Pop! A little Bean bounced right out of a bubbling pot on the stove. "Whee! I'm free!" it thought.

Just then, whoosh! A piece of Straw flew away from the crackling fire nearby. And sizzle! A bright red Coal rolled out too, escaping the heat.

The three escapees looked at each other. "Well, hello there!" said the Bean. "It seems we all wanted an adventure."

"Indeed!" rustled the Straw.

"Let's travel together!" glowed the Coal warmly.

So off they went, the three new friends, hopping and rolling along, happy to be out in the wide world.

Soon, they came to a little stream. Gurgle, gurgle, went the water. It wasn't very wide, but it was too wide for them to jump.

"Oh dear," said the Bean. "How will we get across?"

"I have an idea!" said the Straw proudly. "I am long and light. I can lie across the stream like a little bridge!"

"What a clever idea!" said the Bean and the Coal together.

So the Straw carefully stretched itself from one bank of the stream to the other. It made a fine, if slightly wobbly, bridge.

"Who will go first?" asked the Bean.

"I will!" said the Coal bravely. Being fiery and bold, it started to creep carefully across the Straw bridge.

It moved slowly... slowly... getting towards the middle. But oh no! The Coal was still very, very hot from the fire.

Fzzzzt! The heat from the Coal burned right through the middle of the poor Straw!

Snap! The Straw broke in two!

Splash! The two pieces of Straw fell into the water.

Hisss! The hot Coal tumbled into the stream right after it, and the cool water put its fiery glow right out. Gone!

The little Bean, watching safely from the side, saw the Straw break and the Coal hiss and disappear. It thought this was the funniest thing it had ever, ever seen!

It started to giggle. Then it started to chuckle. Then it began to laugh out loud. It laughed and laughed and laughed! It held its little round sides and roared with laughter.

It laughed so hard... POP! Its side split right open!

"Oh dear!" gasped the Bean, suddenly stopping its laughter. Now it was in trouble.

But luckily, just at that moment, a kind tailor was walking by, carrying his sewing kit. He saw the poor little Bean holding its split side.

"What happened here, little one?" asked the tailor gently.

The Bean explained the whole story between little hiccups.

The tailor smiled kindly. "Don't you worry," he said. He took out his needle and thread. He only had black thread with him that day, but he thought it would do just fine.

Carefully, stitch, stitch, stitch, he sewed the Bean's side back together with the black thread.

"There you go," said the tailor. "Good as new!"

The Bean felt much better. "Thank you, kind tailor!" it whispered.

And that is why, even today, if you look closely at a bean, you will see a little black line sewn down its side. It’s a reminder of the day its friends, the Straw and the Coal, tried to cross a stream, and the Bean laughed just a little bit too hard!

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