Question

Read the fable "The Straw, the Coal, and the Bean." Answer the question that follows.

All alone, in a quiet little village, lived a poor old woman. One day she had a dish of beans which she wanted to cook for dinner, so she made a fire on the hearth, and in order that it should burn up quickly she lighted it with a handful of straw. She hung the pot over the fire, and poured in the beans; but one fell on to the floor without her noticing it, and rolled away beside a piece of straw. Soon afterwards a live coal flew out of the fire and joined their company. Then the straw began to speak. "Dear friends," said he, "whence come you?" "I was fortunate enough to spring out of the fire," answered the coal. "Had I not exerted myself to get out when I did, I should most certainly have been burnt to ashes." "I have also just managed to save my skin," said the bean. "Had the old woman succeeded in putting me into the pot, I should have been stewed without mercy, just as my comrades are being served now." "My fate might have been no better," the straw told them. "The old woman burnt sixty of my brothers at once, but fortunately I was able to slip through her fingers." "What shall we do now?" said the coal. "Well," answered the bean, "my opinion is that, as we have all been so fortunate as to escape death, we should leave this place before any new misfortune overtakes us. Let us all three become traveling companions and set out upon a journey to some unknown country." This suggestion pleased both the straw and the coal, so away they all went at once. Before long they came to a brook, and as there was no bridge across it they did not know how to get to the other side; but the straw had a good idea: "I will lay myself over the water, and you can walk across me as though I were a bridge," he said. So he stretched himself from one bank to the other, and the coal, who was of a hasty disposition, at once tripped gaily on to the newly-built bridge. Halfway across she hesitated, and began to feel afraid of the rushing water. What happened next?
1) The coal fell into the water and drowned.
2) The bean helped the coal cross the bridge.
3) The straw reassured the coal and encouraged her to continue.
4) The straw collapsed and the coal fell into the water.

Answer 1

In the fable, the straw collapses and the coal falls into the water.

Step-by-step explanation:

The correct answer to the question about what happens next in the fable The Straw, the Coal, and the Bean is that the coal falls into the water. Given the choices provided, the most accurate continuation of the scenario where the coal hesitated on the straw bridge would be that the straw collapsed and the coal fell into the water. This would be a typical twist in a fable, showcasing a sudden turn of events due to the fragile nature of the bridge made of straw and the coal's hesitancy, which is a consequence of its rushed and hasty character leading to its downfall.

Answer 2

The coal falls into the water after the straw bridge collapses under its weight. Option 4 is correct

Step-by-step explanation:

In the fable "The Straw, the Coal, and the Bean," the coal's precarious journey across the straw bridge ends abruptly as the bridge collapses. Unable to sustain the coal's weight and overcome by the fear of the rushing water below, the straw gives way, leading to the coal's demise.

Consequently, the correct answer to what happens next is that the straw collapsed and the coal fell into the water. This unfortunate event emphasizes the fable's underlying message regarding the unpredictability of life and the importance of prudence and caution.