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The Story Bag
Once
upon a time, there lived a boy who loved stories. He wrote down every
story he heard and kept the copies of the stories in a chalice. By the
time the boy was old enough to get married, the chalice was full of
stories.
A few days before the man’s wedding, a servant in the house heard a whisper from somewhere. He thought it was very odd, as the house was empty at the time. He followed the strange sound; it was coming from the chalice. One voice said, “We, stories, have been locked up in the chalice for all these years. How nasty the boy has been! Now, he’s getting married, and we have to take revenge on him.” Then, the second voice came out. “I couldn’t agree more. The boy will leave for the bride’s house soon, so I’ll turn into a water spring by the roadside. If the boy drinks me, I’ll kill him.” Next, the third voice said, “That’s a good idea. But in case he doesn’t drink water, I’ll transform myself into red berries by the roadside. If he eats me, I’ll kill him.” Then, the fourth voice made an even more horrible suggestion. “And I’ll change into a large sword hanging from the ceiling at the Wedding. During the ceremony, I’ll fall down and stab him. There is no way that he can avoid death.” Hearing the dreadful conversation, the servant was terrified. He decided to save his master by all means.
The wedding day finally arrived and the wedding session departed for the bride’s home. Of course, the servant was accompanying the bridegroom. As the procession passed by a hill, the groom felt very thirsty and he was about to drink water from a clear spring nearby. But the servant whipped the horse, which ran past the spring. In the say way, the group passed the berries on the next hill. The bridegroom was upset and he scolded his servant. But the servant didn’t care at all. All he could think of was how to protect his master. During the wedding ceremony at the bride’s house, the groom was ready to bow in front of his bride, when the servant suddenly dragged him off to the yard. Even before the groom could say anything, a big sword fell from the ceiling. Everyone was shocked at the awful sight.
The servant then explained what he had heard from the chalice. The groom was surprised, and he wanted to burn all the stories. But the servant said, “Those stories are only revengeful because they have been kept hidden away. So, why don’t you just release them by printing them on paper?” The groom thought that the servant was right and he accepted the proposal. Thanks to the faithful and wise servant, the master could save his life and the stories came to appear in books to spread far and wide.
http://world.kbs.co.kr/english/program/program_koreastory_detail.htm?No=919¤t_page=
A few days before the man’s wedding, a servant in the house heard a whisper from somewhere. He thought it was very odd, as the house was empty at the time. He followed the strange sound; it was coming from the chalice. One voice said, “We, stories, have been locked up in the chalice for all these years. How nasty the boy has been! Now, he’s getting married, and we have to take revenge on him.” Then, the second voice came out. “I couldn’t agree more. The boy will leave for the bride’s house soon, so I’ll turn into a water spring by the roadside. If the boy drinks me, I’ll kill him.” Next, the third voice said, “That’s a good idea. But in case he doesn’t drink water, I’ll transform myself into red berries by the roadside. If he eats me, I’ll kill him.” Then, the fourth voice made an even more horrible suggestion. “And I’ll change into a large sword hanging from the ceiling at the Wedding. During the ceremony, I’ll fall down and stab him. There is no way that he can avoid death.” Hearing the dreadful conversation, the servant was terrified. He decided to save his master by all means.
The wedding day finally arrived and the wedding session departed for the bride’s home. Of course, the servant was accompanying the bridegroom. As the procession passed by a hill, the groom felt very thirsty and he was about to drink water from a clear spring nearby. But the servant whipped the horse, which ran past the spring. In the say way, the group passed the berries on the next hill. The bridegroom was upset and he scolded his servant. But the servant didn’t care at all. All he could think of was how to protect his master. During the wedding ceremony at the bride’s house, the groom was ready to bow in front of his bride, when the servant suddenly dragged him off to the yard. Even before the groom could say anything, a big sword fell from the ceiling. Everyone was shocked at the awful sight.
The servant then explained what he had heard from the chalice. The groom was surprised, and he wanted to burn all the stories. But the servant said, “Those stories are only revengeful because they have been kept hidden away. So, why don’t you just release them by printing them on paper?” The groom thought that the servant was right and he accepted the proposal. Thanks to the faithful and wise servant, the master could save his life and the stories came to appear in books to spread far and wide.
http://world.kbs.co.kr/english/program/program_koreastory_detail.htm?No=919¤t_page=
Strawberries in Winter |
 http://www.sustainableamerica.org/blog/how-do-strawberries-fruit-in-winter-the-important-ways-that-cheap-oil-changed-the-way-we-eat/ |
Once upon a time, a government official started his new post as a magistrate in a local village. In his new office, the magistrate noticed that an official who was working under him was beloved by the people due to his diligence and kindness. It seemed that the public respected the low-level official more than the new magistrate, and this made him unhappy. He decided that he should trick the official.
One day, the magistrate ordered the official to bring some strawberries. It was in the middle of winter, meaning it was impossible to find wild strawberries out there. Of course, the magistrate knew it all too well. But he even said he would punish the official if he didn’t follow the order.
The poor official wandered through the mountains in search of strawberries. Needless to say, he couldn’t find any fresh fruit on the snow-covered mountains. He was exhausted and depressed. Recalling the magistrate’s face, he thought that he would lose his job and he wondered how he would support his family. He was so anxious that he fell seriously ill. His 10-year-old son began to worry about his sick father. The boy asked his father what was wrong, and after hearing the whole story, the kid thought for a moment and decided to see the magistrate himself.
At the office, meanwhile, the magistrate was expecting the official to come and apologize to him. But it was a little boy, not the official, who came to see him. The official’s son told the magistrate that his father had been bitten by a snake while searching for strawberries so he couldn’t come to the office for a while. The magistrate laughed. “What? A snake? Do you think I’m a fool? There are no snakes in the dead of winter. They are all hibernating now.” Then the boy said, with a smile, “That’s right, sir. There aren’t any snakes on the mountains in midwinter, as you just said. So, there aren’t any strawberries on the mountains now, either.”
The magistrate was left speechless. He could not refute what the little boy was saying. He had no choice but to retract his order. He said, “I guess you’re right. Tell your father to forget the strawberries and come back to the office.” Having recognized the son’s intelligence, the magistrate gave his full support to the boy, who later became a great scholar.
http://world.kbs.co.kr/english/program/program_koreastory_detail.htm?No=919¤t_page=