The Tiger and the Dried Persimmon - Korean

My fur is the color of sunset and my roar can shake the acorns from the trees! I am the great tiger, the king of this mountain, and everyone knows to be afraid of me. On a cold winter's night, with snow dusting my whiskers, my tummy began to rumble. I decided to creep down to the village below to find a tasty cow for my dinner. I thought nothing in the world could possibly be scarier than me, but I was about to learn a very surprising lesson. This is the story of The Tiger and the Dried Persimmon.

Quiet as a shadow, I tiptoed into the village and hid behind a barn. From a small house nearby, I heard a baby crying, a loud wail that filled the night. The baby's mother said, 'Hush, a big wolf is outside!' but the baby kept crying. She said, 'Be quiet, a bear is coming!' but the baby cried even louder. I puffed out my chest when I heard her whisper, 'The tiger is here to get you!' but the baby just sobbed. Then, the mother said something that made my ears twitch. 'Look! Here is a gotgam, a dried persimmon!' Instantly, the crying stopped. My heart thumped. A dried persimmon? What could that be? It must be the most terrifying creature in the whole world if it could scare a baby more than I could!

As I shivered behind the barn, thinking about this scary 'Dried Persimmon,' a man crept into the darkness. He was a thief, there to steal the very same cow I wanted for dinner! But it was so dark he couldn't see well. He must have mistaken my big, orange-and-black striped back for the cow's. Suddenly, THUMP! The thief jumped right onto my back! I was sure it was the Dried Persimmon! It had found me! I yelped in terror and shot out of the village like an arrow. The thief, realizing he was riding a tiger and not a cow, screamed and held on for his life. We were both terrified of each other!

I ran and ran, deep into the forest, leaping over logs and splashing through streams, trying to shake the creature off. Finally, the thief saw a low-hanging branch, let go of my fur, and scrambled up a tree to safety. I didn't stop to look back. I ran all the way to my den and hid, never going near that village again. For many years, this story has been told to children in Korea. It’s a funny reminder that sometimes the things we are most afraid of are just things we don't understand. And even a big, strong tiger can be scared by a small, sweet piece of fruit! This story still makes people laugh and reminds us to be curious instead of fearful.