Even Rocket Science isn't rocket science...

Once upon a time, a stranger came into a town.

The people of the town were distrustful of strangers, so no one offered him food or a place to stay. So the resourceful stranger made a fire in the middle of town, and took out a large cooking pot that he filled with water. He then placed a rounded stone about the size of his hand in the bottom of the pot and began to cook it.

The children of the town were curious. "What are you doing?" They asked.

"Why I am making stone soup." the man replied. "You are all welcome to have some."

"Stone Soup!" the children cried. " You can't make soup with just a stone!"

"Why yes you can." the man replied." stone soup is a fit meal for any traveler, but if I had a few potatoes, then it would be fit to serve the mayor of a town such as this."

"I have a potato" one boy said. He left and returned with three potatoes.

The stranger cut the potatoes up into small chunks and put them into the pot. "Ah! this will make a fine soup, " the stranger said," but if I had some other vegetables such as carrots, and maybe some spices like parsley or pepper it would be fit to serve a governor!"

"I have some carrots" one child said.
"I have some spices!" another child said, and they ran away to come back with carrots and parsley and pepper and salt and turnips and other vegetables.

The stranger put each of these into his pot, and soon a crowd formed around him. They had all heard the story of a man who could make soup from a stone. The stranger told him that stone soup was a wonderful thing, and they were all welcome to share it with him. "The soup will be very good," he said, "if I only had a bit of meat, then it would be fit for a King!"

"I have some meat!" a man in the crowd called out and he brought a large cut of beef that the stranger cut into cubes and placed in the pot. After a while he said that the soup was ready, and he shared it with the townspeople who all agreed that stone soup was truly fit for a king.