The 1001 Flat World Tales

[Note: This is no ordinary traditional Korean folktale!]

Pola Podcast, Part 1 Podcast, Part 2

Seoul, Rep. of Korea

Geunchun mountain–with its crisp mountain air, mist settling in between the hills, and trees abundant–harbored a wondrous tale. A long time ago, there lived a very warm-hearted and kind woodcutter in Geunchunsan village. On a bright summer day, the woodcutter journeyed to the local tavern and drank heavily. His sipped his drink along with his mixed emotions of happiness and sadness.

The owner of the tavern was curious why the woodcutter was happy, but also sad, so she walked up and questioned the kind-hearted woodcutter,

“Woodcutter! Why do you seem so happy but sad on this lovely summer day?”
“Oh no! I am not sad at all. I am very happy!” the woodcutter said moodily.
“That is good then. But why are you happy? Are you not suppose to be cutting wood in the forest right now?” questioning again.
“Yes, but today I want to drink. Sit next to me. I will tell you what happened.”

The tavern owner sat and the woodcutter began his story.
“Everyday, I go up to the mountain and cut wood. Anytime I relax because I am tired, the birds fly over to me, chirp, and ask me,
‘Wood cutter, how are you? Isn’t it hard to work everyday? We’ll gladly sing you a song.’

Work was great. I was never lonely when I did my job; the birds and animals would always talk to me.

So one day, I was working hard as usual, cutting down trees. Because I was tired I was going to rest, but suddenly the forest leaves rustled and from the bushes a deer tumbled in, barely breathing.

“Help me woodcutter! I am being chased by a hunter,” the deer panted.

Because the deer appeared desperate and weak, I hid it behind my pile of wood. The hunter and walked towards me. Like a madman, the hunter moved his head side to side searching for the deer.
“Have you seen a deer running this way?” the hunter asked me.
“It ran that way,” I answered with a straight face.
The hunter ran in the direction I told him. As the hunter disappeared, I called for the deer,
” Deer! The hunter is gone, it is safe for you to come out now.”
“Thank you for saving my life, dear wood cutter.” The deer bowed in gratitude and said,
“Wood cutter, on the top of the mountain there is a pond that nobody knows of. Every time the full moon is in the sky, the fairies from the sky kingdom come down and take a bath in that pond. While they are taking a bath, you should take one of the fairy’s clothes. Then the fairy that lost her clothes will not be able to go up to her kingdom and will live with you.”

After hearing what the deer said, I was awed.

“But there is one thing that you must be careful of. You should not let the fairy find her clothes until you have had three babies, whatever happens,” The deer said in a very serious tone.

After the deer was done with its speech, it sprinted into the forest. As the full moon came up after a few days, I went to that pond. There, there was a clear and beautiful pond. On the outside of the pond were beautiful flowers with attracting scents that made me dizzy. Tthe fairies came down to the pond riding a seven-colored rainbow. The gorgeous fairies illuminated the pond. The fairies took their clothes off and put it on the branches of the trees. Then I hid one of the fairies clothes as the deer advised me to..
Soon the fairies were done bathing; they found their clothes and went up back to their kingdom.

“Oh, dear! My fairy clothes vanished! What shall I do?” One of the fairies said.

Still she couldn’t find her clothes. Everybody left her and went up into the heavens. The fairy was weeping and crying.

“Dear fairy, you must have lost your clothes? You must be cold, at least put these clothes on.” I said.

I gave the fairy the clothes I have got ready in advance. The fairy followed me and started living with me. After, the fairy became my wife and I worked even harder. The fairy forgot all the happenings of the kingdom of the sky and got all the love from me. One year, then two years, while the time was going by the fairy had two babies.

One day, while I and the fairy were having a discussion, I accidentally talked about hiding the fairies’ clothes. The fairy was so anxious to wear her clothes.

‘Dear husband! You hid my clothes? Ah! I wish I could see them…’

Because I had a warm and weak heart I showed the fairy clothes to the fairy.

‘Ah! My clothes!” the fairy said in such a happy tone.’

The fairy was so happy that she even wore the clothes on. But what a surprise? In the time there was even no time to blink the fairy grabbed the two babies in each arm and flew to the kingdom of the sky.

‘My dear! My dear! Where are you going? Come back!’ I shouted to the direction the fairy disappeared.

Although I followed crying out loud to come back, it was no use. The fairy and the two children disappeared into the sky and were never seen again. The woodcutter regretted that he should have listened to what the deer told him.

After the fairy, my wife had run away from me I collapsed and I lost my desire of doing my job, cutting wood. I would not wake up every morning and work as usual, but just stay at my house and regretting that I should have listened to the deer.

As time past I gradually started to forget about what has happened. So I decided that I should start doing my work if I wanted to live. I went into the forest and cut wood down. But I was just cutting the wood with unconsciousness mind that I must forget totally about the fairy and deer, so I didn’t know where I was going. When I came back to my conscious mind I was at the pond where I saw all the fairies taking bathes. Also, it was dark, but bright by the full moon. So I thought that the fairies would come down again, but they did not. I guessed they stopped coming down because of what I have done to one fairy.

At that moment that I had to turn back and go home, I heard a weak sobbing sound. I followed that sound and there was a fairy, my wife that had run away from me with two children in her arm.

‘Oh fairy, that was once my wife, what has happened to you?’
‘Oh my husband, I have done something largely prohibited that I have got kicked out of my sky kingdom with the two children I took from you.” The fairy was full with tears as she was talking to me.’
‘Tell me what you’ve done that was so prohibited that the sky kingdom has kicked you out.’

From there the fairy started her story after she went up to the sky kingdom, running away from the woodcutter.

‘After I went up to my home, sky kingdom, with the two children. My family, friends, and others were happy that I was back, but not happy that I had children between a human. I did not care, I was happy enough that I had came back to my home and next to my friend which is also a fairy. I called her “Iry.”

Iry, was beautiful, same with all the other fairies, but she had blue eyes and she was my friend since we were born. After I came back from the middle world, Iry listened to me closely of what happened and hugged me warmly and said,

“You must have had a hard time, my friend. Do not worry, nothing like that will happen again.” She said in a very comforting voice.

As time past I, also, started to forget about what happened to the woodcutter and me, but as I did I started to rely on Iry more and more. One day, I became attracted to her and I had the feelings about her that I usually didn’t have. I would want to get more close to Iry as much as I can and I wanted to know everything about here, even what she did everyday. But at that moment, Iry started to feel that I was acting weird towards her.

“What is wrong with you? Are you still in shock of what happened with the human? Why do you want to always be with me and know everything I do? I will say this from my heart, but it is starting to bother me.” Iry said in a quiet voice, concerning that I am still in shock.
“I don’t know. My mind and body is totally relying on you, Iry.” I said.

I told Iry all the feelings that I was feeling about her and that I didn’t know what kind of feelings they are. I looked up and I thought Iry would be looking at me as if I were weird creature, but she was looking at me as usual but a little surprised.

“Really? Well, I haven’t been telling you this because you were going to look at me weird, but I had similar feelings too.” Iry said in a little voice looking at me and smiling.
“I also thought you were going to look at me weird.”

But, because I was happy having the time to talk about my feelings to Iry, I did not know that black dark eyes were looking straight toward us.

The next day, I was called by the king of the sky kingdom. I walked toward the large palace made of wood also full with small wooden statues on the corners of the roof that is triangular shape. The palace’s area seems endless. After, I entered the palace I saw fairies that work in the palace move busily back and forth. Then I entered the hall where the king usually is during the day. The hall was long and the thin red carpet made it even look longer. As I walk I could see the people looking at me with the eye looking at a human as I pass each and every one of them.

“Have you called me the king of sky kingdom?” I asked carefully and quietly.
“Yes, I have. I called you because I have a question for you. Did you have a conversation that is totally prohibited with Iry last night?” He asked looking straight into my eyes.
“Conversation? Prohibited? What do you mean my king?”
“Have you not said that you were in love with Iry!” He shouted in such a loud voice that I became dizzy and became unconscious.
“How dare you do and say such thing! Do you not know that it is prohibited, something that low, should not happen in my kingdom. This is your second time that you have done a largely prohibited thing and now I cannot close my eyes and just say it did not happen. You have had a child with a human! I suppose you are not in the right place to live.” The king said.

After hearing what the king of the sky kingdom has said I fell to the ground and could not say anything. Right after I got kicked out of sky kingdom and I cannot go back anymore.’

The fairy’s story ended. The fairy still cried with such sorrow.

I took her home and first gave the fairy warm water. After hearing her story I thought she was pity that she couldn’t even say anything about herself and Iry to the king of the sky kingdom and people of the sky kingdom. It was hard for me to fold my mind towards the fairy but it was more painful to leave her in this world while she is always thinking of someone faraway. So I decided to help her, but I didn’t know how because I didn’t have anything like the fairy’s clothes and any other way to go up to the sky kingdom.

One day, while I was cutting wood I saw the deer that I taught me about the fairy’s and their clothes. I then thought of an idea.

“Deer! Deer! Wait! I am the woodcutter!” I shouted so I could stop the deer.
“Woodcutter? Why do you want something more from me?” The deer said towards the me looking at me suspiciously.
“Yes! Do you have any other way that you could go up to the sky kingdom?”

I told the deer everything that happened and he thought very seriously and decided to help me find a way. I followed the deer into the deep forest and the deer said,

“Wait here.”

After a few minutes the deer brought a fairy clothes that looked ancient and worn.

“Here. Take it and never look or call me.” The deer turned and walked away.
“Wait deer! How come you have this old fairy clothes? Where did you get this?” I was very curious of where the deer could have got this.

If the deer had done something same with me, the deer was suppose to have a fairy next, but since the deer didn’t it was more mysterious.

“I told you not to call me again! You have no right and do not need to listen to such thing. Now go.” The deer kept walking into the dark forest and disappeared.

I ran toward my house and gave the fairy the old clothes and she did the same thing she did when I gave her the fairy clothes that I hid from her.”

So the fairy wore the clothes and flew back up to the sky kingdom to go find Iry. I heard a very short message from a bird that is a friend of mine that the fairy did find Iry and they started running as far away from the sky kingdom, going in and out of the sky. They were happy to be together, but sadly they got captured by the king’s men and are still in judgement of what they have done. Most of the fairies say that they have a mental problem so they should be sended to doctors to be cured. It was such a sad message.

The woodcutter’s story ended.

“That is why you looked sad, but I don’t know why you looked happy?” The tavern owner asked curiously.
“I was sad because I had sent once someone who was my wife. I am happy because I think I have done something that is good enough that I can know forget what has happened between me and the fairy.” The woodcutter said happily in the end of his speech and stood up.

The woodcutter walked away from the tavern and the owner still watched him as if she were still curious about the whole thing.