Nail Soup

Sven's home caught fire on Christmas Eve and left him with nothing but a cooking pot to salvage.

Sven went to the village and begged for alms, "We know your kind, if we help you, you will leach off of us forever, go away you bum." was the answer to him at every door he tried.

So Sven hiked to the stream, filled the pot with water, dropped in a large nail from his charred house, and place the pot over a fire he made of twigs and grass.

As the sun broke on Christmas Day, one of the villagers became curious and asked Sven what he was doing.

Sven said "I am making nail soup. It tastes wonderful  although it still needs a little bit of garnish to improve the flavor. Can you help with that?"

The villager exclaimed "If i put in a few carrots in can I have some of the nail soup?"

"Why of course you can." replied Sven and added the villager's carrots to his nail soup.

A gentleman of the village walked by, inquiring about the pot, "Can I have some of your nail soup?"

"The soup might be a little thin." Sven said, "If you have a little salt, that would surely make it fit for any gentleman´s house."

"I'll be right back with some salt if I might have some of your soup!" cried the gentleman and soon returned with a some salt which was quickly put into the pot.

On and on the villagers came as the sun of Christmas Day rose, each providing a little more for the soup in order to taste it.

Soon the broth was thick and its zesty aroma filled the town. And one by one, each in their turn, the villagers shared a bubbling bowl of their common nail soup.

To Sven it was the best Christmas feast he had ever had.

Grandma Eleanor Finstead told me this traditional Norwegian story long ago: