The Dokkaebi’s Warning
A long time ago, in a village of Jeolla province, there lived a wealthy widower and his 13-year-old daughter. The rich man was exceedingly stingy, but his daughter was kind hearted and was well loved in town. One year there was a big drought and many people went hungry, but the only way the widower was willing to help was by lending his rice at exceedingly high interest rates. One day a beggar monk dressed in filthy rags visited the rich man’s house. The rich man, disgusted at the creature at his doorstep, sent him away with a bag of sand rather than rice.
The daughter, feeling terrible about her father’s trick, followed the priest and gave him a bag of grain, begging the monk’s forgiveness for her father’s cruelty. The priest thanked the young girl and as a favor, gave her some advice. He told her that there would be a large disaster that would destroy the town, but if she fled to the mountain, she would be safe. But he warned her not to answer or turn around if anyone calls to her, otherwise something terrible would happen. With that last bit of advice, the monk vanished into the air like mist. Certainly it was a dokkaebi she thought.
A few days later the drought ended with a heavy rain. But soon the local stream began to flood, and the girl realized she should flee, so she dropped everything and headed to the mountain. As she climbed the mountain, she heard her father calling to her. Despite the dokkaebi’s warnings, she didn’t want to make her father angry, so she turned around and called to him. As she shouted, she turned to stone.
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