The Story Quickly Jumps to America, 1808

← Origin of the Stone Soup Folktale

Here is the amazing thing. The Stone Soup story quickly jumped the Atlantic to be published in the young United States where its second publication in English appeared in 1808 in a book whose title says it all: The American Magazine of Wit: A Collection of Anecdotes, Stories, and Narratives, Humorous, Marvellous, Witty, Queer, Remarkable, and Interesting, Partly Selected and Partly Original.

The author, who went by the name of The Judge of Conviviality, states that some of the stories were acquired from others and some he wrote himself. Compared to Moser’s version, the character of the farmer’s wife has grown uglier and the ingredients have been shifted to a much richer America (lamb neck is included). No sauerkraut! Instead, some colorful early Americanisms, as you will see. But this version does have an overlapping ingredient besides the stone: toast. My sense is that Moser’s version is re-imagined for an American audience by The Judge, a brilliant storyteller. The American countryside was much richer in 1808 than the European countryside. There are no peasants. The American tramp comes up against a farmer with multiple servants. They could give him a wonderful soup if they wanted without concern for tomorrow—and that, through his cleverness and charm, is what he draws them into doing.

TWO travelers, ready to die with hunger and thirst, came to a churlish farmer’s, begging some little matter to satisfy their stomachs. The mistress of the house, some servants, and children only were at home. ‘Good people,’ said the dame, (who was as churlish as her husband) ‘it is six miles to the next town, where you may get every thing you want, and we have neither bread nor victuals in the house.’ Said one of the travelers, ‘As for your bread and victuals, we want neither; can you only oblige us with a tolerably large flint stone?’ ‘What for?’ ‘To make us some soup.’ ‘Oh! if that be all,’ said the ill-natured Jezebel, ‘there are flints enough in the yard, but who the deuce told you that soup was made out of stones?’ ‘If you will have patience,’ said the traveller, ‘and only assist us with a little water, you shall see.’ ‘How much water do you want?’ ‘About a gallon.’ The maid was immediately ordered to put it on the fire. The traveller then went into the yard, and having, with great seeming circumspection, picked up a stone, washed it as clean as possible, and as soon as the water boiled, soused it into the pot. After it had lain about a quarter of an hour, he gets a spoon, and tasting it, calls the landlady: ‘Here, madam, only take a drop, has it not a most excellent flavor?’ ‘A flavor!’ cries she, ‘the water is just as it was before.’ The other traveler now put in his word; ‘you have forgot to put in the pot-herbs.’ ‘Faith, so I did,’ cries his comrade, ‘I thought it wanted something.’ ‘Prythee, good dame, let us have a few pot-herbs out of the garden,’ and (as the maid was going for them) bring also, added he, a cabbage, some onions, and two or three carrots; I know I never failed of making soup out of a stone in my life.’ ‘I’ll be shot,’ says the farmer’s wife, ‘if you’ll make it now.’ ‘You shall see.’

‘Come let me have a little salt and pepper.’ He now seasoned the water, and after the garden stuff had boiled some time, he tasted the soup again, handing the spoon a second time to the farmer’s wife. ‘How is it at present?’ ‘Why,’ said she, ‘it is something better; but you’ll never make soup of it.’ ‘Faith!’ says he, smacking his lips, ‘I think it is excellent already: have you ever a bit of beef in the house?’ ‘I don’t know but there is,’ said she, ‘about two or three pounds of a neck.’ ‘Nothing better—let me have it directly, with half a dozen burnt crusts of bread.’ These ingredients were allowed him like the rest. After a proper time he declared the soup was ready, and calling for a dish, poured it out, the stone appearing in the middle: Every one tasted, and declared it was excellent. ‘Heaven bless you!’ cried the farmer’s wife, ‘let me have a receipt—my good man will be so pleased.’

‘Give me a piece of paper’ (said the traveler) ‘and I’ll write it down for you,’ which he did as follows:—A receipt to make Stone Soup. ‘Take a large stone, put it into a sufficient quantity of boiling water; properly season it with pepper and salt; add three or four pounds of good beef, a handful of pot-herbs, some onions, a cabbage, and three or four carrots. When the soup is made the stone may be thrown away.’¹

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