Hyunju Shin
A nobleman and a python Once upon a time, a nobleman was walking along a mountain path, when he found a giant python was about to catch and eat baby magpies. At the moment, he killed the python by shooting an arrow and saved the baby magpies. After a long walk, he found a place to rest. It was a small house where there was only a woman. He went into the house and asked her if he could stay one night. He thought it strange that she was alone at home deep in the mountain, but he went to bed and fell into a deep sleep in his room. Suddenly a strange feeling woke him up. He felt himself being wrapped by something. He jumped out of bed when he saw a python coiling around him. This female python was married to the python which had aimed for the baby magpies. She had disguised herself as a woman to take revenge. “You must be the one who killed my husband, so now your turn to die.” The python said to him. “This is not fair. Am I so guilty that I deserve to be killed? I was just trying to save the poor little magpies. Anyone would do the same.” He replied. “How did you know they were pathetic? You’d never seen them before, had you?” “What do you mean? No need to say that they were weak, while your husband was much bigger and stronger. It is obviously fair to stand by the weak.” “There’s nothing obviously fair. My husband and I were just about to starve and to be worse, I’m pregnant. He couldn’t help looking for some food. I was there near him waiting desperately for food. The mother magpie just got snatched by a hawk when you found her babies. And they also got caught as soon as you left. Your hasty judgment killed not only my husband, but also them, and now us…” she breathed her last and couldn’t continue to talk. The gentleman stood still for a while staring at the dead python. *This story was adapted from a Korean fairy tale, 'A magpie returning the favor'.
Sep 19, 2014 1:36 PM
Corrections · 3

A nobleman and a python

Once upon a time, a nobleman was walking along a mountain path, when he found a giant python was about to catch and eat baby magpies. At that moment, he killed the python by shooting an arrow and saved the baby magpies.
After a long walk, he found a place to rest. It was a small house where there was only a woman. He went into the house and asked her if he could stay one night. He thought it strange that she was alone at home deep in the mountain, but he went to bed and fell into a deep sleep in his room. Suddenly a strange feeling woke him up. He felt himself being wrapped by something. He jumped out of bed when he saw a python coiling around him. This female python was married to the python which had aimed for the baby magpies. She had disguised herself as a woman to take revenge.
“You must be the one who killed my husband, so now it's your turn to die.” The python said to him.
“This is not fair. Am I so guilty that I deserve to be killed? I was just trying to save the poor little magpies. Anyone would do the same.” He replied.
“How did you know they were pathetic? You’d never seen them before, had you?”
“What do you mean? No need to say that they were weak, while your husband was much bigger and stronger. It is obviously fair to stand by the weak.”
“There’s nothing obviously fair. My husband and I were just about to starve and to be to make things worse, I’m pregnant. He couldn’t help looking for some food. I was there near him waiting desperately for food. The mother magpie just got snatched by a hawk when you found her babies. And they also got caught as soon as you left. Your hasty judgment killed not only my husband, but also them, and now us…” she breathed her last and couldn’t continue to talk. The gentleman stood still for a while staring at the dead python.

*This story was adapted from a Korean fairy tale, 'A magpie returning the favor'.

 

Beautifully translated! And what an interesting fairy tale! Would love to read it in Korean one day :-).

September 19, 2014
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