Stone Soup

Adapted from a Hungarian

folktale By Esperanza
Diaz Cruz
There once was a traveler
who came to a small village,
tired from his long trip. He
had nothing to eat and
hoped that a friendly
villager would be able to
give him some food. He
came to the first house and
knocked on the door. He
asked the woman who
answered if she could give
him just a small bit of food.
 The woman replied, “I‟m
sorry I have nothing to give
you.”
The traveler thanked the
woman and went from door
to door. Each time the
answer was: “I have
nothing to give you.”
Then the traveler had an
idea. He went to the center of
the village. He took a small
tin cooking pan from his
bag. He filled it with water,
started a fire and dropped a
stone in the pan.
A passing villager stopped
and asked him, “What are
you doing?”
The traveler replied, “I am
making stone soup. Would
you like to join
me?”
“Oh! I’d love to,” answered
the villager. “This soup will
be a lot tastier if we only
have some carrots,” the
traveler suggested aloud.
“Oh I have some at home,”
said the villager. “I’ll go
and get some.”
The villager came back with
the carrots and handed it to
the traveler. The traveler
then cut the carrots into
small pieces and dropped it
into the stone soup. Soon,
another curious villager
came by and was invited to
join them. She went home
and returned with some
potatoes.
A young boy passed by and
soon joined the group,
bringing his mother and a
pot from their home to
replace the small tin cooking
pan.
In time, a crowd gathered
with everyone offering their
own favorite ingredient:
onions, salt, black pepper,
cabbage, squash. Finally,
the traveler removed the
stone and declared: “The
stone soup is ready!”
And the whole village
enjoyed the hot stone soup.
The Little Red Hen
An Adaptation By Roderick
Motril Aguirre
Once upon a time, there was
a little red hen who lived on
a farm. She was friends
with a lazy dog, a sleepy
cat, and a noisy mouse.
One day the little red hen
found some kernels on the
ground. The little red hen
had an idea. She would
plant the kernels.
The little red hen asked her
friends, "Who will help me
plant the kernels?" "Not
I," barked the lazy dog.
"Not I," purred the sleepy
cat.
"Not I," squeaked the
noisy mouse.
"Then I will," said the little
red hen. So the little red hen
planted the kernels by
herself.
When the kernels had
grown, the little red hen
asked her friends, "Who
will help me harvest the
corn?" "Not I," barked the
lazy dog.
"Not I," purred the sleepy
cat.
"Not I," squeaked the noisy
mouse.
"Then I will," said the little
red hen. So the little red hen
harvested the corn by
herself.
When all the corn was
harvested, the little red hen
asked her friends, "Who
will help me cook the corn?"
"Not I," barked the lazy
dog.
"Not I," purred the sleepy
cat.
"Not I," squeaked the noisy
mouse.
 "Then I will," said the
little red hen. So the little red
hen cooked the corn by
herself.
The tired little red hen asked
her friends, "Who will help
me eat the corn?" "I will,"
barked the lazy dog.
"I will," purred the sleepy
cat.
"I will," squeaked the noisy
mouse.
"No!" said the little red hen.
"I will." And the little red
hen ate the corn.