In a village dwelt a poor old woman, who had gathered together a dishof beans and wanted to cook them. So she made a fire on her hearth, andthat it might burn the quicker, she lighted it with a handful of straw.When she was emptying the beans into the pan, one dropped without herobserving it, and lay on the ground beside a straw, and soon afterwardsa burning coal from the fire leapt down to the two. Then the strawbegan and said: 'Dear friends, from whence do you come here?' The coalreplied: 'I fortunately sprang out of the fire, and if I had not escapedby sheer force, my death would have been certain,--I should have beenburnt to ashes.' The bean said: 'I too have escaped with a whole skin,but if the old woman had got me into the pan, I should have been madeinto broth without any mercy, like my comrades.' 'And would a betterfate have fallen to my lot?' said the straw. 'The old woman hasdestroyed all my brethren in fire and smoke; she seized sixty of them atonce, and took their lives. I luckily slipped through her fingers.'

'But what are we to do now?' said the coal.

'I think,' answered the bean, 'that as we have so fortunately escapeddeath, we should keep together like good companions, and lest a newmischance should overtake us here, we should go away together, andrepair to a foreign country.'

The proposition pleased the two others, and they set out on their waytogether. Soon, however, they came to a little brook, and as there wasno bridge or foot-plank, they did not know how they were to get overit. The straw hit on a good idea, and said: 'I will lay myself straightacross, and then you can walk over on me as on a bridge.' The strawtherefore stretched itself from one bank to the other, and the coal,who was of an impetuous disposition, tripped quite boldly on to thenewly-built bridge. But when she had reached the middle, and heard thewater rushing beneath her, she was after all, afraid, and stood still,and ventured no farther. The straw, however, began to burn, broke intwo pieces, and fell into the stream. The coal slipped after her, hissedwhen she got into the water, and breathed her last. The bean, who hadprudently stayed behind on the shore, could not but laugh at the event,was unable to stop, and laughed so heartily that she burst. It wouldhave been all over with her, likewise, if, by good fortune, a tailor whowas travelling in search of work, had not sat down to rest by the brook.As he had a compassionate heart he pulled out his needle and thread,and sewed her together. The bean thanked him most prettily, but as thetailor used black thread, all beans since then have a black seam.