JohnZero.hu
"Mankind, probably the most mysterious species on our planet.
A mystery of open questions. Who are we? Where do we come from?
Where are we going? How do we know what we believe to know?
Why do we believe anything at all?
Innumerable questions looking for an answer, an answer which will raise
the next question and the following answer will raise a following question
and so on and so forth. But in the end, isn't it always the same question
and always the same answer?"
"The ball is round, a game lasts 90 minutes. That's for sure.
Anything else is merely hypothetical. Off we go!"
(From: Lola Rennt. Tom Tykwer)
THE STONE SOUP STORY
Once upon a time, somewhere in Eastern Europe,
there was a great famine. People jealously hoarded whatever food they
could find, hiding it even from their friends and neighbors. One day a
peddler drove his wagon into a village, sold a few of his wares, and
began asking questions as if he planned to stay for the night.
"There's not a bite to eat in the whole province," he was told. "Better keep moving on."
"Oh, I have everything I need," he said. "In fact, I was thinking of
making some stone soup to share with all of you." He pulled an iron
cauldron from his wagon, filled it with water, and built a fire under
it. Then, with great ceremony, he drew an ordinary-looking stone from a
velvet bag and dropped it into the water.
By now, hearing the rumor of food, most of the villagers had come to
the square or watched from their windows. As the peddler sniffed the
"broth" and licked his lips in anticipation, hunger began to overcome
their skepticism.
"Ahh," the peddler said to himself rather loudly, "I do like a tasty
stone soup. Of course, stone soup with CABBAGE -- that's hard to beat."
Soon a villager approached hesitantly, holding a cabbage he'd retrieved
from its hiding place, and added it to the pot. "Capital!" cried the
peddler. "You know, I once had stone soup with cabbage and a bit of
salt beef as well, and it was fit for a king."
The village butcher managed to find some salt beef...and so it went,
through potatoes, onions, carrots, mushrooms, and so on, until there
was indeed a delicious meal for all. The villagers offered the peddler
a great deal of money for the magic stone, but he refused to sell and
traveled on the next day. And from that time on, long after the famine
had ended, they reminisced about the finest soup they'd ever had.
(from Fractint documentation.)