translated and edited by
D. L. Ashliman
© 2001
and other fables of Aarne-Thompson type 295
translated and edited by
D. L. Ashliman
© 2001
Return to D. L. Ashliman's folktexts, a library of folktales, folklore, fairy tales, and mythology.
A straw, a coal, and a bean formed a group in order to take a long trip together. They had already gone through many lands when they came to a brook with no bridge, and they could not get across. Finally Straw came upon a good idea. He would lay himself over the water, and the others would walk across him, first Coal and then Bean. Coal walked ahead, and Bean came tripping after. But when Coal reached the middle of the straw, it caught fire and burned through. Coal fell into the water hissing, and died. Straw floated away in two pieces.
Bean, who had lagged behind, also slid in, but he managed to keep barely afloat by swimming. However, he swallowed so much water that he burst, and in this condition drifted ashore. Fortunately a tailor was sitting there, resting from his travels. He had needle and thread at hand, and he sewed Bean back together. And from that time forth, all beans have had a seam.
According to another story, it was the bean who first walked across the straw. He got across safely, and from the opposite bank watched the coal attempt to cross. Midway the coal burned the straw in two, and fell into the water hissing. When the bean saw this, he laughed so loudly that he burst. The tailor, who was sitting on the bank, sewed him back together, but he had only black thread, and for this reason all beans have a black seam.
An old woman lived in a village. She had gathered a serving of beans and wanted to cook them, so she prepared a fire in her fireplace. To make it burn faster she lit it with a handful of straw. While she was pouring the beans into the pot, one of them fell unnoticed to the floor, coming to rest next to a piece of straw. Soon afterward a glowing coal jumped out of the fireplace and landed next to them.
The straw said, "Dear friends, where do you come from?"
The coal answered, "I jumped from the fireplace, to my good fortune. If I had not forced my way out, I surely would have died. I would have burned to ash."
The bean said, "I too saved my skin. If the old woman had gotten me into the pot I would have been cooked to mush without mercy, just like my comrades."
"Would my fate have been any better?" said the straw. "The old woman sent all my brothers up in fire and smoke. She grabbed sixty at once and killed them. Fortunately I slipped through her fingers."
"What should we do now?" asked the coal.
"Because we have so fortunately escaped death," answered the bean, "I think that we should join together as comrades. To prevent some new misfortune from befalling us here, let us together make our way to another land."
This proposal pleased the other two, and they set forth all together.
They soon came to a small brook, and because there was neither a bridge nor a walkway there, they did not know how they would get across it.
Then the straw had a good idea, and said, "I will lay myself across it, and you can walk across me like on a bridge."
So the straw stretched himself from one bank to the other. The coal, who was a hot-headed fellow, stepped brashly onto the newly constructed bridge, but when he got to the middle and heard the water rushing beneath him, he took fright, stopped, and did not dare to go any further. Then the straw caught fire, broke into two pieces, and fell into the brook. The coal slid after him, hissed as he fell into the water, and gave up the ghost.
The bean who had cautiously stayed behind on the bank had to laugh at the event. He could not stop, and he laughed so fiercely that he burst. Now he too would have died, but fortunately a wandering tailor was there, resting near the brook. Having a compassionate heart, he got out a needle and thread and sewed the bean back together.
The bean thanked him most kindly. However, because he had used black thread, since that time all beans have had a black seam.
A mouse and a coal once went walking together. They came to a brook and wanted to get across, but there was neither a bridge nor a walkway, but only a piece of straw lying nearby. They would have to walk across the straw, if they wanted to get to the other side.
Then the coal said to the mouse, "You go first! You can jump better than I can."
But the mouse said, "No, you cross first. You must light the way for me."
In the end, after they had quarreled enough, the coal went on ahead, but when he got to the middle of the brook, the straw caught fire and burned in two. The coal fell into the water and died, just like coals always die when they fall into water. In his fear he cried out. "Hsssss," he said.
When the mouse saw and heard this, he began to laugh, and he laughed and laughed until he split his fur coat. His joy in someone else's misfortune did not do him any good!
"What can I do now?" he thought. "I must see how I can mend my coat."
Then the mouse went to the shoemaker and said, "Give me some thread, so I can mend my coat."
The shoemaker said, "If you will bring me some bristles, I will give you some thread, so you can mend your coat."
Then the mouse went to the sow and said, "Give me some bristles, so I can take the bristles to the shoemaker, so the shoemaker will give me some thread, so I can mend my coat."
The sow said, "Give me some bran, then I will give you some bristles, so you can take the bristles to the shoemaker, so the shoemaker will give you some thread, so you can mend your coat."
Then the mouse went to the miller and said, "Give me some bran, so I can take the bran to the sow, so the sow will give me some bristles, so I can take the bristles to the shoemaker, so the shoemaker will give me some thread, so I can mend my coat."
The miller said, "Give me some grain, then I will give you some bran, so you can take the bran to the sow, so the sow will give you some bristles, so you can take the bristles to the shoemaker, so the shoemaker will give you some thread, so you can mend your coat."
Then the mouse went to the field and said, "Give me some grain, so I can take the grain to the miller, so the miller will give me some bran, so I can take the bran to the sow, so the sow will give me some bristles, so I can take the bristles to the shoemaker, so the shoemaker will give me some thread, so I can mend my coat."
The field said, "Give me some manure, then I will give you some grain, so you can take the grain to the miller, so the miller will give you some bran, so you can take the bran to the sow, so the sow will give you some bristles, so you can take the bristles to the shoemaker, so the shoemaker will give you some thread, so you can mend your coat."
Then the mouse went to the cow and said, "Give me some manure, so I can take the manure to the field, so the field will give me some grain, so I can take the grain to the miller, so the miller will give me some bran, so I can take the bran to the sow, so the sow will give me some bristles, so I can take the bristles to the shoemaker, so the shoemaker will give me some thread, so I can mend my coat."
The cow said, "Give me some grass, then I will give you some manure, so you can take the manure to the field, so the field will give you some grain, so you can take the grain to the miller, so the miller will give you some bran, so you can take the bran to the sow, so the sow will give you some bristles, so you can take the bristles to the shoemaker, so the shoemaker will give you some thread, so you can mend your coat."
Then the mouse went to the meadow and said, "Give me some grass, so I can take the grass to the cow, so the cow will give me some manure, so I can take the manure to the field, so the field will give me some grain, so I can take the grain to the miller, so the miller will give me some bran, so I can take the bran to the sow, so the sow will give me some bristles, so I can take the bristles to the shoemaker, so the shoemaker will give me some thread, so I can mend my coat."
The meadow said, "Give me some water, then I will give you some grass, so you can take the grass to the cow, so the cow will give you some manure, so you can take the manure to the field, so the field will give you some grain, so you can take the grain to the miller, so the miller will give you some bran, so you can take the bran to the sow, so the sow will give you some bristles, so you can take the bristles to the shoemaker, so the shoemaker will give you some thread, so you can mend your coat."
Then the mouse went to the brook and diverted it onto the meadow, then the meadow gave him some grass, then he took the grass to the cow, then the cow gave him some manure, then he took the manure to the field, then the field gave him some grain, then he took the grain to the miller, then the miller gave him some bran, then he took the bran to the sow, then the sow gave him some bristles, then he took the bristles to the shoemaker, then the shoemaker gave him some thread, and then the mouse was able to mend his coat.
Three good comrades, a coal, a bladder, and a straw, had set forth together to another land. On their way they came to a horse's hoofprint filled with water, and they did not know how to get across this ocean. Finally they decided that the straw should lay himself across it, and the others would walk across the ocean on him.
The coal went first. When he got to the middle of the straw, he stopped to look around, thus burning through the straw, and they both drowned.
This seemed very funny to the bladder, and he began to laugh so hard that he burst.
A stone that saw everything said, "Yes, indeed, someone's misfortune, someone's ridicule!"
But in the end, those who ridicule also meet with misfortune themselves.