Kongjwi and Patjwi - Korean

Once upon a time, there was a kind girl named Kongjwi. She lived in a little house with her stepmother and stepsister, Patjwi, who were not very kind at all. This is the story of Kongjwi and Patjwi. The stepmother gave Kongjwi so much work to do. One day, she told Kongjwi to plow a big, rocky field with only a tiny wooden hoe. The field was big, big, big. The hoe was small, small, small. Poor Kongjwi began to cry. Her tears went drip, drop, drip onto the hard ground.

But who came to help the crying girl. It was a big black cow. Moo. Moo. The cow saw Kongjwi's tears and pushed the plow with its big, strong body. Soon the whole field was ready for planting. Kongjwi was so happy. But her stepmother gave her another job. She had to fill a giant jar with water. Oh no. The jar had a crack in it. Drip, drip, drip went the water. Kongjwi cried again until a little green toad came. Hop, hop, hop. The toad used his body to plug the hole and the jar was soon full. Hooray.

Soon, it was time for a big festival in the village. But the stepmother left Kongjwi at home. She had to sort a huge pile of rice. So many tiny grains. Just as she began to cry, little birds flew in the window. Chirp, chirp, chirp. Peck, peck, peck. They sorted all the rice for her. Then, sparkly fairies appeared. They gave Kongjwi a beautiful dress and shiny shoes. She hurried to the festival, but on a bridge, she lost one of her shoes. A kind man found the shiny shoe. He looked all over for the owner. When he found Kongjwi, the shoe fit perfectly. He saw her kind heart, and they lived happily ever after.

Kongjwi was always a kind girl, even when things were hard. Her kind friends always came to help her. A big cow helped her. A little toad helped her. And tiny birds helped her, too. This story teaches us that being kind is like a little bit of magic. Children in Korea still hear this story today. It helps everyone remember that kindness is important, and kindness always wins in the end.