With its origins in Scandinavian folklore, this variant on 'Stone Soup' tells the story of how a traveller seeking shelter at a lonely cottage persuades its miserly occupant to produce the ingredients for a delicious meal. Appealing to her greed when he promises to reveal how a single nail can produce an appetising soup, she is tricked into contributing the basis for a royal feast. The nail does indeed have a magical effect - transforming her inhospitable nature as much as her soup! The illustrations cleverly underline the continually changing perspectives of the situation.