Haenim Dalnim: The Brother and Sister Who Became the Sun and Moon

Long ago, at the bottom of a tall mountain, there was a tiny thatched house. Inside the house lived a kind mother and her two children — a big sister and a little brother. The big sister had careful eyes and a small smile. The little brother had round cheeks and a laugh like a bell.

Their mother worked far away on the other side of the mountain. Every morning before the sun came up, she kissed her children's faces and went on the long road. Every evening, when the sun went down, she came home with rice cakes wrapped in a blue cloth.

"Don't open the door for anyone," she always said. "Wait for my voice."

"We will, Mother," the big sister said.

"We will, Mother," the little brother said.

And the door stayed bolted from the inside until they heard their mother's soft, warm voice calling them home.

One cold evening, the mother was walking home over the mountain. The sky was turning purple. The wind was cold. Her blue cloth was full of warm rice cakes. She walked fast because she missed her children.

At the first ridge, something stepped onto the path.

It was a tiger. He was very big. His eyes were yellow and slow. His tail moved like a brush dipped in ink. The mother stopped where she stood.

The tiger sat down in front of her. "Old woman," he said in a calm voice, "give me a rice cake, and I will not eat you."

The mother thought of her children waiting at home. She wanted to get back to them. So she opened the blue cloth and took out a warm rice cake and gave it to the tiger.

The tiger ate the cake in one bite.

"Good," he said. He stepped aside. The mother walked on, holding the cloth a little tighter.