A long long time ago, there was a very smart man. But he was
very poor and desperately hungry.
One day, he had a great idea.
He went to the King and told him that he had a magic stone that can
produce the best tasting soup in the Kingdom. No other ingredients
necessary, just add boiling water.
The King was obviously skeptical, but he agreed to try. All he
stands to lose is just a pot of water, so why not?
When the water arrived, the poor man quickly plopped something on a
string into the pot. He stirred and stirred. Then he had a
taste.
"Hmm marvellous! But it would be even better if you added some
salt."
The King's men added some salt.
"Superb taste! But it would be even better if you added some
carrots..."
And so on. You know the story.
Eventually the soup was served to everyone, including the King. It
was the best tasting soup in the Kingdom. The poor man drank his
fill. It was his first full meal in months.
"What an amazing soup made from a stone! A magical stone!" the
people chanted.
But when the poor man raised his string from the pot, there was no
stone. It was only an empty loop of string.
You see the poor man wasn't stupid enough to plop a real, dirty
stone into a pot that he would drink from. But he didn't pull out
the string fast enough, and was discovered.
The poor man became worried as the people encircled him, staring at
the empty loop. Suddenly someone chanted "the magic stone is
invisible! This man is an angel!"
The excited crowd threw the King off his throne and made the poor
man a new King. He has an invisible magic stone that can turn water
into soup.
No one will be hungry for all eternity.
