Some travellers came to a village, carrying nothing more than an empty cooking pot. Upon their arrival, the villagers were not willing to share any of their food with the hungry travellers. Then, the travellers went to a stream and filled the pot with water, dropped a large stone in it, and placed it over a fire.
One of the villagers became curious and asked what they were doing. The travellers answered that they were making "stone soup", which tasted wonderful and which they would be delighted to share with the villager, although it still needed a little bit of garnish, which they were missing, to improve the flavour.
The villager, who wanted to get a share of the soup, did not mind parting with a few carrots. So they were added to the soup. Another villager walked by, inquiring about the pot, and the travellers again mentioned their stone soup which had not yet reached its full potential.
The villager handed them a little bit of seasoning. More and more villagers walked by, each adding another ingredient. Finally, the stone (being inedible) was removed from the pot, and a delicious and nourishing pot of soup was enjoyed by the travellers and villagers alike.
Though the travellers tricked the villagers into sharing their food with them, they have successfully transformed it into a tasty and nutritious meal which they shared with the donors.
