On Thursday, Nov. 17, Moffat County Christian Academy celebrated its annual Stone Soup Party, where students, teachers, family and friends gathered to celebrate the impact of sharing, large and small.

The party opened with a prayer followed by a “Stone Soup” skit presented by the 17 members of the Shared School cooking class. Then they sang “My God is so great, so strong and so mighty; there’s nothing my God cannot do — for you, and you, and you and me.”

“Stone Soup” is a popular European folktale that has been told and retold for centuries. It focuses on a pair of weary, hungry travelers who arrive at a poor village. They knock on all the doors and ask for something to eat. Everyone refuses to help and says, “I don’t have, I don’t care and I won’t share.”

---

---

The travelers soon conclude the villagers are in greater need than they are.

“We are master cooks,” the travelers shout out as a response. “We will make you a delicious unusual soup. We’re sure that we can find the special ingredient that is missing.”

---

---

The villagers begin to gather round to see what’s going on. A man brings a big black pot. They fill the pot with water and start a fire under it.

As the pot begins to boil, the travelers toss in two stones.

“We’re making stone soup, but you know, it would taste even better if we only had a carrot,” one of the travelers says. “Does anyone have a carrot?”

“I have a small carrot at home,” a little girl timidly says.

“Excellent!” shout the travelers. “Bring what you’ve got and put it in the pot! We’re making stone soup.”

This interaction continues with a green bean, a kernel of corn, an egg noodle, a slice of celery, a pinch of pepper, a sprig of parsley, an old potato, then finally a tiny turnip.

The folktale ends with the villagers realizing that at home alone they had little. However, by sharing a portion of what they had, there could be an abundance of delicious soup — more than enough for everyone. The special ingredient that had been missing was sharing.

A festive meal concluded the event. Delicious soups were prepared by teachers and students, and were served from five large crockpots, along with 130 corn bread muffins baked by the cooking classes.

Organizers said they are grateful for all the soup-makers, the Shared School cooking class and Alejandro Robles, assistant manager at City Market, for the veggies used in the “Stone Soup” skit.