The man who made stone soup.

 This is the tale of -The man who made stone soup.. As I remember it told to me by my Pupa (Ernest Peddey). A long time ago in outback Victoria, an ol swagy named Jack was wandering through the scrub with his belly rumbling and all his worldly goods on his back. With no ammunition his rifle was useless, his canteen was empty, his billy had no handle and his boots and canvas swag had more holes than the gold fields at Ballarat and Bendigo combined. Exhausted and hungry he sat on the ground back against an ol moss covered log and drifted off to sleep dreaming of nothing but a nice hot meal. Some time passed and he felt a jab in his ribs which disturbed his slumber but brushed his side and and rolled over, then another jab this time accompanied by the sound of giggling. He sat up abruptly to find he was surrounded by 4 young children,one,the youngest a small girl was holding a stick which she quickly hid behind her back, The oldest a young lad all of 12 stepped forward and said 'sorry sir but we didn't know if you were alive or not'. The old bushy rose to his feet slowly and replied 'well i don't think i would've been for long if you hadn't showed up'. "why is that?' the young lad asked. .'well young fella,My name is Jack and i have been rambling through the bush for nigh on 40 years but i ran out of bullets a week ago and have never been so hungry in all my days'. He sat down on the log and asked, 'so what are your names ?'. the young lad replied 'Im Jack too, This is my mate Robert'as he pointed to the young lad at his side, 'he lives next door and the girls live down the road from us they are Jessica and the little one is Rosey'.'nice to meet you', Jack replied in a dry raspy voice.'you wouldn't happen to have some water in that canteen there would you Jack '? 'sure do' young jack answered and seeing the ol bushy was thirsty offered him the canteen, As Jack wet his lips for the first time in 2 days Rosey piped up shyly and said 'wow 40 years is along time in the bush bet you must have some amazing yarns to tell', she half asked. 'That i do me girl that i do',Jack replied. Rosey now enthusiastically stepped forward and sat with legs crossed at the ol swagys feet.'i love stories could you tell us one '? she pleaded.'Well 'said Jack' i am a bit tired at the moment and so hungry i could eat a fly blown sheep raw wrigleys and all'.'I tell you what if you guide me back to your settlement and give me a bite to eat i will tell you a tale, Sound fair "? Rosie now excited grabbed the ol bushy by his rough old hand and tugged adding'Ok come on its this way',and the kids began to lead him back to their camp. About a mile away they came to a fairly well used wagon track and another mile on they came to a large clearing, from there he could see 2 humpys one either side of the track and about 100 yards apart and about a quarter mile on a 3rd hut and another about another quarter mile on..'come to my house 'said young jack 'my dad is a butcher', he boasted. Sure enough they reached the bark hut and a sign out front read -BUTCHER-with a smaller sign underneath reading -CLOSED-,Young jack raced inside calling for his father who greeted the ol swagy at the door, 'This is Jack too' the lad explained to his father' we found him nearly dead out in the scrub and if we give him some water he promised to tell us some yarns about the bush', The stern man looked the ol swagy over and said loudly, 'Sorry sir as you can see we are closed and I am afraid i do not have enough meat left to share as its all I have to feed my family until ration day next week unless a drover comes though with some stock and I just cant risk my family going hungry, I hope you understand'. Jack replied understand sir, sorry to take up your time', and with a tip of his hat turned to walk away when Robert piped up, 'my dads grows vegetables lets go to my house'. So encouraged on ol Jack and the kids headed across the road, Robert raced ahead and into the house which had a -FRESH PRODUCE- sign and also a -Closed- sign, to get his father who also met the old bushy at the door, Robert explained the ol fellow was hungry and offered to spin the kids some yarns in exchange for a feed.The grocer stood on his porch and at least offered Jack an introduction, 'Jack', he said offering a hearty handshake, 'They call me Bill and my son informs me of your predicament but I am afraid I have run low on produce due to the frosts last month, All I have left is a few carrots 4 potatoes a hand full of beans and a 2 onions I am afraid'. I would love to share with you however our rations aren't due for a week and its all i have to feed my family in the meantime, I hope you understand'. Jack again tipped his hat and thanked Bill before turning to leave and Jessica chimed in, 'Its ok Jack she said my dad lives down the track and he is a baker', adding, ' we never go hungry'. She raced ahead and the other 3 kids trudged along with the ol swaggy with their heads hung low hoping against hope that they may yet get to hear some yarns. Upon arrival Jack n co were greeted by the baker out the front of a small humpy by a stone oven, it too had the now familiar-Closed- sign.'G'day' the baker greeted Jack, 'my daughter has told me of your generous offer to spin some yarns in exchange for a bite to eat, Unfortunately we only have enough flour to bake a few loaves of bread and I have my family to care for until rations arrive next week, I am sincerely sorry but I just cant spare a bite'. Jack thanked the man anyways and turning to leave his last new little friend Rosie pitched in, 'Not to worry Jack, my dad has the store, he will have something to spare'. So Rosie ran ahead and the weary mob trudged down to the store, As they reached the last house in town Jacks spirits lifted briefly thinking it a rather large and grand looking cabin with a shop front and all, until he noticed the -CLOSED- sign and his heart sank. He was greeted by the store owner a rather skinny bloke who looked old enough to be Rosies grandfather.'G'day sir 'Jack said as he approached and extended his hand, 'Your daughter was kind enough to offer me some tucker in exchange for a few yarns', he added, The hand shake was not forthcoming and the man replied, 'I know my daughter has told me however as you can se we are closed due to lack of stock 'he said pointing to the -CLOSED- sign. Jack replied quietly, 'Yes I have noticed that this settlement seems to have fallen on hard times, I too am desperate and if you could just perhaps share with me a few .22 rounds I could surely find enough meat to last you all the week'. The old man looked up,now extending his hand He said'my name is Brian','Jack',he replied, The two men shook hands and Brian went on, 'As you can see this is my last living heir Rosie and I'm afraid the drovers and stockmen who passed through last month cleaned me out of ammunition, I am a widower mate and only have 3 cans of beans and 2 cups of rice left to feed my daughter until the rations arrive next week','Well', Said Jack' I would hate to leave poor Rosie short',Then Rosie interrupted, 'Please dad you know I love stories cant he have half a cup of rice I'm sick of rice anyway ?','Sorry dear', replied Brian 'You know what happened when your sister went without her food for too long I just cant risk it',Rosie hung her head. Starving and desperate Jack decided to sweeten the deal,He did the unthinkable and offered Brian his rifle and a yarn for Rosie for the half cup of rice. Still Brian refused, At this point Jack again tipped his hat and thanked Brian regardless and turned back and began to trudge up the track from whence he came with young Jack,Robert,Jessica and little Rosie following in silence a few yards behind with heads hung low. As he approached the scrub line he looked over his shoulder at the four young tackers now standing still in a line some distance behind watching him with heads squared at the ground in misery. Jack sat down with legs crossed beside the track and also hung his head exhausted and on the verge of starvation after a moments contemplation he ushered the kids up and their heads lifted immediately and they ran to Jack, 'new deal' he proposed, 'you collect me some wood from the scrub and start a fire to keep me warm tonight and i will spin you a yarn', He needn't say anymore and the kids dutifully raced off to collect wood and start the fire, Young jack went down to the well to fill Jacks canteen and billy and soon after all 5 were huddled around the fire as Jack announced he would tell them all of something that happened to him when he was young and lived in a little settlement just like the one they were in, It was called 'The tale of -The man who made stone soup'. He began-'A long time ago in outback Victoria an ol swagy named Jack was wandering through the scrub with his belly rumbling and all his worldly goods on his back'. Well the kids were tickled pink and declared it was the greatest story ever told, After the yarn was spun all the kids knew their part and darted back home before the evening meal, Jack sat with his billy full of water on the fire and waited. Young Jack was first home followed by the rest who all carried pockets full of rocks and announced to their parents 'Wow, that Jack is the greatest guy ever, He told us all a yarn for free and now he is going to show us all how to make stone soup so we will never go hungry again. All we have to do is find the right type of special stone'. They then all respectively ran off to the fields collecting stones and rushing them up to Jack, sat by his fire to check and see if they had found the right type of stone for the soup. Dinner time came and went and one by one the parents began to wonder about what the kids had said about Jack and what they were all up to. First to arrive at Jacks camp was Brian, Having suffered and lost to starvation the curious idea of stone soup got the better of him and he went to the ol swagys camp to investigate,'Whats this fuss about stone soup you been on about to my daughter? ' he asked as he sat by the fire, Jack replied,' Just that mate I intend to make some stone soup as soon as the young ones find me the right type of stone. I promised them I would tell them another yarn if they find one because I am starving and have to eat something, Fair enough by you Brian?' he questioned. Brian answered,'ok what does it look like? 'Well its a grayish colour about as big as your fist mate', Jack responded, 'sometimes bigger', And with that Brian went off looking for the special stone needed to make stone soup. Soon after the whole settlement, all 11 of them were out searching for stones. After a while Brian began to think this is all bull dust so he called Jack out as a liar, and as he began Jack stood up and shouted,'Yayy!!!' as Rosie struggled up to him with a large grey stone the size of a football, He grabbed it and held it up yelling' we have got one, and its a big one!' He danced with Rosie and everyone rushed over, he then bent down to put it in his billy only to find it wouldn't fit, and sat it on top, the settlers gathered and stared at the big stone sitting on top of the small billy, it wasn't a moment when Bill shouted,'i have a 4 gallon pot for broiling bring it down to my place', And all agreed this was the best idea. Young Jack carried the stone and the kids went for more water and a big fire was stoked under the broiler pot. Young Jack placed the stone in the pot and the water was added, the soup was under way meanwhile the excited settlers all be began to chat away about recent times, after some time as the water began to warm Jack interrupted and silence fell as he took his spoon and sipped a bit of the warm water from the pot, then he sat back down with all eyes on him, he shook his head casually and said 'Its not ready, Its as if it needs a little something else'. he paused, 'it needs a little more flavour,There is so much water in such a big pot I'm sure it could feed you all till the rations come, but it wont taste really good and it always takes a lot longer to get flavour out of a stone without some bush vege's or or some such to draw out the flavour of the broth it will take ages'. The rest of the settlers looked at Bill and he said,'Ok if your sure it will last us all till the rations come I suppose I have a few carrots, potato's and onions and a few beans but its all I have'. Jack replied, 'Well that's not much to give up to feed us all for a week is it ?'.Everyone agreed and Bill agreed to get the veg, they all chopped it up and added it to the soup, almost rejoicing now they then began to chat away again while the kids sat quietly until Jack again stood up and took a sip of the broth. Again with all eyes on him he sat and spoke, 'Its better', with a pause,' But its still missing a little something,it needs bit of Substance, Something like rice or more beans to thicken it up a bit', by this time Brian was enthralled by the possibility of enough food to keep him and his daughter for a week and volunteered loudly, 'I have 2 cups of rice and 3 cans of beans to add I'll go get them',as Brian raced off in a burst of revelry Jack shouted loudly 'does anyone else have anything to add ? We already have enough to last us until well after the the rations arrive'.at which point the butcher announced he had a ham hock and 2 mutton shanks to add to the pot, The settlers cheered him on and soon they all sat around the pot again chatting away while Jack stared intently into 4 gallons of stone soup. As the day turned to night, again they all went quiet as he stood and took one small sip of a spoonful from the pot,'Mmmmm', he said, 'its good but there is still something missing, I cant put my finger on it but something is still missing'. He offered a spoonful to Bill, Who agreed it was nice, then one by one a spoonful to each of the settlers and their children. All agreed it was good and Jack sat down, the mood began to dampen when Rosie piped up,'I know, I know we need bread for a dunkin I bet dads got some!!' she screamed as she danced around the fire and Jack added,' that would be just grand Rosie'. So with the bread fetched all sat to a fine bowl of stone soup, with bread for dunking and plenty for all to last the week until rations came. After all were full to the brim and as much joyful, Brian finally asked 'Ol swagy Jack you promised my daughter a yarn in exchange for tucker, Would you now oblige us all ?' The ol bushman stood and picked up his swag as the children snickered, before walking away his last words were, 'Ask young Jack to tell you the tale I told the young ones earlier'. And with that he trudged away into the darkness while the children laughed with hysterics as he disappeared off into the scrub.. 'well' asked Brian, 'You gonna tell us the tale young mate ?' And Jack began, 'This is the tale of -The man who made stone soup-, A long time ago in outback Victoria, an ol swagy named Jack was wandering through the scrub with his belly rumbling and all his worldly goods on his back'... ©Jayman. W. Newell 2007.