The Story Bag

by Kim So-Un

  As he approached the house, he noticed a well in the yard, and beside the well there stood a large willow tree. The warrior climbed up the tree and carefully hid himself in the branches. Then he waited to see what would take place.

  Soon a young girl came to draw water from the well. She filled her jug with water and lifted it in both hands to place it on her head. Just then the young warrior plucked four or five of the willow leaves and let them flutter down. The leaves fell into the water which had just been drawn from the well. The young girl emptied the jar and drew fresh water from the well.

  The warrior again dropped leaves into the jar. Again the girl threw the water out and refilled her container. Once again the leaves came fluttering down, and once again the girl emptied the jar and refilled it.

  "My, what a strong wind!" she said, and glanced up into the tree. At the sight of the warrior hidden there, she was startled. "Are you not from the earth above? Why have you come to this place?" she asked.

  The warrior then told her how the three princesses had been kidnapped by a giant eagle and how he had been sent to save them.

  The girl suddenly started to cry and said: "To tell you the truth, I am the youngest of the three princesses who were seized by the eagle. I was brought here with my two sisters. I had given up all hope of ever returning home. You cannot imagine how happy I am to see you. The ogre has just gone out. Once he sets out he does not return for three months and ten days. But, if we run away now, it would mean that the ogre would still be living, and, as long as he lives, he will try to steal us away again. You must wait until the ogre comes back and then get rid of him for good. But can you do that?"

  "Yes," the warrior answered, "of course, I can. That's why I came all this way."

  "I'm glad to hear that," the princess answered. "Come, I'll show you how to get into the ogre's house."

  The youngest princess then led the young warrior to the ogre's house and hid him there in the storehouse. In the storehouse there was a large iron pestle. The princess pointed to it and said: "Let me see how strong you are. Try and lift that pestle."

  The young warrior grabbed the pestle with both hands, but he couldn't budge it an inch.

  "At that rate, you'll never be able to take the ogre's head," the princess said. She went into the ogre's house and returned with a bowlful of mandrake juice kept by the ogre, and told the young warrior to drink it. He drank the juice in one gulp, and when he grabbed the pestle again, he was able to move it just about an inch.

  The young warrior stayed hidden in the storehouse. Every day he drank mandrake juice and wrestled with the iron pestle. Day after day he practiced and tested his strength. Finally he was able to lift the iron pestle with one hand and fling it about as if it were a pair of chopsticks. But still the young warrior continued to drink the juice of the mandrake as he waited impatiently for the return of the ogre.

  One day the ground began to tremble and the house to shake. The ogre had finally come home, together with his many henchmen. They brought with them many treasures which they had stolen. When they finished carrying their spoils into the house, they prepared a mighty banquet. That night, they feasted on delicacies of the mountains and the seas and quaffed wine by the barrelful. All night long they wined and danced, and the warrior watched them from a hiding place.

  One by one the henchmen went to sleep, completely drunk. The ogre also finally toppled over in a drunken sleep. He lay snoring away.

  "Now's my chance," the warrior thought and, drawing his sword, crept up to the sleeping ogre. But imagine the warrior's surprise! The ogre lay with his eyes wide open, although he was snoring loudly.

  The princess, who had followed the young warrior into the room, then said in a small voice: "You don't have to worry. The ogre always sleeps with his eyes open."

  Then with a tremendous shout, the warrior slashed with all his might at the ogre's neck. At this, the ogre jumped up, drew his sword, and tried to parry the blow. But the warrior's keen blade had already bitten deep into the ogre's neck, and he could not move as quickly as usual. Under the strength of the warrior's repeated blows, the ogre finally toppled over again. The warrior straddled the huge giant and finally succeeded in cutting off his head.

  The severed head, however, bounded up and tried to attach itself to the bleeding neck. Just then the princess took out some fine ashes of burnt straw, which she had kept hidden under her dress, and threw them over the stump of the neck. The head let out one sad wail, then leaped up in one powerful jump, crashed through the ceiling, and disappeared.

  The ogre's henchmen, when they learned what had befallen their chief, all surrendered meekly. The young warrior then threw open the many storehouses of the ogre, each filled to brimming with gold and silver, and divided up the treasure among the ogre's henchmen. Then he gathered together the three princesses and returned to the place where the basket had been lowered.

  The warrior pulled at the hempen rope, ringing the bell at the other end. The king's soldiers, who had been waiting there all this time, began hauling away. One by one the princesses were pulled up to the earth above. At the very end, the warrior also came up safely.

  The king was overjoyed at the return of his daughters. He ordered twenty-one days of celebration. The whole land also rejoiced at their salvation from the terrors of the ogre from the Land-below-the-earth.

  The king did not forget his promise to the young warrior. He gave his youngest daughter, the most beautiful of the three princesses, to the warrior in marriage. He also gave the young man much land and wealth. The young warrior and his beautiful wife lived long and happily ever after.

  25 The Disowned Student

  LONG ago, there was once a young student. Now, it was the custom in those days for a student to go into the quiet of the mountains to some lonely temple and there spend his days in study in order to become a great scholar. So this young student left his home and went away to a mountain temple to read books and meditate for three long years. The days passed slowly at first. But one year passed, then two years, and in no time, the three years were at an end. The student had completed his studies and could now go home to his parents.

  However, whom should he see upon his return? There was another young student in his home, identical to himself in appearance, speech, and manner.

  What a surprise for the student to find someone just like himself! But what really troubled him was the fact that his own parents and his own brothers and sisters would not accept him as a member of the family. They treated him as if he were an imposter. He had come home after all these years, but they would not even let him enter the house.

  "It's no joke," the young student said. "Can't you see I am your own son? I've just returned from the temple after studying for three years. This youth must be a bogey." Thus the young student pleaded with his parents and his brothers.

  The other student, however, did not remain silent. He came out and shouted: "Be quiet, you imposter! You're just an old fox up to its trick of fooling people. Go away before we find you out."

  That voice! It was the same as his own. It seemed impossible, yet even his own family could not tell the difference between the two. They looked the two youths over carefully. But the two students wore the same clothing. They even had the same birthmarks, the same scars. They were exactly alike. The parents then asked them about their birthdays and small details of their childhood and memories of any special occasion that might help solve the problem. But the two youths gave the same answers. As a last resort the parents then asked the two to name each article of furniture in the house, without leaving out an item.

  Unfortunately, the real son had been away for three whole years, and he could not answer with ease. The other youth, however, had been living in the house for some time and was able to list everything without any trouble.

  "Well, that decides it," the family said. "You are the imposter. Be on your way!" So saying, they finally drove their real son out of the house.

  The poor you
th was at a loss as to what to do. He knew it was useless to argue. He left home, still wondering what he should do. Day after day he continued his exile, wandering lonely here and there.

  One day, he met a bonze who gazed kindly into his face and said: "You've had yourself stolen, haven't you? There is someone who looks exactly like you, isn't there?"

  "Here's someone who may help me," thought the youth, surprised at the way the priest could read his troubles. So the youth opened up his heart and told the priest how he had returned home after three years of study only to find that another had taken his place in his home. He told also how he had been chased out by his family.

  "H'm, h'm," the priest nodded, as he listened to the young student's tale. "Did you ever throw away the trimmings of your fingernails somewhere while you were studying at the temple?"

  "Yes," the student answered, "there was a river running right in front of the temple. I used to bathe in that river. Then after bathing, I would sit on the stones nearby and cut my nails. The trimmings I left on the stony river bank."

  "Just as I thought," the priest said. "Whoever has eaten your fingernail trimmings has taken over your identity. Go straight home once again. But this time take a cat with you. Hide it in the sleeve of your robe so that none will know that you have it. When you get home, let the cat out right in front of the imposter. Then all will become known."

  The student did as the priest told him. He hid a cat in his sleeve and returned home. His parents came out again. So did the imposter. But before they could say anything, the young student let the cat out, right in front of the person who had taken his place in the family.

  The imposter suddenly turned white, and the cat. pounced upon him and bit into his neck. There was a great struggle. In the end, the imposter fell to the ground, right in the middle of the room, his throat cut open by the cat's sharp teeth. The parents and the brothers and sisters looked carefully. There, to their surprise, lay not their son and brother, but a large field rat!

  The rat had eaten the clippings of the young student's fingernails and had stolen the youth's identity. The spirit of human beings dwells in the fingernails. Thus, the rat who ate the student's fingernail clippings had been able to change readily into the shape of the young man. But a cat can smell a rat, no matter how disguised. And so, thanks to the bonze's wise advice, the story ends happily.

  26 The Signal Flag

  ONCE upon a time there was an old man who was totally blind. Although he could not see anything, he had a strange power. He could perceive things which ordinary people could not. For instance, he could see the evil spirits that enter the bodies of men and women, making them ill or even bringing about their deaths. Furthermore, the old man knew the secret of casting spells over the evil spirits to make them harmless. Time and time again, therefore, the old man had saved men and women from the evil spirits that tormented them. He had saved hundreds of people and was famous throughout the land.

  One day the old man was walking down a road, feeling his way about, when he felt a messenger boy pass by. And there actually was a messenger boy walking past him, carrying a great number of cakes in a box strapped to his back. The old man could tell that a small devil was sitting in the box with the cakes. The evil spirit, of course, was invisible to everyone but the old man.

  "That little devil!" the old man thought. "He's up to some mischief. He plans to go into some house and cause trouble." So saying, the old man followed the messenger down the road to a large house.

  It was a house where a large wedding was being held. The boy entered the house and left the cakes that had been ordered for the wedding feast. The messenger then left after thanking the owners for their patronage.

  The house was full of people, all in their fine clothes, gathered to celebrate this happy occasion. The old man waited outside to see what would happen.

  Suddenly, there was a great commotion. The bride, who had been sitting in the inner room, had hardly taken a bite of one of the cakes when she fell to the ground and breathed her last. The evil spirit that had been sitting on the cakes had gone straight to the bride to do his mischief. The house was in an uproar, for, after all, one of the main figures in the wedding feast had passed away all of a sudden.

  The old man immediately entered the house. "Don't worry," he said. "I shall save the bride for you.

  The people immediately became quiet, for there was none who did not know of the old man's reputation. In fact, there were even some among the wedding guests who had been rescued themselves by him from evil spirits.

  "The blind man is here! He can save the bride!" the guests cried joyfully. They were, indeed, so happy that it seemed as if the bride had already been restored to life.

  Before the old man entered the bride's room to cast his spell over the evil spirit, he said to everyone present: "Close up all openings to the bride's chamber. Close the windows, the doors, the cracks, and the keyholes. Not a single hole, not even one as small as a pin-prick, must be left."

  The people did exactly as the old man had said. They closed all doors and windows and pasted up any and all openings they could find. After everything was ready, the old man entered the room and began praying. From the room came the quiet murmur of the old man's incantation.

  In no time, there arose the sound of loud banging from within the room. It was the devil, feeling the torturing effects of the old man's spell. It writhed and it groaned as it struggled like a crazed beast to resist the old man's magic power. The devil's anguish was terrible to hear. The people outside thought the old man and the devil were surely locked together in mortal combat.

  But it was not so. The old man was simply sitting by the dead bride's side, with his hand on her forehead, intoning his curse in a low, quiet voice. The old man continued on and on, chanting out his spell, gradually pressing the evil spirit to the floor.

  Now, there was one young servant in the house who was not very bright. He burned with curiosity as he listened to the noise coming from the bride's room. Finally, he could no longer restrain himself. He crept up to the room and made a wee hole in the paper-covered sliding door—a hole so small that only a needle would go in. Then the young servant peeked in.

  But the devil had been waiting for something like this to happen. He saw his chance and, in a flash, slipped through the pinpoint hole and fled.

  With the evil spirit gone, the bride came back to life and was greeted with joy by the wedding guests. But the old man was deathly white. He sighed and said: "Oh, what a terrible thing has happened! In just a little while I could have completed my spell, and the devi' would have become harmless. But now the evil spirit is still at large. He is certain to revenge himself upon me. I haven't much longer to live."

  The parents and the wedding guests were overjoyed to see the bride alive again. Forgetting the old man, they crowded about her, all trying to say how happy they were. In all this great fuss, the old man left the house before anyone had even thanked him properly.

  The old man's reputation became greater and greater. Finally, the story of the old man's magic powers reached the ears of the king himself. The king, however, could not believe what he had heard and said: "It doesn't seem possible that a man who can't see people should be able to see devils and wicked spirits. He must surely be using some evil magic and fooling the people." The king then called his men and ordered them to bring the blind man before him.

  When the old man appeared, the king placed a dead mouse before him and said: "Try and guess what I have placed in front of you."

  "Yes, I shall. There are three mice there," the blind man replied.

  "You'd be right," the king said, "if you said a mouse, but why do you say three mice?"

  "I am certain that there are three mice," the old man countered. "There is no mistake about that."

  "Quiet!" the king roared in anger. "There is only one mouse here. Are you trying to say that there is more than one mouse when I see only one with my good eyes?"

  The king could not co
ntain his anger and sternly continued: "You have fooled many people. You have committed a grave crime. In punishment, I sentence you to the extreme penalty. You shall have your head chopped off."

  So the old man was handed over to the executioners and carried away immediately to the place of execution, which lay on the outskirts of the city.

  After the king had handed the old man over to his death, he stopped and wondered: "He was able to tell that it was a mouse right away. Maybe it's not entirely false about his being able to see evil spirits. But I wonder why he insisted there were three mice instead of one?" The king, out of curiosity, had the mouse cut open. There to his surprise, he saw two small baby mice inside.

  "This is terrible!" the king shouted. "Hurry and stop that execution!"

  A retainer climbed the high castle tower and there unfurled the signal flag. Now, it was the custom for the executioners, before cutting off a criminal's head, to confirm the sentence by looking at this signal flag on the castle tower. If the flagpole leaned to the right, it meant the criminal had been pardoned. If the flagpole inclined to the left, the execution was to be carried out as ordered.

  The retainer lifted the flagpole and slanted it to the right. Just then, a sudden, strong gust of wind pushed the flagpole to the left. So strong was the wind that no matter how hard he tried, the retainer; could not push the pole sideways to the right. The executioners, not knowing of this struggle, saw only that the flagpole was leaning to the left. Without further ado, they executed the poor blind man.

  Just then, there was strange, crackling laugh near the flagpole on the castle tower. It came from the wicked spirit that had so narrowly escaped the old man's spell. He had taken his revenge!