The Tale of the Rabbit#3
korean classic literature
Previously, the turtle set out to find a rabbit whose liver could cure the Dragon King.
Unable to take him by force…
he must make him come willingly.
So the turtle does not reveal the truth.
Instead…
he offers him something far more dangerous: an opportunity.
“Good sir, Master Rabbit.”
The rabbit, by nature playful and somewhat frivolous, was also small in stature, and thus no one in the mountains treated him with respect. Even creatures as small as mice and squirrels would casually call out to him, “Rabbit! Rabbit!” as if addressing a child.
Having spent his whole life being looked down upon, he was beside himself with delight when someone suddenly addressed him with the refined title “Master.” He began hopping excitedly, his whole body trembling with joy.
“Who might you be over there? Who is it that calls for me? For what purpose do you seek me? Are you looking for a companion to play go? A drinking companion? Do you call me to go admire the full moon? Or to enjoy a boat ride?”
Babbling whatever came to mind, he hopped this way and that as he approached.
The cunning turtle, wishing to observe the rabbit’s nature, withdrew his head completely and lay still, indistinguishable from a mere object. When the rabbit came closer, he saw no one - only what appeared to be a lump of stone.
“What is this? A dried cow dung? Or a broken pot shard?”
As he puzzled over it, a sudden fear struck him.
“Oh no - this is bad! A hunter must have set down his gun and gone to relieve himself. In such times, the best strategy is to run away at once!”
Startled by his own imagination, the rabbit fled.
The turtle thought to himself, This is a disaster. After finally finding a rabbit, could he simply let it escape? All his efforts would be for nothing. Slowly, he raised his head and called out once more:
“Good sir, Master Rabbit.”
This time, the rabbit did not leap, but approached slowly, step by step. As he came nearer, he saw the Turtle’s head emerge - something that had not been there before. It was both strange and unsettling. Keeping his distance, the rabbit asked,
“I have lived in these mountains for a long time, yet I have never seen a creature like you. How do you know me, and why do you call me that way?”
The turtle replied,
“As the old saying goes, ‘Is it not a joy when a friend comes from afar?’ And yet, when a friend calls to you from afar, you do not even come closer, but instead treat him as a stranger - how discourteous.”
Hearing this, the rabbit found the words reasonable. The creature before him looked unusual, and his manner of speaking was refined. He came closer, sat down beside him, and asked,
“Who might you be?”
Such praise was far beyond what the rabbit had ever received. Though grateful, he could hardly believe it.
“How could you say that I surpass the bear or the tiger?”
The turtle replied at once, as if he had been waiting for the question.
“Judging by your appearance, you possess the qualities of a great minister who could assist a ruler in bringing about a peaceful world. Your bright eyes reveal intelligence that grasps the principles of heaven and earth. Your eloquence recalls the greatest envoys of old, and when you occasionally doze, one is reminded of those legendary strategists whose minds never slept. Among all the animals of the mountains, none surpasses you. If you were to enter our underwater palace, you would surely become a prime minister or a great general, enjoying wealth and honor.”
Hearing this, the rabbit felt that the turtle’s words matched him perfectly. Yet he worried - having never studied literature, what if there were others in the underwater kingdom more skilled in writing?
“How many among the ministers of the underwater palace are skilled in letters?”
That concern was eased. But now another worry arose - his small stature.
“Are there any tall ministers in the underwater palace?”
Hearing this, the rabbit began to think rather highly of himself. He possessed ambition and eloquence, and if there were no scholars or tall officials in the underwater palace, then by any measure he would not fall short. Still, the thought of leaving his beloved mountain home made him hesitate.
“It would indeed be good to go with you. But how could I forget the joy of freely roaming these beautiful mountains?”
The shallow-minded rabbit, intending to deceive the turtle, began boasting about the beauty of the mountains - yet all of it was exaggerated or false.
“In spring, flowers bloom across the mountains in splendid beauty. In summer, one gazes upon white clouds rising above the peaks and escapes the heat in cool mountain streams. In autumn, the red leaves are even more vivid than spring blossoms. In winter, one admires plum blossoms blooming in the snow - such solitary beauty is unmatched.
Listening to this, the turtle was astonished. I must break his spirit, he thought, and casually asked:
“That is quite an exaggeration. Do you think that because I live in water, I know nothing of life in the mountains? Shall I tell you the truth of your miserable existence?”
With that, the turtle turned and began to crawl away without looking back.
Startled, the rabbit hurried after him.
“Wait, sir, Master Turtle! Why are you in such a hurry?”
As the turtle continued on, the rabbit followed closely.
“If I go to the underwater palace, will there truly be no such dangers?”
The rabbit pleaded once more,
“Even if I go, let me at least bid farewell to my friends in the mountains.”
Toward the Sea
With every question the rabbit asked, the turtle skillfully deflected and guided him step by step forward. At that moment, a meddlesome young fox suddenly leapt out from behind a bend in the mountain path and called out
“Rabbit, where are you going?”
The words sounded plausible enough. The rabbit, swayed by the fox’s warning, turned to the turtle and said,
“I cannot go. You should go on alone. They say that once one enters official service, one can no longer live freely and may die unjustly in the end. Why should I travel so far only to die?”
The turtle thought to himself that the fox had ruined everything at the very last moment. Quietly, he began to drive a wedge between the fox and the rabbit.
“Hm, so that is your good friend? If he himself has no fortune, how could he ever recommend it to another?”
Making an excuse, the turtle turned and began crawling down the mountain without looking back. The rabbit hurried after him and asked,
“What do you mean, he has no fortune?”
The rash rabbit believed him at once and cursed the fox.
“That fox has always behaved that way. No matter what anyone says, I will follow you, sir.”
The two of them descended the mountain together, and after traveling for some time, they arrived at the seashore. The rabbit looked out and was astonished. Blue waters surged endlessly, stretching all the way to the horizon, so vast that he could not tell where the sea ended and the sky began. Startled, he asked,
“Is all of that water?”
The turtle leapt into the sea and floated lightly upon the water, swimming as he spoke.
“Where is it deep?”
The rabbit laughed as though he understood everything.
“Are you swimming?”
Acting clever, the rabbit decided to test it first. Keeping his front paws on the shore, he dipped only his hind feet into the water. In an instant, the turtle rushed forward, seized the rabbit’s hind legs, and dragged him in. The rabbit fell with a splash and swallowed a great deal of seawater.
Whether the rabbit liked it or not, the turtle hoisted him onto his back, floated on the waves, and pressed steadily onward. The rabbit, soaked through and riding on the turtle’s back, was in a miserable state. It was as though he were mounted on a galloping tiger - no easy matter to get down even if he wished to. And as he remained there, the fleshless part between his legs rubbed painfully against the turtle’s hard shell, until the pain became unbearable.
“Sir Turtle, is there no tavern nearby?”
The turtle answered indifferently,
“If you ride long enough, you will learn the trick of it.”
The rabbit’s thighs hurt terribly, but worse still, his stomach churned until he thought he might die. Like a man overcome by seasickness on a boat, he vomited everything inside him, down to bitter fluid, while the turtle teased him shamelessly.
“Very good. Once you reach the Dragon Palace, fine pills will enter that stomach day and night, so it is best to empty out all the mountain fruits you have eaten and cleanse yourself thoroughly.”
And yet the rabbit did not say that he wished to return to the mountains. Enduring with all his strength, he traveled on for a long while, and little by little he became accustomed to it, until his fear began to fade. Only then did the scenery of the underwater world unfold before his eyes.
With the sturdy gait of a sedan bearer, the turtle at last arrived outside the crystal gate of the Dragon Palace. The fish soldiers guarding the gate bowed upon seeing him and asked,
“Have you returned safely? And have you captured the rabbit?”
With that, the turtle went inside. But when the rabbit heard this, he knew that something was terribly wrong. Quietly, he asked the soldiers,
“For what purpose has the rabbit been brought here?”
Hearing this, the rabbit realized that death was indeed upon him. He sat there blinking, lost in thought. Before long, a great commanding cry rang out from within the palace, and all the ministers of the underwater kingdom gathered. In an instant, soldiers bearing flags, spears, and swords lined the hall. Huge whales and enormous fish stood like pillars on either side, while salamanders and serpentine creatures leapt before and behind holding banners aloft.
In such a fearsome atmosphere, the rabbit was brought in. Surrounded by those great-bodied creatures, he looked no larger than a fist.