Sun and Moon A Korean Folktale retold by Yunju Chang 2009

Once upon a time, a poor woman and two children lived in Korea. To make money she was a maid for a nice family. She cooked and cleaned for this family. One day, they gave her sweet rice cakes for her children. The woman went home singing.

A tiger was hiding in the woods.

When he heard singing, he jumped out. The woman was scared. She said, “Please leave me alone. I have hungry children at home.” But the tiger didn’t care. He said, “Give me the cakes, or I will eat you.”.

She threw her basket down and started to run. He ate the cakes. The tiger could run faster. He caught her and said, “Grrr... I'm still hungry. Give me more!” She said, “That's all I have.”

He said, “What are those things on your shoulders?” She said, “My arms? You don’t want to eat my arms, do you?” He said, “Yes, I do. Give them to me!” The tiger tore off her arms and ate them.

She started running. The tiger caught her and said, “Grrr... I'm still hungry. Give me more!” “I have nothing more,” she said.

The tiger said, “What are those things you are standing on?” She said, “My legs? No, please. How can I get home without legs?” He said, “You can roll down the hill, can’t you? Give me your legs!” The tiger tore off her legs, and ate them.

She rolled down the hill fast. But the tiger got her and ate the rest of her! After eating the woman, he was still hungry. He wanted some dessert. So he dressed in the woman’s clothes. He stood up on his back legs, and he carried her basket. He came to the house and looked inside. The tiger saw the boy and girl waiting for their mother. He said, "Mmmm. Dessert!"

The door was locked. He knocked on the door. He said, “Hey children, open the door. Mom is home now.” The boy and girl knew something was wrong. Their mother was never late. Her voice sounded wrong. They said, “Mom, what's wrong with your voice?”

The tiger said sweetly “I yelled at crows in the garden. Open the door. Mom's tired. It's cold out here.” They said, “Please put your hand in the window.”

The tiger put cloth on his claws. He put it in front of the window for them to see. The children were not fooled. They said, “Why is your hand so big?” He couldn't think of an answer.

The children ran out the back door.

They climbed a tree. He finally said, “I washed clothes all day. Now stop asking me silly questions! Open the door!” The children were quiet. The tiger tore the door down with his claws. He didn't see the children. He went to the backyard. He looked down in the well.

The water was like a mirror. He saw their reflection from the tree above. But the stupid tiger didn't know it was a reflection. He said, “There you are! Come out of the water right now. You might get sick.” The children laughed.

The tiger heard the sound up in the tree. The sound was not down in the well. He looked up. This tiger could not climb trees. He sweetly said, "Please teach me how to climb a tree." They said, “First, you get some oil. Put it on the tree trunk. Oil will help you climb up.”

The tiger put the oil on the trunk. He tried to climb up. But he slid down every time. He said, “How can I climb up this tree? Tell the truth or you will be in big trouble.” The children's parents always said to tell the truth. So they said to use an ax to make little steps in the trunk.

When the tiger used the ax, the tree shook. They climbed to the top to get away from the tiger. But he was very close. The children started to pray to the king of heaven, "Save us, save us!"

Suddenly, a gold rope came down from the sky. They used it to climb up to heaven. When the tiger saw this, he called too, “Hey, king, send me a gold rope too. Save me too, before I fall down again.” This time, the king of heaven sent down a rotten rope! When the tiger held it, the rotten rope broke. He fell into the well and died.

In heaven, the children were very happy to be with their mother. They played and danced and sang all day. Then the king said, "You need to work too."

So the king made the boy be the moon to shine at night, to help people in the dark. He made the girl be the sun to shine in the day, to warm people and make things grow. They were beautiful. All the people looked up to see them shine. This is how the sun and the moon in the sky were made.