Stone Soup

In a threadbare town at the end of the war
A hungry soldier knocked on a door:
"Pardon me, Madam, I need some food...
Rum dum diddle-ii food!"
"I'm sorry sir, but we are hungry too
There's no food left
In the whole hungry village."
So the soldier marched to the center of town
"Hear ye! Hear ye! Gather 'round!"
He picked up a stone and gave it a kiss
"Let's make soup out of this!"
"What? Soup from a stone?"
"Sure...
All you need is what you've got
A tasty stone and water in a pot
Takes some time but feeds a lot
Stone soup tonight."
"Stone soup? Stone soup?
What is this fellow, a nincompoop?"
But the kids brought stones
Which he put in the pot
Boiled the whole thing piping hot
Then he hushed the crowd and, solemn-faced
Took a rum dum diddle-ii taste
"Oh, this is gonna be good!"
"Please, Sir, please, can we have some?"
"No, not yet. It's not quite done
It needs a soup bone... for flavor."
A little girl who'd brought a stone
Said, "We've been saving a big hambone
Shall I get it?"
"That'd be nice."
She was back in a trice!
The soldier smiled
"All you need is what you've got."
He took that bone and threw it in the pot
Some grown-ups started to see the light
"Stone soup tonight."
Then he took a taste, took a taste:
"Oh, this is gonna be great!"
"Now, Sir, now, can we have some?"
"Not just yet. It's still not done
It needs... a potato and... an onion."
The kids jumped up and off they tore
And brought the things that he'd asked for
Not to mention turnip greens
A carrot and some beans!
The smell of soup began to float
Into every nose and throat
Calling people like a drum:
Rum dum diddle-ii "Yum!
Stone soup. Stone soup
We want some of that tasty goop."
"No. Not yet. I'm still not through
It needs one thing from each of you...
Whatever you can spare."
So the villagers scattered to their root cellars
Corn cribs and secret nooks
And brought back everything
From an eggplant to a pepperoni
And that night the whole hungry village
Feasted on soup made out of a stone!
All we need is what we've got
A tasty stone and water in a pot
Little things become a lot
Tiny gifts can fill the pot
When they're shared and served up hot
Stone soup. Stone soup
Stone soup tonight!