Folklore: Rock soup

Subject: Folklore: Rock soup
From: GUEST,An Pluiméir Ceolmhar, temporarily decookied
Date: 03 Mar 06 - 05:55 AM

I'm fairly sure that it was in the Mudcat that I first heard of rock soup, but a search of the forum draws a blank.

I thought it was a story from American hobo lore, but Google sources suggest a Danish, possibly HC Andersen story. I also assumed it to be a myth of resourcefulness, and in particularly the ability to build something out of nothing, but different versions which I found via Google tell the story in slightly different ways to draw out different morals: e.g. the value of community effort, or the cynicism of business consultants.

Can the Mudcat oracle give some reliable guidance on the authentic original rock-soup myth, please?

Subject: RE: Folklore: Rock soup
From: GUEST,Raggytash
Date: 03 Mar 06 - 07:11 AM

Not an answer to your query but a neat little aside, Dr Hook recorded a song called "The wonderful wonderful soup stone" possibly written (as much of their material was) by the late great Shel Silverstein which indicates that the European folklore has passed once again into the emerging American "tradition"

Subject: RE: Folklore: Rock soup
From: Windsinger
Date: 03 Mar 06 - 07:21 AM

An Pluiméir, you might vary your search by looking under "stone soup" instead of "rock soup."

And while it's definitely the SORT of story Hans Christian Anderson liked to write, this one's been circulating around the countries of Europe a long time and well predates HCA's body of work. To my knowledge, no one's been able to pin down a single author or point of origin.

(Kind of like how variations on Cinderella exist in most European countries simultaneously; which one's "the oldest" is kind of academic.)

Slán,

~Fionn

www.geocities.com/children_of_lir

Subject: RE: Folklore: Rock soup
From: Abby Sale
Date: 03 Mar 06 - 10:19 AM

Largely, morals should be ignored - or at least taken in the context of the currect editor, not the original story's writer.

Most folk tales have no clear moral. They are generally clear to the society from which the tale comes and needn't be specificied there. However, since morals by definition are subject to the mores & religion of a specific society, they may be very different from yours or that of the current book editor.

Thus, Christian editors printing, to them, inexplicable tales (which are clearly fables and in which some effort is "rewarded" or "punished" for non-Christian (ie, inexplicable) reasons - generally squoze/adapted the tales until a Christian homily would fit it.

Make sense?

Aesop, eg, is wildly redacted. Most tales are centuries or more later and the morals have little to do with 6th century bce Greek religion or morality. Best modern translations can be surprising- not what we grew up with.

Same for what drove unpaid ex-soldiers in, let's say, 16th century Europe.

Subject: RE: Folklore: Rock soup
From: An Pluiméir Ceolmhar
Date: 04 Mar 06 - 05:45 PM

Thank you, folks.

Subject: RE: Folklore: Rock soup
From: michaelr
Date: 04 Mar 06 - 05:51 PM

Forum search for "stone soup" brings up 36 hits.

Subject: RE: Folklore: Rock soup
From: Mo the caller
Date: 05 Mar 06 - 05:16 PM

We had a children's book with the story "nail soup" in it.
A beggar persuades a mean housewife to give him a bed for the night with the promise of soup made from his magic nail, and then suggests various ingredients to make it taste even better. The housewife provides these, and they enjoy a feast "and all from a nail"

Subject: RE: Folklore: Rock soup
From: dick greenhaus
Date: 05 Mar 06 - 06:30 PM

There was a Haitian twist on the theme: the Clever-Thief-Scoundrel protaganist fills a bottle half full of water and approaches a rum-seller, asking him to fill the bottle. When told the price, he refuses to pay, and allows the rum-seller to pour off half of the contents of the then-full bottle. Visits to five or six other rum-sellers provide him with a half-bottle of almost straight rum.