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 ATHENEUM BOOKS FOR YOUNG READERS
An imprint of Simon & Schuster Children’s
Publishing Division
1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, New
York 10020
Copyright © 1947, renewed 1975 by Marcia Brown
Originally published by Charles Scribner & Sons in
1947
All rights reserved, including the right of
reproduction
in whole or in part in any form.
Atheneum Books for Young Readers is a registered
trademark
of Simon & Schuster, Inc.
For information about special discounts for bulk
purchases,
please contact Simon & Schuster Special Sales
at 1-866-506-1949 or
business@simonandschuster.com.
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The Simon & Schuster Speakers Bureau
can bring authors to your live event.
For more information or to book an event, contact
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Simon & Schuster Speakers Bureau at 1-866-248-
3049
or visit our website at www.simonspeakers.com.
CIP data for this book is available from the Library
of Congress.
ISBN 978-0-684-92296-6 (hardcover)
ISBN 978-1-4424-1665-9 (unjacketed edition)
ISBN 978-1-4424-2632-0 (eBook)
 Three soldiers trudged d
strange
country. They were on the
the wars.
Besides being tired, they w
fact, they
had eaten nothing for two
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 “How I would like a good dinner tonight,”
said the first.
“And a bed to sleep in,” said the second.
“But all that is impossible,” said the third.
“We
must march on.”
On they marched. Suddenly, ahead of them
they saw the lights of a village.
“Maybe we’ll find a bite to eat there,” said the
first.
“And a loft to sleep in,” said the second.
“No harm in asking,” said the third.
Now the peasants of that place feared strang-
ers. When they heard that three soldiers were
coming down the road, they talked among
them-
selves.

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 “Here come three soldiers. Soldiers are
They spread old quil
always hungry.
bins. They
But we have little enough for ourselves.”
hid their cabbages and
And they hur-
the beds. They
ried to hide their food.
hung their meat in the
They pushed sacks of barley under the
They hid all they had
hay in the lofts.
they waited.
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They lowered buckets of milk down the
wells.
 The soldiers stopped first at the house of The three soldiers went
Paul and Albert
Françoise. and Louise.
“Good evening to you,” they said. “Could “Could you spare a bit o
you spare you some
a bit of food for three hungry soldiers?” corner where we could sle
“We have had no food for ourselves for “Oh no,” said Albert. “W
three days,” could spare to
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said Paul. Françoise made a sad face. “It has soldiers who came before
been a “Our beds are full,” said
poor harvest.”
 At Vincent and Marie’s the answer was any food to give away.
the same. reasons. One
It had been a poor harvest and all the family had used the gra
grain must be Another had an old
kept for seed. sick father to care for. A
So it went all through the village. Not a mouths to fill.
peasant had
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 The villagers stood in the street
and
sighed. They looked as hungry as
they
could.

The three soldiers talked together.

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 Then the first soldier called out, “Good The peasants stared.
people!”
The peasants drew near. Stone soup? That would
“We are three hungry soldiers in a know about.
strange land. We
have asked you for food, and you have
no food. Well
then, we’ll have to make stone soup.”

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 “First we’ll need a large iron pot,” the
soldiers said.
The peasants brought the largest pot
they could
find. How else to cook enough?
“That’s none too large,” said the
soldiers. “But it will
do. And now, water to fill it and a fire to
heat it.” OceanofPDF.com
 It took many buckets of water to fill the
pot. A fire was
built on the village square and the pot was
set to boil.

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 “And now, if y
round, smooth
stones.”
Those were ea
The peasants’ e
as they watched
the soldiers drop
the pot.

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 “Any soup needs salt “Why, I think I hav
and rot or two,” said Fran
pepper,” said the and off she ran.
soldiers, as She came back wit
they began to stir. apron full of carrots f
Children ran to fetch bin beneath the red q
salt
and pepper.
“Stones like these
gener-
ally make good soup.
But
oh, if there were
carrots, it
would be much
better.”

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 “A good stone soup should have “I think I could find
cabbage,” said the somewhere,” said
soldiers as they sliced the carrots into Marie, and she hurried
the pot. “But no came with
use asking for what you don’t have.” three cabbages from th
the bed.
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 “If we only had a bit of beef and
a few potatoes, this soup would be
good enough for a rich man’s table.”
The peasants thought that over. They
re-
membered their potatoes and the sides
of beef
hanging in the cellars. They ran to fetch
them.
A rich man’s soup—and all from a few
stones. It OceanofPDF.com
seemed like magic!
 “Ah,” sighed the soldiers as they s
and potatoes,
“if we only had a little barley and a
soup would be
fit for the king himself. Indeed he as
a soup when
last he dined with us.”
The peasants looked at each other
entertained the king!
Well!
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“But—no use asking for what you
soldiers sighed.
The peasants brought their barley
they brought their
milk from the wells. The soldiers sti
and milk into the
steaming broth while the peasants s
 At last the soup was
“All of you shall taste
said. “But first a
table must be set.”
Great tables were pla
And all
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 Such a soup! How good it smelled! Truly fit
for a king.
But then the peasants asked themselves,
“Would not
such a soup require bread—and a roast—and
cider?” Soon
a banquet was spread and everyone sat down
to eat.
Never had there been such a feast. Never
had the peas-
ants tasted such soup. And fancy, made from
stones!

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 They ate and drank and ate and drank.
They danced and sa
And after
night.
that they danced.

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 At last they were tired. Then the three “Let three such wise an
soldiers asked, gentlemen sleep in a
“Is there not a loft where we could loft? Indeed! They must h
sleep?” in the village.”

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So the first soldier slept in the priest’s
house.

The second soldier sl

house.
And the third soldier
mayor’s house.

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 In the morning the whole village gathered said to the soldiers.“We
in the square hungry, now
to give them a send-off. that we know how to mak
“Many thanks for what you have taught stones.”
us,” the peasants
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“Oh, it’s all in knowing how,” said the
soldiers, and
off they went down the road.

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