The Bubble of Burrow Beans

Supply & Demand - Part 2 of the Economic Series

By Ross Boulton © 2025

In bustling Pinepaw Market Square,

The critters came from everywhere—

To trade, to barter, snack, and browse,

With baskets stuffed from forested boughs.

One morning Milo Mouse appeared,

With something new the market cheered.

“They’re Burrow Beans!” he called with glee,

“They glow! They bounce! They’re flavor-free!”

The crowd went wild. Demand took flight.

They paid three nuts by noon, by night.

Then four, then six, then twenty seeds—

For silly beans no creature needs.

Lantern blinked, “But why the rush?”

Crabbie muttered, “Milo’s flush!”

Grizzle bellowed, “Buy ’em now!

Before the price goes up somehow!”

Owliver frowned, “This smells like fluff—

High price alone does not mean ‘tough.’

When everyone just wants to buy,

They’ll soon run out—or ask you why.”

Sure enough, by week’s bright end,

The market crashed around the bend.

Beans lost their bounce, their glow wore thin,

And none would trade them back again.

Milo cried, “But I believed!”

And Lantern sighed, “You were deceived—

By prices rising fast and steep.

But price alone runs skin-deep deep.”

Maple flew from stand to stand,

And wrote a rule with steady hand:

“If all you sell is hype and shine,

Beware—the market draws a line.”

The beans were gone. The fuss was done.

Yet Milo learned, not everyone

Who says “it’s rare!” or “only one!”

Knows why the crowd begins to run.

Why I Wrote This: The Bubble of Burrow Beans

By Ross Boulton © 2025

This fable is part of my Forest Economics Series, a set of woodland stories that turn big financial ideas into small, meaningful moments. In The Bubble of Burrow Beans, I wanted to explore one of the most fascinating—and risky—forces in economics: supply and demand, especially when fueled by hype.

The forest animals encounter a product no one needs, but everyone wants—not because of its value, but because of its price going up. That’s how speculative bubbles form. Whether it’s tulips, tech stocks, or collectible fads, we’ve all seen how demand can surge beyond sense. This story mirrors those moments in a way young readers can grasp and adults will recognize.

Milo plays the innocent speculator. Grizzle is the hype machine. Crabbie and Lantern raise doubts. Owliver delivers the sober warning. And the forest learns that prices alone don’t tell the whole story—value must be grounded in usefulness, not just popularity.

I wrote this to help children (and the grown-ups guiding them) understand that markets are emotional creatures. Trends rise and fall, but critical thinking lasts. Not every boom is a signal of value—sometimes it’s just a bubble full of air.