answered was an old woman, who peeked out at him and asked rudely, “What do you want?” He explained that he was very hungry and asked for something to eat. She replied, “I don’t have any extra food to give you and probably everyone else in this village will tell you the same. Why don’t you move on to the next village?”
He tipped his cap and politely left, pausing in the village square, thinking about his next move. Nearby was a public woodpile, and a fire pit. The soldier decided to make a fire. He filled the cooking pot he carried with him with water from the well, and placed the pot on the fire. A little girl watched him do all this and finally got up the courage to ask the stranger, “What are you doing?” The soldier plucked a stone from his backpack and explained that he was getting ready to make stone soup.
By this time, a crowd had gathered around him, wondering what this man was doing in their village. One remarked, “Why did you put that stone into your pot of boiling water?” He didn’t answer, but dipped his ladle into the pot and drank its contents, exclaiming, “Delicious! This is just the way the king likes it!”
This made the villagers very curious, “The king likes soup that’s made from a stone?” The soldier responded, “Yes, but he likes it even better with cabbage.” This made the villagers even more curious - they wanted to taste the special stone soup their king enjoyed. One villager, a farmer, ran home and brought back a cabbage to add to the soup. The soldier exclaimed, it’s almost perfect, but the king really likes potatoes and carrots in his broth. This prompted a mother to fetch vegetables from her garden for the soup. Finally it was beginning to smell very good. The butcher asked, “Doesn’t the king like meat in his soup?” Others added their suggestions, “What about tomatoes, onions, and greens?” They brought these ingredients to add to the sweet-smelling broth, and finally, the soldier announced, “The king’s stone soup is finished, so go get bowls and you can taste it!”
They all sat around the fire, gulping down this delicious soup, chatting excitedly, and asking the soldier, “We know you’re on your way home, so could we buy that stone from you so we can make more soup like this?” The soldier replied, “I will give you the stone so you can have many more meals together!”
From that time on, the villagers got together frequently, bringing ingredients from their shops and gardens, preparing and sharing the king’s stone soup!
Find this book at your library or bookstore → 
