![]() ![]() In the Portuguese tradition, the traveler is a monk, and the story takes place around Almeirim, Portugal.In Northern European and Scandinavian countries, the story is most commonly known as "nail soup", and the main character is typically a tramp looking for food and lodgings, who convinces an old woman that he will make a tasty nail soup for the both of them if she would just add a few ingredients for the garnish.Johann Peter Hebel wrote a German version, " Der schlaue Pilgrim" ("The Cunning Pilgrim", 1811), in which a wily pilgrim, allegedly on his way to Jerusalem, tricks a hostess step-by-step into adding rich soup ingredients to his pebble stones, finally leaving the stones uneaten.The tale ends with the soldier taking the axe when leaving, claiming he will eat it on the road. ![]() ![]() In Russian tradition, a soldier prepares "axe kasha" ( Каша из топора).He comes upon an old woman and tricks her into giving him the ingredients needed for the soup At the end of the tale, they share the soup, and he sells the rock to the woman. In the Hungarian version, a single starving soldier tries to obtain food from villagers.In the French, Hungarian and Russian versions of the tale, the travelers are soldiers returning home.An Eastern European variation of the story (which is similar to the Northern European rendition) is called "axe soup", with an axe as the catalyst.Although the travelers have thus tricked the villagers into sharing their food with them, they have successfully transformed it into a tasty meal which they share with the donors. Finally, the stone (being inedible) is removed from the pot, and a delicious and nourishing pot of soup is enjoyed by travelers and villagers alike. More and more villagers walk by, each adding another ingredient, like potatoes, onions, cabbages, peas, celery, tomatoes, sweetcorn, meat (like chicken, pork and beef), milk, butter, salt and pepper. Another villager walks by, inquiring about the pot, and the travelers again mention their stone soup which has not yet reached its full potential. The villager, who anticipates enjoying a share of the soup, does not mind parting with a few carrots, so these are added to the soup. The travelers answer that they are making "stone soup", which tastes wonderful and which they would be delighted to share with the villager, although it still needs a little bit of garnish, which they are missing, to improve the flavor. One of the villagers becomes curious and asks what they are doing. Then the travelers go to a stream and fill the pot with water, drop a large stone in it, and place it over a fire. Upon their arrival, the villagers are unwilling to share any of their food stores with the very hungry travelers. Some travelers come to a village, carrying nothing more than an empty cooking pot. ![]()
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