The Straw, the Coal, & the Bean

A German folktale originally collected by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm 

    There was once an old woman, poor as can be, who lived in a small, rural village. One day, she collected beans to cook for dinner. The poor, old woman grabbed a handful of straw to start a fire real quick, but one piece of straw fell to the floor. Once the fire in the hearth was strong, she tossed a handful of beans into the hanging pot. But one bean, unbeknownst to her, fell to the floor. Soon after, a glowing coal from the fire jumped out to the floor joining the others. 

    The Straw asked, "Little friends, how came you hither?" 

    The Coal replied, "I have happily escaped my death for I would have burnt to a cinder in that fire." 

    The Bean nodded, "I too have escaped death for in that pot I would have boiled down to broth like my comrades." 

    The Straw commiserated, "I have escaped my terrible fate as all sixty of my brothers went up in smoke, while I slipped through her fingers." 

    The Coal then spoke a quandary, "What should we do now?" 

    With great bravado, the Bean intoned, "We should flee the country together for we have all escaped the clutches of death. To stay is to risk the old woman finding us." 

    The Straw and the Coal agreed, and so they set out on their journey together. Before long, they arrived at the bank of a small stream. There was neither a bridge nor a footpath upon which to cross, so the Straw devised a quick plan. "I will lay across the water so that you may walk along my back to reach the other side." The Straw then stretched out across the little stream, and the Coal began to cross. But halfway through, the Coal froze in fear hearing the rushing water below. 

    The Straw began to burn, breaking into two, and the Coal fell into the water fizzling out. The Bean, who had cautiously remained on the bank, laughed so hard that it split into two. Fortunately for the Bean, a passing tailor wandered by. And with a sympathetic heart, the tailor sewed the Bean back together with a needle and thread. But as the tailor used a black thread, all beans have a black seam to this day. 

With love, 

Autumn Rose Surratt 

The Ancestor Witch 

  

Source 

• "Grimm's Fairy Tales", The Folio Society (2001), translated by Mrs. Edgar Lucas in 1909, illustrated by Arthur Rackham, pages 29-30.