The Story Of The Stone Soup For Children With Moral (2024)

The Stone Soup full story is a European folk story that teaches children the value of sharing and caring for each other. The fable has many names and is also known as axe soup, button soup, nail soup, and wood soup. The Stone soup story in English tells us how a group of visitors trick the villagers into sharing their provisions, and in the end, everyone gets together to share one big pot of soup.

Origin And History Of The Stone Soup Story

The Stone Soup story has a European origin and is a folktale. The story has multiple versions and names throughout the European continent. The exact origin of the story is hard to trace as it has been passed down many generations. There have been many references to this folklore in modern art, music and literature. If you wish to, you can find out the origin of this story too!

Story Type of Stone Soup

The Stone Soup Story is a European Folklore and a moral story. It has been passed down through generations to teach young ones that sharing and caring for those around you is a normal aspect of life. When we take care of each other, we are able to lead a more fulfilling life, just like the villagers had a fulfilling meal because they decided to share their provisions.

Story Characters

• Traveller
• Woman
• Woman’s Husband
• Other Neighbours

Stone Soup Story For Children

Once upon a time, there was a small village which was inhabited by poor people. They didn’t like sharing their things with others as they had very little. They would lock their doors and windows tight and keep the little provisions they had for themselves.
One day, a visitor passed through the village. He was very hungry and exhausted from his long journey. He stopped at the first house he could see and knocked on the door, hoping to get some food.
The woman inside cracked open the door a little and asked, “Who are you?”
“I am a traveller, and I was passing through your village. I am tired and hungry. Can I please have something to eat?” “Go away; we hardly have any food here,” replied the woman. “I doubt you’ll find anyone here who has food to spare. We are all poor,” said the woman. After she said this, the woman closed the door in the traveller’s face.
The traveller was not ready to give up and picked up a large stone from the ground and knocked again on the woman’s door. The lady came to the door again and opened it only halfway. “What do you want now?” asked the woman. “Since you are poor like me, maybe you’d like to have some of my stone soup. It is delicious and fulfilling!” “Stone soup, you say?” laughed the woman as she saw the stone in the traveller’s hand. “You can’t make soup from a stone” To that, the traveller replied, “Yes, you can! I’ve done it before.”
The woman didn’t believe him as she had never seen someone make soup from stones before. However, she was hungry too, so she invited him in. She lit the fire and placed a kettle of water on top, and opened the windows to let the heat out. The traveller placed the stones in the water until the water started boiling. He took a sip of the hot liquid and said, “It’s almost done! But, if you had just a little salt and butter, it would taste much better!”
The woman went to her cupboard and returned with salt and butter. As the traveller was adding them to the stone soup, the woman’s husband returned home with carrots and potatoes in his hand. “What are you cooking?” asked the woman’s husband. “Stone soup!” replied the traveller and the woman. The man could not believe this and thought that it was impossible to make soup out of a stone.
“It’s almost finished!” said the traveller as he tasted another spoonful of the soup. “However, it would taste much better if we added carrots and potatoes to it,” said the traveller. The husband was also hungry, so he agreed to add some carrots and potatoes to the stone soup.
Soon, the smell of the soup drifted out of the open window and down the lane. A neighbour who usually stayed inside wandered out and followed the smell all the way to the first house. There, he heard the woman, her husband and the traveller talking about the stone soup. “Is the stone soup ready now?” the woman and her husband asked the traveller. “Yes, but it could be even better if we had some turnips and beans!” “I have some!” yelled the neighbour who was watching them from the window.
The neighbour was curious to taste the soup made of stones, so he returned with turnips and beans. He poured it into the pot, and the smell of the soup drifted further into the village.
Word of a traveller making soup out of a stone drew the villagers out of their houses and towards the woman’s house. They all followed the smell. “Is the stone soup ready yet?” asked the villagers when they came to the window. “Yes, but I remember having stone soup with fresh chicken and broth in the stew once,” replied the traveller.
“I have chicken!” said a farmer and then ran home to get some. “I have broth!” exclaimed another villager who ran to fetch it. They both came and placed the items into the pot. By this moment, the pot was full to the brim with goodness. The traveller tried another sip of the soup, “Perfect!” he exclaimed. He then proceeded to serve a bowl of stone soup to every villager.
“It’s delicious!” said the villagers. “Where can we get this magic stone?” asked some. The traveller shook his head and pulled out the stone from the soup. The villagers realised that it was a normal stone, and the flavour of the soup came from the ingredients and not the stone.
The traveller drank what was left of the soup and continued with his journey. The villagers realised the importance of sharing, and from that day on, they shared their things with each other and lived happily together.

Story Summary

Summary of the Stone soup story:

There was a village which was inhabited by poor people. Everyone kept to themselves and didn’t interact with each other much. One day, a visitor was passing through the village. He was very hungry and exhausted from his travel, so he approached a house, asking for food. The woman refused to give him any food. However, the traveller was not ready to give up. He picked up a stone and knocked on her door again.

This time, he asked her if she would want to try his stone soup. The woman invited him in, and they started making the stone soup. He suggested that if they added salt and butter to the soup, it would taste much better. The woman added them to the soup. Just then, her husband came with carrots and potatoes. The traveller then suggested that adding potatoes and carrots would make it even better, so they added those things to the soup. The soup’s smell spread across the village.

The woman’s neighbours soon came to her window. The traveller kept saying that more items would make the soup better. He called out for turnips, beans, chicken and broth. The villagers ran to their houses and came back with what was needed. At this moment, the pot was full to the brim with delicious goodness. The traveller served the stone soup to everyone.

The villagers loved the soup and asked the traveller for the ‘magic’ stone. The traveller then removed the stone from the pot, and the villagers were shocked. They realised that the wonderful flavour of the soup came from the ingredients they put together and not from the stone.
The villagers realised the importance of sharing with each other, and from that day, they lived happily together.

Moral of the Story

The moral that the story attempts to teach us is that “sharing with others can lead to greater, more pleasant results”.

How Can Children Apply the Moral Lesson of the Story In Their Real Life?

The Stone Soup short story with pictures teaches children always to strive to share their belongings with those around them. Sharing and caring for others are one of the most important qualities we humans possess. It is one of the few things that make us human. Children should always be taught from a young age to share their things with others, whether something as simple as a pencil or something as important as food. We don’t know what others are going through, and sometimes people need the help of others. Only when we share our things and help others can we expect others to help us out. This is a very important lesson that every child must practically understand and learn.

Also Read:

The Happy Prince Story for Children
The Moral Story of Tinkerbell for Kids
The Ant And The Grasshopper Story for Kids with Moral