The Straw, the Coal, and the Bean

Introduction

This little tale is number 18 in the Brothers Grimm collection, one of the shortest in the whole book. In a few hundred words it shows three different fates, and all three follow from one mistake: none of the friends truly knows itself. In this retelling we have put the old story into the voice of a Chinese fable. The Chinese fable tradition, carried down from the philosophers Zhuangzi and Hanfeizi, loves short scenes, plain words, and a lesson that the ending speaks for itself. So the old woman's kitchen and the little brook stay as they are, but the telling grows calmer and simpler, like a grandfather talking by lamplight. The heart of the lesson is an old Chinese saying: "The mantis raises its arms against the cart and does not know its own strength." The straw is thin and brittle, yet it makes itself a bridge. The coal burns at a touch, yet it steps onto that bridge. Both reach beyond their strength, and both are undone. Only the bean, which knows water better, stays on the bank and lives — the wisdom of playing to your strengths. The story holds a second charm as well. It is a pourquoi tale, an origin story: someone long ago noticed the dark mark on a bean and invented the tailor who sewed the laughing bean back together with black thread. When you read it aloud, ask your child first which of the three friends knew itself best, and afterwards find a real bean and look for the black seam together.