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THE KING OF THE SPARROWS THE Korean
children are awakened every morning by the twittering of the sparrows.
These
little birds build their nests among the vines on the roof and along
the eaves.
The people plant melon, gourd, and mock orange seeds along the sunny
sides of
their houses in spring time. All through the summer, and until late in
autumn,
the walls and roofs are covered with the thick green leaves. Here, in
these
sheltered places, the sparrow mother lays her eggs and the father
sparrow finds
worms and feeds her, until the hungry birdies open their little mouths
for
something to eat. After this, both parents are kept busy in raising
their brood
and teaching them to fly. The
greatest dangers to the birdlings come from cruel snakes that live on
the roof
and eat up the young sparrows. Sometimes, to help them against their
enemy, the
parent sparrows call in the aid of larger birds that are not afraid of
the
reptiles. These peck at the snake until they drive him away. There is
always a
lively chattering over the victory. One day, a
young sparrow that had hardly learned to fly was almost seized, and
might have
been devoured by the roof-snake, but was saved by a big, brave bird
that flew
at the reptile. Although escaped from the snake's jaws, the sparrow in
falling
caught its legs in the curtain made of split bamboo, which hung before
the
verandah of the house, and its limb was put out of joint. There it lay
helpless
between the splints. The owner
of the house was a kind man, who loved the birds. Taking pity on the
poor
sparrow, he carefully lifted it up, smoothed its feathers, and quieted
the
little creature, while its heart kept beating so fast. Then setting its
leg in
place, he put some moist clay around the broken part, until it should
be all
right again. Meanwhile, he kept it warm, feeding the birdie until it
was strong
again. One day he took it in his hand and out-of-doors letting it fly
away.
Soon it came back and perched on the edge of the roof, twittering
thanks to its
kind friend. Then it spread its wings to fly to the King of the
Sparrows, who
lived in the city of Sparrow Capital, where it at once informed His
Majesty
about the good man who healed and befriended birds when they were in
trouble
and who had saved the young sparrow's life. The King
of Sparrow Land and all his wise counselors heard the story with great
interest. Then they held a meeting and voted to reward richly so good a
friend
of all sparrows. So they went into the storehouse where were kept
beautiful
treasures which human beings love. From the collection they chose what
they
thought would please most their good friend, such as gold, jade,
brocade, cups
and saucers, rice, horses to ride on, oxen to bear heavy loads and
pretty maids
to wait on him, besides silk and cotton clothes of all sorts, with
delicious
things to eat and drink. By some magic process, they packed these into
a seed
and then gave it to the sparrow in its bill to carry to the good man.
They
charged the bird on no account to lose it and be sure to give it to no
one but
the right person. So the
sparrow flew out of Sparrow Land and down to the house of its kind
friend.
Carefully laying down the seed, it kept near the paper window-frame and
made a
great twittering, until the man came out to see what was the matter. Recognizing
his old acquaintance, he put out his open hand and the sparrow laid the
seed in
his palm, meanwhile chattering in a lively way and looking in his face
as if to
tell him how precious the treasure was. But the
good fellow only took it in to his wife and told her how he got it,
laughed
over the matter and was going to throw it away, thinking it only
sparrow fun. The wife,
who was a wise woman, begged her husband to keep it and on a warm day
in spring
she planted it. It grew to be a luxuriant vine that clothed all one
side of the
house with its leaves. When one unusually fine large handsome gourd was
nearly
ripe, the man thought of plucking it for food; but, taking his wife's
advice,
he waited until full autumn had come. By this time the gourd, having
absorbed
the sunshine all summer, was fully ripe. Then they
took a saw to open it properly, and lo a store of riches came out of
that
gourd, such as neither the man nor his wife had ever dreamed of. First
issued something which spread itself out before them. It was a table of
costly
jade, such as an Emperor ever eats from. Next rolled forth a silver
bottle of
delicious wine and then the daintiest cups, that set themselves on the
jade
table. Soon a gold tea-caddy appeared filled with the fragrant leaf.
Then rolls
of silk, fine muslin, satin brocade, and a store of rich clothes, hats,
shoes,
girdles, and socks enough to last a lifetime appeared before their
eyes. After
these were rice and cooked food of all sorts ready for a feast. Looking
out
into the yard, they saw strong horses and fat oxen waiting to do their
master's
bidding. Last of all, some lovely young girls, as fair as the moon,
stepped out
of the gourd and proceeded to serve the good things of the feast as if
they had
been used to waiting on ladies and gentlemen all their lives. Following
the
feast, they danced, made music and gave no end of entertainment and
service to
the man and his wife, who were now as happy as king and queen. In their
once humble home, now made over new, with all the store of good things
and
plenty of loyal servants and strong animals to serve them, the old
couple lived
without care and traveled where they pleased. But when a
wicked man, that hated all sparrows and had often driven them away from
his house,
because he thought them too troublesome, heard of his neighbor's good
fortune,
he was envious, and wanted to get riches in the same way. So he watched
his
opportunity and, when a sparrow came near, he threw a stick at the bird
and
broke its leg. Then he bound up the limb with clay and a bit of rag. He
kept
the poor sparrow until its leg was well, but dreadfully crooked, and
then let
it fly away. In the
capital of Sparrow Land, the poor bird told about the bad man's doings.
The
Sparrow King at once handed out a seed to be given to the enemy of the
sparrows. When the naughty man saw the little bird with the crooked
legs, he
ran out, got the seed and planted it at once. He could hardly wait for
the
gourd to ripen. Wonderful to relate, however, the vine was most
luxurious,
covering the whole side of the house and all the thatched roofs of the
three
dwellings in one, which made up his home. Altogether there was a dozen
of the
gourds. Finally in the autumn he plucked the fruit. Then, sitting down
before
the pile, with knife and saw, he began to open them. But
instead of good things, and lovely people, and the treasures that make
men rich
and happy, such as his kind neighbor had received, there came out, one
after
another, the twelve curses of Korea. First leaped
forth a party of rope dancers, who put out their hands and demanded
money. They
threatened to live with him and eat at his table unless they got their
pay. There was
no help for it. So the cruel man had to give each dancer a long string
of cash
before he could get rid of the party. No sooner
had he opened the second gourd than out stepped a line of Buddhist
priests, who
at once began begging for the temples. He was only too glad to buy off
these
shaven pates. The saw
had no sooner let the light into another gourd, than forth came a band
of hired
mourners carrying a corpse. They began weeping, wailing and crying out
loud
enough to waken the dead. It required another rope of cash to get rid
of these
pests. By this time the cruel man was beginning to feel very poor. Almost
afraid to touch the other gourds, but still greedily hoping for riches,
he
sawed them open; but one after the other yielded only what took his
money and
threatened to make him a beggar. From the fourth gourd issued a bevy of
dancing
girls, who refused to leave the house until he had paid them five
thousand
cash. From another gourd a pair of acrobats leaped out and began a
performance.
But knowing that they would charge the more for their tricks, if they
were
allowed to finish their programme, the man bought them off as he had
done the
others. Getting
poorer and poorer, with no sign of wealth coming from the gourds, he
yet felt
he must open more, but the result was the same. The strangest people,
men and
women, such as loafers from the government offices, fortune-tellers,
jugglers,
and blind folks appeared. These last had sticks in their hands to find
their
way, and bells at their belts to collect alms. Finally, of all living
things, a
giant stood forth, that threatened to eat up both the man and his wife.
By this
time there was not a coin or a cash left, and, besides being as poor as
a rat,
the man was hungry. When the twelfth gourd was opened it seemed to have
in it
all the smells of Korea. Holding their noses, the man and his wife ran
out of
their house. Happily for them that they did so, for just then a gale of
wind
blew down the house, and the thatch and timbers burst into flames from
the fire
that had heated the flues. Thus
stripped of all their possessions, because of the man's cruelty to the
birds,
the wicked fellow and his wife would have starved, except for the
kindness of
the good man who treated the sparrows kindly. For the rest of his days
the
cruel neighbor lived on his neighbor's charity. |