Marcia Brown has made of this old tale a carnival of activity, dancing, and laughter

Three soldiers came marching down the road towards a French village. The peasants, seeing them coming, suddenly became very busy, for soldiers are often hungry. So all the food was hidden under mattresses or in barns. There followed a battle of wits, with the soldiers equal to the occasion. Stone soup? Why, of course, they could make a wonderful soup of stones...but, of course, one must add a carrot or two...some meat...so it went.