Kongjwi and Patjwi - Korean

Hello, my name is Kongjwi, and I live in a small village in Korea, long ago. The days are long and the sun is warm, but my heart is often heavy because my stepmother and stepsister, Patjwi, are not very kind. They give me all the hardest chores, from dawn until dusk, while Patjwi gets to play. Even so, I try to be cheerful and dream of a day when I might feel happy and free. This is the story of how my life changed forever, a tale that people in Korea call Kongjwi and Patjwi.

One day, my stepmother gave me two impossible tasks. First, I had to plow a huge, rocky field with only a wooden hoe that broke right away. As I sat crying, a big, gentle black cow appeared from the forest and plowed the whole field for me in the blink of an eye. Next, she gave me a giant jar with a crack in the bottom and told me to fill it with water. I tried and tried, but the water leaked out as fast as I poured it in. Just then, a friendly toad hopped over and plugged the hole with his back so I could fill the jar to the very top. Another time, sparrows flew down from the sky to help me husk a mountain of rice. I learned that when you are kind, help can come from the most surprising places.

Soon, there was a big festival in the village, and everyone was invited. My stepmother and Patjwi put on their finest clothes and left without me. I was so sad, but just as I began to cry, heavenly fairies appeared. They gave me a beautiful silk dress, called a hanbok, and a pair of colorful, delicate shoes. 'You must go to the festival,' they said, 'but be home by sunset.' I ran as fast as I could, so excited to see the festivities. As I crossed a small stone bridge, I stumbled, and one of my beautiful shoes slipped off my foot and fell into the stream below. There was no time to get it, so I hurried on with one shoe.

At the festival, the town's handsome magistrate was riding by when he saw my lost shoe shimmering in the water. He was so charmed by its beauty that he declared he would marry the woman whose foot it fit. Every woman in the village tried it on, including Patjwi, who tried to force her foot inside. Of course, it didn't fit. Finally, the magistrate came to my house. When I slipped my foot into the shoe, it was a perfect fit. The magistrate knew he had found me, and we were married and lived happily. My story, the tale of Kongjwi and Patjwi, has been told for hundreds of years in Korea to remind everyone that kindness is a kind of magic, that perseverance is always rewarded, and that you should never, ever give up hope.