Fossil SoupBy Melanie Whitesides

Characters: Narrator 1 – 3 Father Mother

Grandma Old Man Old Woman

Old Men Old Women Kids

Man Woman Young Man

Young Woman

Scene: A village in the winter time long ago.

Problem:A family is traveling home for the winter and has been on the road a while. They are tired and want a good night’s sleep and some food to fill their empty bellies. The town they come to does NOT like strangers, especially poor ones.

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Narrator 1: Many years ago there was a large family who had been traveling for many days. They arrived at a small village. They were tired and hungry and had not seen a village for quite a while.

Narrator 2: They had gone far away to get work for the summer and were on their way home now that winter had come.

Narrator 3: When they got near the village, they were happy and all they could think about was eating and resting from their long walk.

Kids: (Ad lib.) We’re so hungry and tired! Will we get to stop and eat here? PLEASE?

Father: My dear children, people are usually kind. I am sure that the people here will share their food with us once we tell them how far we have walked, and how hungry and tired you are.

Mother: I know how they feel! I’m excited now that we’re at this village, but I have to admit that I too, am HUNGRY!

Grandma: If I don’t get something to eat soon, I’ll be so skinny I won’t even have a shadow anymore!

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Narrator 1: Now the people of the village were afraid of strangers and disliked them even more if they were poor. When they heard that there were travelers coming down the road, they talked among themselves.

All of the Men & Women:

(Ad lib.) Here comes a group of travelers.

I hate strangers!

People like that are always hungry.

Why should WE share what we have worked so hard to get?

But we have so little for ourselves!

I WON’T SHARE!

I’m hiding mine!

If they know we have ANYTHING, they’ll probably take it anyway!

Narrator 2: So the people of the village decided to hide their food and not share with the strangers. They hid potatoes in root cellars, carrots in hope chests and barrels, wrapped pieces of meat in fabric and hid it under beds and even put buckets of milk down the wells.

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Narrator 3: They hid all they had to eat. Then they waited. When the family got into the town, they went up to the first house they came to and Father knocked at the door.

Woman: Who is it?

Father: Hello Mam, we are a large family on our way home. Would you be willing to share some of your food with us, kind woman?

Woman: Food? No, I can´t. The harvest this year was terrible and I have nothing to share with you.

Mother: (Disappointed) Thank you anyway.

Narrator 2: Mother knocked at the next door.

Mother: Good afternoon.

Man: What do YOU want?

Mother: Pardon us, Sir, but we are a large family from a far country and we’re traveling home. We have walked a

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long distance in order to work for the summer and we are very hungry and would like something to eat.

Father: Could you spare some food? And maybe some space where we could sleep for the night?

Man: (Sniff) I’m sorry, but we just don’t have anything to share and all our space is full. You are strangers to me. I’m won’t give you anything!

Narrator 3: Grandma also tried knocking on some doors, but at each house, the response was the same. No one had enough food or a place for the family to stay.

Narrator 1: The villagers always had a good reason, like they were out of food, or had to save what they could in order to feed sick children, or they had already given food to someone.

Narrator 2: The traveling family stood in the street and sighed in frustration. The kids looked as hungry as the parents felt.

Grandma: I’ve never seen a town of people as selfish as these!

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Mother: They certainly don´t like to share with others!

Kids: (Whining Ad lib) Ahhh, what are we going to do? We’re soooooo hungry!

Father: Well, I think we need to TEACH this village a lesson in sharing.

Grandma: We COULD introduce them to Stone Soup!

Mother: Oh! Yes! Just like the story you told me about when I was a girl!

Father: That’s a great idea, Grandma, but that story is . . . well, don’t take offense, but your story is OLD!

Grandma: (Hands on hips, you are offended!) Well, I NEVER!

Father: It’s still a good idea but I think we might need to twist it up a bit, just in case they have heard it, too.

Mother, Grandma, & Kids: What do you mean, “twist it up”?

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Father: (Begin whispering to them while the Narrator talks.)

Narrator 3: So Father told them of his plan and, as he did so, some of the villagers were watching them through their windows and hoping that they would soon leave the village.

Old Man: What do you think they’re waiting for? They should leave! How stupid can they be?

Old Woman: Yeah, we don´t want strangers in our town, especially POOR ones!

Old Man & Old Woman: Dirty BEGGARS!

Father: (Call out loudly) Good people! We are a large family traveling through your land. We have asked you for food but it appears that you do not have any. We have decided to share with YOU! We will make – just for you – our famous . . . FOSSIL SOUP!

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Mother: (Call out just as loudly.) In order to make it, all we need from you is a large pot and wood for a fire. That is it!

Narrator 1: One of the women who’d been watching them had a large pot that she decided to loan them. It was the one she used once or twice a month for washing clothes and was quite large. It was clean and dry.

Narrator 2: One of the men who’d been watching them decided he wanted to see how they managed to make something from nothing so he brought them some wood for the fire. Then he stood beside the woman to watch and wait.

Man: (Whisper loudly to Woman.) What do you think they’ll do?

Woman: (Mean.) They’ll try to trick us of course! Keep an eye out for a stone!

Man: A stone? What does a stone have to do with soup?

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Father: (Call out loudly) Thank you for the pot and wood. That is ALL we needed. We will now make the soup. I will add the MOST important ingredient.

Woman: (Loud and Sarcastic.) Let me guess. It’s a stone.

Father: (Reach into your shirt and pull out the fossil.) No. It is not a stone. It is . . . a FOSSIL! I wear this special fossil around my neck for safe keeping. See, here it is.

Kids: (Add lib.) But . . . but Dad, that’s a . . .

Father: (Quickly cut them off.) Yes. Yes. I know. It is one of our TREASURED family heirlooms. But, the best part of being a fossil is that, using it in soup does not wear it out. Now, we need some water. If the water can stay around the fossil longer it will help make the soup even tastier.

Mother: I’ve got an idea that will help with that. Kids, go and wrap the fossil inside of a snowball. The biggest one you can make!

Father: Careful with it.

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Old Man:What is a fossil?

Old Woman: Probably a ROCK!

Grandma: No. A FOSSIL is the preserved remains of animals, plants, and other organisms from the past. We may be from the past but WE aren’t fossils. We aren’t as nicely preserved!

Woman: Hmmmm, a fossil, eh? That kind of makes sense. I put up preserves for the winter. Surely a plant or animal that is preserved as a fossil would have some of its flavor preserved too.

Narrator 3: Soon the kids came back rolling a large snowball. It looked as if they were going to make a giant snowman! It took Mother, Father, Grandma, & the Kids to roll it into the pot. It began to sizzle and hiss.

Kids: (Excited Ad lib) Mmmmmmm! This soup is going to be good!

Narrator 1: The people from town who had been watching them came out from their houses and came closer to the fire to watch.

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Young Man: What does this soup taste like and what do you call it again?

Mother: Fossil Soup and it is the most delicious soup my husband makes!

Young Man: (Suspiciously.) Fossil soup? I NEVER heard of that kind of soup, and I eat a lot of different kinds of soups!

Father: You have never tasted Fossil Soup? Oh, then you MUST join us so you can taste it. Family! Today we have a special guest for dinner. We need to make sure we have enough soup so children, please throw some more snowballs in!

Mother: (As if you just remembered this but you haven’t you are faking it.) Oh my goodness! How silly of me! Young Man, do you have a spoon? We need one to stir the soup.

Young Man: Yes, Yes I do. Let me go get it.

Grandma: (Sweetly.) You are such a generous young man.

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Narrator 2: Next, a young woman came nearer to see what was happening.

Young Woman: What are you making?

Mother: We are making Fossil Soup.

Young Woman: And . . . is the snow that you kids are putting in . . . clean?

Kids: Yes Ma’am, it is! Doesn’t the soup smell good?

Young Woman: (Start out mean.) I don´t smell anything. (Now say this last bit honestly.) But . . . I am very hungry.

Father: Please, get your plate and have some soup with us! There’s always enough to share. I’ve invited EVERYONE!

Narrator 3: The man came back with the spoon and also brought his plate. Mother tasted the soup, and said.

Mother: Mmmm, that IS delicious! (Sigh sadly.) It only needs an onion.

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Old Women: (Ad lib.) I have an onion at home; I’ll go and get it!

Grandma: (Graciously.) Very good! The soup will taste even better that way. Please remember to bring your plates and have dinner with us.

Narrator 1: The Old Women left and soon came back with some onions. After a while, Grandma tasted the soup.

Grandma: Mmmm, you’re right, dear. That is very tasty! But, it STILL needs a little something. Hmmmm . . . what could it be? I know! I think we also need some carrots!

Narrator 2: Some Old Men in the crowd were watching and said . . .

Old Men: (Ad lib.) I’ve got some carrots. Hang on a minute and I’ll get them!

Narrator 3: The Old Men came with the carrots and also a bit of celery. They thought that might make Grandma smile! She winked at the old men, took the carrots, cut them up, put them in the pot, and tasted the soup again.

Grandma: Yes indeed, a GOOD soup!

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Father: (Taste the soup.) Delicious! It would have been a GREAT soup if we’d had some potatoes to put in it.

Narrator 1: Some of the Old Women in the crowd did not want to be outdone by the Old Men so they said . . .

Old Women: (Ad lib) I have some potatoes! I’ll be back in a minute!

Narrator 2: When the Old Women came back, Father took the potatoes, and as Mother and Grandma cut them up and put them in the soup, he kissed the hands of the old women and thanked them sweetly. The Old Women giggled.

Father: No! Wait! That´s too many potatoes! The soup won’t be a tasty as it should be now!

Grandma: Men! You always make things more difficult than they really are! The soup will still be good, but – if you want to try to fix it – we will need some meat!

Narrator 3: Another man in the crowd said . . .

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Man: I have some meat at home! I just finished my hunting trip. I will go and get it.

Narrator 1: The man brought the meat. Mother and Grandma cut it up and then Father put it inside the pot.

Narrator 2: While the soup was cooking, some of the people from the village asked the travelling family if Fossil Soup was easy to make.

Father: It depends, you MUST have a fossil. That’s the most important ingredient. You must also be hungry, it helps the flavor.

Woman: Where do you get a . . . fossil?

Mother: If you look CAREFULLY, you can find some just sitting on the ground. A lot more are found INSIDE the ground and you must dig for them.

Grandma: Then you need water - snowballs are the best, a pot, a fire, and a spoon.

Kids: Then you have the BEST soup in the world!

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Narrator 3: After a while everyone could smell the delicious soup bubbling away and their stomachs began to growl.

Grandma: Why, Father, I believe I can honestly say that THIS smells like the BEST soup your fossil has EVER made!

Mother: The flavor WOULD be just a bit better, though, with a little salt!

Old Woman: That’s easy to solve. You can have some of mine. I’ll get it.

Narrator 1: Everyone gathered around with their plates and the Old Woman brought her salt.

Old Woman: I brought a little pepper and some other spices, too!

Narrator 2: Grandma stirred it all into the pot. Everyone ate together and all agreed it was a wonderful Fossil Soup. The family entertained all by talking about the things they’d seen and done while traveling, and about all the places they had visited. There were seconds and thirds for many of the people. Yet, there was STILL enough left over for the family to take with them the next day.

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Narrator 3: When the ground thawed that spring there was a rush of people hunting and digging for fossils of their very own. Some people did find them and soon made fossil soup for themselves.

Narrator 1: But all agreed that the soups they made were never quite as good as the first one they’d had and they wondered what had made the soup taste that much better.

Narrator 2: What HAD that fossil been that had made the soup’s flavor just a little bit better? It remained a secret with the family that carried it. They talked about it sometime later.

Kids: (Ad lib.) Dad you remember Fossil Soup? I can’t believe you used that fossil! It was a . . . a . . .

Father: Yes, Kids, it was a Coprolite!

Mother: Gack! A Coprolite is fossilized dinosaur poop! Ewww, even the thought of that would have ruined MY appetite. I’m glad I didn’t know. I thought you’d used a different one!

Father: It was the thought of it that made the meal so good for me.

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Grandma: That’s funny dear, because the thought of it made the soup taste that much better for me as well.

Father: That proves it really IS the thought that counts!

The END

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