The Straw, the Coal, and the Bean facts for kids
"The Straw, the Coal, and the Bean" is a short and fun fairy tale. It is one of the many stories collected by the famous Brothers Grimm. This tale is the eighteenth story in their well-known book, Grimms' Fairy Tales. It is also known by a special number, Aarne-Thompson number 295. This number helps people who study fairy tales to classify and compare different stories from around the world.
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The Story of the Straw, Coal, and Bean
This classic tale tells the adventure of three unusual friends: a piece of straw, a hot coal, and a bean. They all find themselves in a tricky situation and must work together to escape.
An Unexpected Escape
The story begins with an old woman who is getting ready to cook some beans for her dinner. She is in a hurry, so she uses some straw to help her fire start burning quickly. As she pours the beans into the cooking pot, one little bean accidentally falls onto the floor. It lands right next to a piece of straw. Soon, the fire is burning brightly, and a hot, glowing coal suddenly jumps out of the flames. It lands right next to the straw and the bean.
The three new friends realize how lucky they are. They have all narrowly escaped being burned in the fire! They decide right then and there that they should stick together and run away to find a safer place.
The River Crossing
As they travel, the straw, the coal, and the bean soon come to a wide river. They need to find a way to get to the other side. The clever straw offers to help. It lies down across the water, making a simple bridge for its friends to walk over.
The coal, being very hot and eager, immediately starts to cross the straw bridge. But when the coal is only halfway across, the river water rushes quickly underneath. The coal becomes very scared of falling into the water and getting drowned. It stops moving, too afraid to take another step. Because the coal is so hot, the straw bridge catches fire! The burning straw breaks into two pieces. Both the straw and the coal are then swept away by the strong river current.
The Bean's Big Laugh
The poor bean is watching all of this from the riverbank. It cannot help but laugh at the funny and sad misfortune of its two friends. The bean laughs and laughs, louder and louder, until it laughs so hard that its side bursts open! The bean is now in a lot of trouble, with a big split in its side.
A Tailor's Help
Luckily, there is a kind tailor working nearby. He hears the bean's cries for help. The tailor quickly comes over and sees the injured bean. He takes out his needle and some black thread and carefully sews the bean back together. From that day on, all beans have a little black seam on their side, just like the one the tailor sewed onto the bean in the story.
