The Story Bag

by Kim So-Un

  He wanted to get home as soon as he could to tell all his own people about his marvellous discovery. The journey home did not seem too long nor difficult.

  At long last he reached his homeland. The first thing he did was to plow his garden and plant the precious onion seeds that had been given him. As soon as he finished planting the seeds, he was so happy that he hurried off to visit his old friends, whom he had not seen for many years.

  But, no matter whom he met, he was mistaken for a cow. The people gathered about him and tried to catch him.

  "No! No! You are wrong. Look at me well. I am your friend. Don't you remember me?" he cried in a loud voice.

  But his friends would not listen to him. "My, what a noisy cow!" they said. "This one really is a cow, isn't he? Let's hurry and catch him."

  At last, the old traveller was caught and eaten up by his friends that very day.

  Soon after this incident, the people began to notice some strange green shoots, the like of which they had never seen before, growing in a corner of the old man's vegetable garden. Someone plucked one of the green shoots and tasted it. It had a strange, but pleasing, smell.

  This was the onion that the old traveller had planted. Of course, no one knew what it was. Nonetheless, all the people flocked to the garden to eat the strange shoots that had a queer but pleasant taste.

  To everybody's surprise, after eating the green shoots, people no longer saw each other as cows. They saw each other as they were. No longer was it possible for people to mistake each other for cows.

  The people suddenly realized what tie old traveller had done. But it was too late to thank him for his efforts. They had already eaten him up. Yet, to this very day, the old man's kindness lives on in the gratitude of the people whom he made happy with the onions he planted.

  3 Mountains and Rivers

  MANY, many years ago there lived in the country of Heaven a king and his beautiful daughter. One day this lovely princess lost her favorite ring. It was a beautiful ring, which she loved dearly. Her father, the king, ordered all his people to look for the ring throughout the country. But it was not to be found anywhere.

  Meanwhile, the princess wept and wailed over her loss.

  The king could not bear to see his daughter so unhappy. To quiet her sobbing, he told her: "We have searched everywhere in the country of Heaven, but the ring cannot be found. It must have dropped to earth. I will send one of my men to search for it there and to hurry and bring it back to you."

  So the king ordered one of his retainers to go down to earth, and there to search for the ring the princess had lost.

  You must remember that this happened a long, long time ago, when the earth was still young. It was one great stretch of mud. The retainer did not know where to start his search for the ring. But he had to start somewhere. So he began digging into the mud with his hands. He dug here and there, scooping up the dirt into mounds. He ran his fingers over the ground, leaving deep marks in the surface of the earth.

  It was not an easy task to find a small ring in all this mass of mud. But, at long last, he found the precious ring.

  The princess was overjoyed and once again became her own happy self.

  The deep holes which the retainer dug became oceans. The mounds of dirt he left behind became mountains. And the places where he ran his fingers through the earth became rivers.

  That is why the earth now has mountains, rivers and seas.

  4 The Pheasant, the Dove, and the Magpie

  THERE once lived in the same forest a pheasant, a dove, and a magpie. One year the crops failed, and there was nothing for the three of them to eat.

  "What shall we do? How can we live through this cold winter? The three talked over their problems and finally decided to call on a mouse who also lived in the same forest. "Surely," they said, "the mouse will have some rice and will share it with us." They decided that the pheasant would go first to see the mouse.

  The peasant was always a proud bird and till then had looked down on the lowly mouse. So, when he came to the home of the mouse, he spoke rudely out of habit.

  "Hey there!" the pheasant said haughtily, "where are you? This is the great pheasant. Bring me some food."

  Mrs. Mouse was in the kitchen at the back of the house, feeding fuel to her kitchen stove. When she heard the disdainful words of the pheasant, she became very angry. She flew out of the kitchen, a redhot poker in her hand, and began hitting the pheasant on both his cheeks.

  "What's the idea of speaking in such a manner when you have come begging for food. Even if we had rice to throw away, we wouldn't give you any."

  Rubbing his red and swollen cheeks, the pheasant ran home in great shame. That is why, to this day, the pheasant's cheeks are red.

  Next the dove went to the mouse's home. He, too, was a very proud bird and looked down on the mouse.

  "Say, you rice thief! I've come for a bit of food," he said in a rude and haughty manner.

  Mrs. Mouse became angry again when she heard the dove speak so rudely. She ran out of her kitchen with a poker in her hand and hit the dove a good blow on the top of his head.

  Ever since then, the top of a dove's head has always been blue. It is the bruise that was caused by Mrs. Mouse and her poker.

  Lastly, the magpie went to get some food. The magpie knew too well what had happened to his two friends, the pheasant and the dove. He did not want to repeat their mistakes, so he decided to be very, very careful how he spoke.

  As soon as he reached the front door of Mr. Mouse's home, he bowed humbly and spoke as politely as possible."My dear Mr. Mouse," he said, "we have had a very poor harvest and I am in want. Can you not spare me a little food?"

  Mr. Mouse came to the front door. "Well, Mr. Magpie, I won't say I shan't give you anything. But aren't you a crony of the pheasant and the dove? If you are, I will certainly have nothing to do with you."

  "Oh no, Mr. Mouse," said the magpie, "absolutely not. I've never even heard of them."

  "In that case, come in," the mouse said, believing what the magpie told him. The mouse then gave the magpie some rice to take home.

  On top of all this, Mrs. Mouse, her good mood restored, said: "Mr. Magpie, you certainly are a refined gentleman. Even your language is different from the rest. You must have had a very good upbringing."

  And so, to this day, the magpie is known for his cunning and slyness.

  5 A Dog Named Fireball

  ONCE there was, in the world above the skies, a land called the Land of Darkness. It was one country of many in that world, just as we have a number of different nations in the world of man.

  This Land of Darkness, as its name implies, had no light whatever. It was a country of perpetual night. Day in day out, year in year out, darkness reigned over the land.

  The people of this country were quite used to living without lights. By listening to differences in sounds and by feeling their way about, they were able to find what they wanted. The people were, indeed, expert at groping about in the dark. However, to tell the truth, everybody was quite glum and unhappy. They were all sick and tired of the evering blackness.

  Their one cry was: "I wish we had some light! How wonderful it would be to have some light! I wish we could have both day and night, and not just night."

  Of course, the king of the Land of Darkness also wanted light. "The world of man below has its sun and its moon. Isn't there, I wonder, a way of getting some light?" This was the thought which continually ran through the king's mind.

  Now, in the Land of Darkness there was a great number of dogs. Everybody kept dogs. But, among, these, there was one outstanding animal. He was a; great, shaggy creature, but enormously strong and very clever.

  This brave animal was endowed by nature with a gigantic mouth. Not only was his mouth exceptionally large, but it had the peculiar quality of being able to stand any kind of heat. The dog could carry hot things in his mouth—even red-hot balls of fire. Of course, in the Land of Darkness there were almost neve
r any balls of fire, but even if there'd been a: dozen a day, the dog could have carried them all, That is why the people of the Land of Darkness called him Fireball. And Fireball he was.

  That was not all. He had four of the strongest and fastest legs in all the country. His legs were like steel pillars. He could run hundreds and thousands of miles in the twinkling of an eye.

  One day the king had an idea. "Yes, that dog could surely run to the world of man, snatch away the sun, and bring it back to the Land of Darkness," the king thought.

  The king called all the wise men of his kingdom together and told them of his idea. They listened to the king, and, when he had finished, one and all clapped their hands in approval and praised the wisdom of their ruler.

  "That's it!" they said. "That's the only way to bring light to our country. Fireball will certainly succeed. You have really hit upon a wonderful idea."

  Everyone was so overjoyed at the king's suggestion that they were completely carried away. They rejoiced as if Fireball had already brought the sun back in his mouth.

  The king was happy too to think that he had thought of such a good plan. He ordered that preparations be made at once for Fireball's departure.

  Fireball started out bravely on his long, long journey. It was a very long trip. Even with his fast legs, it would take Fireball two years to reach the sun. But the dog did not stop to rest. He kept on running and running, day after day, month after month. And at last he reached the skies over the earth.

  There the bright sun was, shining in the sky. Soon he was right upon it. It was a huge, round ball of fire.

  Fireball opened his enormous mouth and sank his teeth deeply into the sun, trying to tear it out of the sky. But it was hot—terribly hot. It was hotter than any fireball he had ever carried in his mouth before.

  Fireball succeeded in getting the sun in his mouth, but he could not bear the heat. He felt as if his whole body would melt from the heat of the sun.

  "It's no use. The sun is too hot. At this rate, I won't ever be able to tear the sun out of the sky," the dog said to himself. So he gave up and spit the sun out of his mouth. Then, filled with shame, he returned to the Land of Darkness.

  When the king saw Fireball come back without the sun, he was very, very disappointed. Then he thought, "If the sun is too hot, then why not have him bring back the moon?"

  "Go to the moon and bring it back," he commanded Fireball. "It should not be as hot as the sun." And so, even before Fireball was able to rest from his long trip to the sun, he was ordered to go to the moon.

  After a long journey, Fireball again reached the skies over the world of man. There the moon was, hanging from the sky. It shone with a blue-white light. Sure enough, it did not give off any heat.

  "This time I shall be able to take back some light," thought Fireball.

  He put his big mouth to the moon and took one bite, just as he had done with the sun. But, oh, it was so very, very cold! It was freezing cold, just like a big lump of ice. Fireball did succeed in getting all the moon into his mouth. But he could not bear the cold. It seemed as if his whole body would freeze. So, once more, he had to give up. He spit the moon out and returned despondently to the Land of Darkness.

  When the king saw Fireball come back without the moon, he was again very disappointed. But his wish to have light for his country remained unchanged. In fact, the more he thought of the sun and the moon and how difficult it was to get either, the more he wanted to have one or the other of them brought back. Again he called Fireball and ordered him to go get the sun.

  Tired as he was, Fireball again set off bravely. But once again he failed. He did succeed in getting the sun into his mouth, but again he could not bear the heat. So once more Fireball came back to the Land of Darkness, empty-mouthed.

  The king, sorely disappointed, next ordered Fireball to try for the moon again. But it was the same story. When he got the moon into his mouth, it was as cold as ever. He could not stand it. That was how cold the moon was.

  Five times, ten times, twenty times, Fireball repeated the same journey. And each time he failed. And the oftener the dog failed, the stronger became the king's desire to bring light to his land.

  But the sun was too hot, and the moon was too cold. No matter how brave and how strong Fireball was, this was one feat that he could not accomplish.

  Still the king of the Land of Darkness would not give up. His desire to get light for his kingdom had now become a deeply fixed passion in his mind. He was sure that, no matter if Fireball failed a hundred times, nay, a thousand times, there would come a day when the dog would finally succeed.

  "Just watch," the king told himself. "One of these days Fireball will come home with either the sun or the moon."

  So Fireball kept going to the sun and moon by turns. Many, many years passed. Fireball was no longer a young dog. He was no longer as strong and fleet as he once was. But the king of the Land of Darkness kept ordering the dog to go for the sun and the moon.

  Even to this present day Fireball continues his distant trips to the skies above the world of man, first to the sun and then to the moon.

  The eclipses of the sun and the moon are signs that Fireball, that brave and loyal dog from the Land of Darkness, is still living, still trying. Each time he grabs the sun or the moon in his mouth he is making another attempt to take light back to his king.

  And, doubt it not, Fireball will go right on trying, again and again, until eternity. That's the kind of dog he is.

  6 The Deer, the Rabbit, and the Toad

  ONCE upon a time, a deer, a rabbit, and a toad lived together in one house. One day they held a great feast to celebrate a happy occasion.

  The three began arguing over who should be served first. Finally it was decided that the oldest of the three should begin the feast. This started each of the three boasting of his age.

  The deer spoke first. "When heaven and earth were first made," he said, "it was I who helped put the stars in the sky. That shows how old I am. I surely must be the oldest here."

  The rabbit then spoke up. "It was I who planted the tree that was used to make the ladder for putting the stars in the sky. You see, I am older than Mr. Deer. So I must be the oldest here."

  All this while the toad had sat silent, listening to the boasting of the others. All at once he began to sob quietly.

  The deer and the rabbit were surprised and asked: "What's the matter, Mr. Toad?"

  With tears running down his cheeks, the toad answered: "Your talk reminded me of my three sons. When they were still young they each planted a tree.

  When the trees grew up, my eldest son cut his down and from it made the handle for the hammer used in nailing the stars to the sky. From his tree my second son made the handle of the spade that was used to dig the channel where the Milky Way now flows. My youngest son used his tree to make the handle of the hammer which nailed the sun and the moon to the sky.

  "But now, to my great sorrow, all three sons are dead and gone. I couldn't help but cry as I listened to you two arguing about your age."

  At this, both the deer and the rabbit had to agree that Mr. Toad was surely the oldest of them all. So it was toad who was given the honor of being served first.

  7 MR. Bedbug's Feast

  FATHER Bedbug was about to greet his sixty-first birthday. Now, in the country where Mr. Bedbug lived, it was the custom to celebrate one's sixty-first birthday in a grand manner, since few people lived that long, to say nothing of bedbugs.

  Thus, Mr. Bedbug decided to hold a great feast and invited his two close friends, Mr. Flea and Mr. Louse.

  Mr. Flea and Mr. Louse were both happy to be invited. They were sure there would be a groaning board, and both were delighted with the prospect of good food and much wine. They started out together in a very happy mood.

  But Mr. Flea, like all of his kind, was a very short-tempered fellow by nature and, as he walked along with Mr. Louse, he became very impatient, for, as you know, Mr. Louse was a very slow walker
. Mr. Flea couldn't help taking a few jumps ahead, and then a few more.

  Left way behind, Mr. Louse called out: "Say, don't be so impatient! Try not to hurry and jump ahead so quickly."

  Mr. Flea felt ashamed and, for a time, held himself back to walk along side by side with Mr. Louse. But Mr. Louse was really slow. Why, sometimes it was even difficult to tell whether he was walking or standing still. You see, Mr. Louse was a calm per-son, and he was in no great hurry.

  Seeing Mr. Louse so composed and quiet, Mr. Flea could not hold his patience any longer and said: "Mr. Louse, you come along afterwards. It irks me to walk so slowly." No sooner had Mr. Flea said this than he jumped ahead and was at Mr. Bedbug's home in no time.

  Mr. Bedbug had really prepared a grand feast for his friends. There were many, many dishes and much wine, all laid out on a large table.

  Panting from his hurried walk, Mr. Flea called out to Mr. Bedbug, even before he entered the house, saying: "Oh, but I'm thirsty! Please give me some wine."

  "Why, yes," said Mr. Bedbug, "do have some of the wine. But, why, in heaven's name, did you hurry so on such a warm day?" He filled a large bowl to the brim with wine and gave it to Mr. Flea.

  Mr. Flea gulped the wine down greedily. Then he said: "Ah, at last I feel refreshed. But I would like another bowl, I think."

  And so he drank another bowlful of wine.

  Mr. Bedbug and Mr. Flea waited for Mr. Louse to arrive. They waited and waited, but there was no sign of him.

  At last, Mr. Bedbug stood up and said: "It's quite a distance for Mr. Louse to walk. Maybe I should go out to meet him."

  After Mr. Bedbug was gone, Mr. Flea was left all alone. The sight of all that food on the table and all that wine in the bottle began to torment him. He was already slightly drunk from his two bowlfuls of wine, and he simply couldn't resist the temptation. Slowly he reached for the wine bottle and filled his bowl. He drank one bowlful—two bowlfuls—three bowlfuls. Finally he lost count—and suddenly there was not a single drop of wine left in the bottle.