ountain Stew of Lilliland

aron Von Lodge was the head of a small country known as Lilliland near Switzerland. The time was the early 1900s.

During the previous year the farmers of Lilliland did not have a good harvest and food supplies for everyone were running low. The spirit of good will of the citizens was also running very low.

The Baron met with his advisors and decided to offer some free mountain stew to all of the citizens of Lilliland who came to the town center. A large bonfire was built and a large kettle of water was placed in the square. They used fresh mountain spring water to fill the huge kettle and it soon began to simmer. The Baron donated a large piece of meat to flavor the water and give it a rich delicious taste.

The week before, all of the farmers were invited to the event and asked to bring one item in a basket. The item was usually a specific fresh vegetable to enhance the flavor. In the Baron's invitation the item was specified. One family was to bring a bucket of carrots, another a bucket of peas, another a bucket of potatoes, another a bucket of onions. One family was asked to bring an array of fresh herbs and spices. All of the items were to be cleaned and chopped into fine pieces so that it was easy to add to the kettle of stew.

The farmers came into the town center one by one and stepped up to the kettle to empty the buckets of fresh items into the boiling water. The Baron was there in person to greet each of the farmers and a chef from Lilliland Castle kept stirring the stew. As more of the farmers came with their buckets of vegetables, the better the stew's fragrance became, and as it began to permeate the entire town center area the hungrier the citizens became.

A band came to the event and the people began to sing and dance. The Baron turned to Lady Angela of Alpine Castle to say that the spirit of the people was getting better and he hoped that they would like the mountain stew. The more the kettle simmered, the more the flavor increased, and the more the people danced.

Finally, the mountain stew was ready and the Baron asked someone to come forward to taste the mountain stew. A hand went up and it was Mr. Johnson, the oldest man in Lilliland. He was over 100 years old and a very active mountain man. He tasted the mountain stew and said that it was the best mountain stew he had ever tasted. The Baron and Lady Angela tasted the stew next and they agreed it was very good. Next, everyone else had a bowl of the mountain stew and joy returned to Lilliland. The Baron decided to have the event every year no matter what type of harvest they had, thus making the flavorful Lilliland Mountain Stew a traditional time for feasting and celebrating.