stone soup
Trickster's communal meal
Stone soup is a communal dish made by pooling contributions from many people, each adding what they can spare.
The term comes from a folktale where a traveler tricks villagers into sharing ingredients by claiming to make soup from a stone.
The story illustrates how collective small contributions create something none could produce alone: The potluck was real stone soup—everyone brought something.
Moral tale with animals
- parableInstructive allegorical narrative
- legendUnverified traditional tale
- mythTraditional explanatory tale
- loreTraditional knowledge transmitted orally
storytelling · oral tradition · folklore · allegory · morality tale · trickster · traveler · villagers
Dividing among others
- contributionSomething given to help
- givingTransferring to another
- charityVoluntary aid for others
- kindnessConsiderate, caring disposition
benevolence · altruism · hospitality · potluck · communal meal · offering · abundance · selflessness
Small rural community
- neighborsThose dwelling nearby
- potluckCommunal meal, shared contributions
- gatheringCollection of people meeting
- communalShared by a community
fellowship · sharing · unity · collective · assembly · togetherness · villagers · strangers
Clever, original thinking
- clevernessMental quickness and skill
- improvisationSpontaneous, unplanned creation
- creativityCapacity for original thought
- adaptabilityAbility to adjust readily
cunning · wit · problem-solving · making do · scarcity · persuasion · trickery · survival
fable
Moral tale with animals
- parableInstructive allegorical narrative
- legendUnverified traditional tale
- mythTraditional explanatory tale
lore · storytelling · oral tradition · folklore · allegory · morality tale · trickster · traveler · villagers · cauldron
sharing
Dividing among others
- contributionSomething given to help
- givingTransferring to another
- charityVoluntary aid for others
kindness · benevolence · altruism · hospitality · potluck · communal meal · offering · abundance · selflessness · gift
village
Small rural community
- neighborsThose dwelling nearby
- potluckCommunal meal, shared contributions
- gatheringCollection of people meeting
communal · fellowship · sharing · unity · collective · assembly · togetherness · villagers · strangers · trust
ingenuity
Clever, original thinking
- clevernessMental quickness and skill
- improvisationSpontaneous, unplanned creation
- creativityCapacity for original thought
adaptability · cunning · wit · problem-solving · making do · scarcity · persuasion · trickery · survival · thrift
- moral talesfable, parable, moral stories, allegory, moral fables
- storybook foodsporridge, gingerbread, green eggs, chocolate factory, magic beans
- folk food termscomfort food, soul food, home cooking, peasant food, rustic bread
- food folkloreapple a day, watermelon seeds, bread crusts, forbidden fruit, magic beans
- fablesfable, Aesop, Aesop's fables, Aesop fables, tortoise and hare
stone soupself-sufficiency
Independence from outside aid
going it alone · rugged individualism · solo effort · hoarding · one-man show
stone soupfeast
Elaborate ceremonial meal
banquet · cornucopia · horn of plenty · lavish spread · embarrassment of riches
stone soupevery man for himself
Chaotic self-interest declaration
dog eat dog · zero-sum game · tragedy of the commons · Scrooge · NIMBY
stone, soup, stones, stoned, stoning, stony, stonework, stonecutter, milestone