This is from another list I'm on, which has been wrestling with the whole
"what is on-topic and what is off-topic" thing (and I'm not sure if that's
an improvement over the megaphone discussion of 2 weeks ago or not). You
may recognize elements of net-specific things. :)
Julia
There was a man traveling through Canada in the bitter cold of winter. He
was very hungry and had with him a pot, a wooden spoon, a stone, and a
credit card terminal. It was early in the evening when the traveler
arrived in a small village. The people of this village had not had much to
eat and were not getting along. He observed that all the folk were tucked
in their cozy warm homes, the image of light glowing through closed
curtains, held behind snow frosted windows. The chimneys billowed smoke,
yet he did not smell the various foods that should be filling the air at
that hour. "How hungry I am", he thought. The traveler sat down in the
middle of the square and built a small fire. He placed his pot on the fire
and added into it the cleanest snow. With his large wooden spoon, he
stirred this pot as the snow melted and the steam rose.
He glanced over the houses and noticed a few people peeking back at him
through their parted curtains. He pulled the stone from his pocket and
added it to the pot with great ceremony. He stirred and smiled over the
soup. Curiosity getting the better of one women, she opened her door and
ventured to the square. "I say Sir, what do you have there?" she asked.
" I have the best soup in the world, Stone Soup," he replied. "Stone
Soup?" She asked shocked. The traveler smiled at her, than continued, "but
it could use a few carrots". "Well, I could share a few carrots for your
soup", she said rushing back to her home to retrieve them.
Another woman came to the square asking the same. "I am making the best
soup in the world the traveler told her, Stone Soup. "Stone soup?" She
asked shocked. "I could use a few potatoes and perhaps some meat." "I
could give you a few potatoes and perhaps the butcher would be able to
help you with the meat!" she replied and hurried to her home.
Soon the word was out. This man was making soup with a special stone. The
villagers brought many contributions to the pot. They stood around the
square waiting and watching as the traveler stirred the bubbling soup and
smiled. "Oh, my", the first woman said, "That sure does smell good."
"Must be the special stone you have." It smelled so excellent that she
asked if he would give them the recipe and he said with a small frown,
"I'm afraid not." Well, she said, would you let me buy the recipe? With a
little smile, he said, "Yes." She asked how much, and he responded, "Two
fifty."
Thirty days later, the first woman received her VISA statement and it was
CA$251.95. She looked again and remembered she had only spent CA$1.95 for
the carrots. As she glanced at the bottom of the statement, it said,
"Stone Soup Recipe - CA$250.00." Boy, was she upset!! She vowed to send
that stone soup recipe to every mailing list she could find, regardless of
whether 'stone soup' was OT or not!
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