The three
soldiers returning home from war were hungry. When they saw the
village ahead their spirits lifted-they were sure the villagers would
give them a meal. But when they got there, they found the doors
locked and the windows closed. After many years of war, the villagers
were short of food, and hoarded what they had.
Undeterred,
the soldiers boiled a pot of water and carefully placed three stones
into it. The amazed villagers came out to watch.
"This is
stone soup," the soldiers explained. "Is that all you put
in it?" asked the villagers.
"Absolutely—although
some say it tastes even better with a few carrots...." A
villager ran off, returning in no time with a basket of carrots from
his hoard.
A couple of
minutes later, the villagers again asked "Is that it?"
"Well,"
said the soldiers, "a couple of potatoes give it body."Off ran
another villager.
Over the next
hour, the soldiers listed more ingredients that would enhance the
soup: beef, leeks, salt, and herbs. Each
time a different villager would run off to raid their personal
stores.
Eventually
they had produced a large pot of steaming soup. The soldiers removed
the stones, and they sat down with the
entire village to enjoy the first square meal any of them had eaten
in months.
I am
presently reading “The Pragmatic Programmer by Addison-Wesley”
and I found this interesting story. Hope you enjoyed
it.
