Meet Louse and Flea, two tiny friends who lived together in a warm, snug spot.

One sunny morning, Louse decided to brew some yummy beer. She found a tiny, empty eggshell – just the right size for a little louse-sized brewery! She was stirring and humming, but oh dear! She leaned a bit too far, tumbled right into the hot beer, and ouch! She burned herself.

Flea, her best friend, saw what happened and started to cry. Not just a little sniffle, but big, loud sobs!

The little Door in their room heard the wailing. "Flea, dear Flea," creaked the Door, "why are you crying so very loudly?"
"Oh, Door!" wailed Flea. "Louse fell into her beer and got a terrible burn!"
The Door felt so sad for Louse that it started to creak and groan with worry. Creak, groan, creak!

A little Broom standing in the corner heard the Door. "Oh, Door, Door," rustled the Broom, "why are you creaking and groaning so?"
"Because," creaked the Door, "Louse fell in the beer and got burned, and Flea is crying her eyes out!"
The Broom was so upset that it started to sweep and swish all over the floor, back and forth, swish, swish!

A little Cart outside the window saw the Broom sweeping like mad. "Broom, Broom," rumbled the Cart, "why are you sweeping so wildly?"
"Because," swished the Broom, "Louse got burned, Flea is crying, and the Door is creaking with sadness!"
The Cart felt so sorry that it started to roll down the path all by itself. Rumble, tumble, roll!

An Ash-heap by the side of the path saw the Cart rolling along. "Cart, Cart," whispered the Ash-heap, "why are you rolling away so fast?"
"Because," rumbled the Cart, "Louse got burned, Flea is crying, the Door is creaking, and the Broom is sweeping like crazy!"
The Ash-heap was so distressed that it began to glow and burn with a fiery heat. Sizzle, crackle, burn!

A little Tree nearby felt the heat from the Ash-heap. "Ash-heap, Ash-heap," rustled the Tree, "why are you burning so fiercely?"
"Because," crackled the Ash-heap, "Louse got burned, Flea is crying, the Door is creaking, the Broom is sweeping, and the Cart is rolling away!"
The Tree was so shocked that it started to shake all its leaves off. Shiver, shake, flutter!

A little Girl was coming from the well with a jug full of water. She saw the Tree shaking all its leaves. "Oh, Tree, Tree," she called, "why are you shaking so much?"
"Because," shivered the Tree, "Louse got burned, Flea is crying, the Door is creaking, the Broom is sweeping, the Cart is rolling, and the Ash-heap is burning hot!"
The Girl was so startled that she dropped her water jug, and it smashed into tiny pieces! Crash!

The little Spring where she got the water saw the jug break. "Oh, Girl, Girl," bubbled the Spring, "why did you break your pretty jug?"
"Because," cried the Girl, "Louse got burned, Flea is crying, the Door is creaking, the Broom is sweeping, the Cart is rolling, the Ash-heap is burning, and the Tree is shaking all its leaves off!"

The Spring felt so much sorrow for everyone that it began to bubble and gush, and gush and bubble, until so much water flowed out that it washed everyone away.

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