The Straw, the Coal and the Bean
Once upon a time, in a small, cosy kitchen in the heart of a bustling village, an old woman was preparing a pot of stew over a crackling fire. She threw in all sorts of ingredients—vegetables, herbs, and spices—and added a handful of dry beans for good measure. Beside the fire lay a bundle of straw and a pile of coal, ready to keep the flame burning strong.
As the stew bubbled, something extraordinary happened. One of the beans, a piece of straw, and a glowing coal somehow gained the ability to speak! Whether it was the magic of the fire or the old woman’s kind heart, no one could say. But the three newfound friends soon struck up a conversation.
“What a hard life we have,” sighed the straw. “I spend my days being trampled underfoot or tossed into the fire.”
“And I,” said the coal, “am thrown into the flames to burn away until there’s nothing left of me.”
“At least you two are useful,” said the bean sadly. “If I’m lucky, I get eaten and forgotten. If I’m unlucky, I’m left to rot.”
The three friends thought about their grim fates and decided they couldn’t stay in the kitchen any longer. “Let’s escape!” said the straw. “We’ll leave this place and find a better life, where we’ll be free and appreciated.”
The coal and the bean agreed eagerly. Together, they hopped, rolled, and floated out of the kitchen, slipping through the cracks in the door and into the open world.
The straw, the coal, and the bean travelled happily for a while, marvelling at the bright blue sky and the green fields stretching as far as the eye could see. They laughed and chatted about the adventures they would have and the wonderful things they would see.
Soon, however, they came to a small stream. The water sparkled in the sunlight, but it posed a problem: how would they get across? The straw, ever the clever one, came up with a plan.
“Don’t worry,” the straw said confidently. “I’ll lay myself across the stream to make a bridge. You can walk across me, one at a time.”
The coal and the bean cheered the straw for his bravery. The straw stretched himself across the stream, forming a makeshift bridge. First, the coal stepped onto the straw, its red-hot glow dimming slightly as it ventured onto the fragile bridge.
But just as the coal reached the middle of the stream, the straw began to crackle and sizzle. “Oh no!” cried the straw. “The coal’s heat is burning me!”
With a loud snap, the straw broke in two, plunging both the coal and itself into the water. The coal hissed and let out a puff of steam as it was extinguished, while the straw floated away in soggy pieces.
The bean, watching all of this from the shore, laughed so hard that it split its shiny coat right down the middle. “Oh dear!” the bean chuckled. “What a mess we’ve made!”
But now the bean had a problem of its own. Its coat was split open, and it felt cold and exposed. Just when it thought all hope was lost, a kind tailor happened to walk by.
The tailor, seeing the poor bean’s plight, knelt down and said, “Don’t worry, little bean. I’ll fix you up.” From his sewing kit, he pulled out a fine needle and thread. Carefully, he stitched the bean back together, giving it a sturdy seam to hold its coat in place.
“There you go,” said the tailor with a smile. “Good as new!”
The bean thanked the tailor and went on its way, feeling wiser and more cautious after the adventure. As for the coal and the straw, no one knows exactly what became of them, but their story lives on as a reminder of the dangers of poorly thought-out plans.
And from that day on, every bean has had a little seam running along its side, a mark of the time when a brave bean, a daring straw, and a fiery coal set out to find freedom—and discovered that even the best-laid plans can go hilariously wrong.
