Hi everyone. I'm Josh, and this is The Emerald,

currents and trends through a mythic lens.

The podcast where we explore an ever-changing world and our lives in it

through the lens of myth, story, and imagination.

The Emerald.

All that's happening on this green jewel in space. You may have heard the old children's tale Stone Soup.

It's a classic folk tale with many variations.

Let's pick one.

A tired and battle-worn soldier enters a village that itself is weary of war and its suspicious

populace is not in the mood to welcome strangers. He goes from house to house and asks if anyone can spare

some food, but no one is willing to share. It's all gone, they say. Our foodstocks have been

depleted because of the war, and they shut their doors in his face.

The soldier finally approaches the house of an old woman and her family, and when she too refuses

him for food, he says, ah, but if you only have a pot and some boiling water, then I can do the

rest.

You see, I can make soup from a stone, and he holds up a shiny, black pebble.

The woman's curiosity is peaked. She looks at her family and then back at the soldier.

Soup from a stone, she mutters. Imagine that. They lead him into the kitchen and set a pot of water

boiling on the stove. Everyone gathers round as he drops the stone into the kitchen and set a pot of water boiling on the stove.

Everyone gathers round as he drops the stone into the water, and then begins to stir the

concoction slowly with a wooden spoon.

After a few minutes, one of the children asks, is it ready yet?

...