The Magic Mallet

A Korean fairy tale I found in a book in my library. I spent half an hour reading other fairy tales and myths on wikipedia. I really love myths and legends. This Korean fairy tale is called The Magic Mallet. Enjoy.


Long, long ago when tigers smoked their pipes on the mountaintop [best opening line ever], there lived a very poor family. The father was too sick to work so the eldest son went to the mountains every day to cut firewood. His mother sold the wood he gathered in order to buy food for the family.

As he was cutting wood late one afternoon, the boy felt hungry. By good fortune, he found a walnut tree in the forest and climbed it. He picked the nuts and ate until he was full. But he was a thoughtful boy and for every nut he ate, he gathered one for his father, one for his mother, one for his brother, and one for his sister. He put them in his sack and started for home.

The boy came to a small shrine by the side of the path and, since it was growing dark, decided to spend the night there. It was empty and dark inside. The boy felt frightened but he was very tired, so he crept up into the rafters and soon fell asleep.

In the middle of the night, he was awakened by a great hubbub outside [I'm sure that's an excellent translation from the Korean]. As he peaked down from the rafters, a crowd of goblins rushed inside. They sat down and talked excitedly with one another.

"What did you do today?"
"I've been teasing a bad boy."
"I spent the day swinging on the tail of an ox."
"I sat on top of a gentleman's horsehair hat."
"I've been dancing under a floor."
"I played in a ditch and blew bubbles in the mud."
[all very terrifying, goblin-esque things to do]

They continued their lively conversation until each had told how he had spent the day. Then the head goblin said, "Now it is time to eat," and he took a mallet from his belt.

He struck the mallet on the floor and said, "Tu-du-rag-tag-tag, come out rice." [I will remember this and secretly try this incantation with every mallet I find] Suddenly a great bowl of rice appeared. He struck the mallet again and chanted, "Tu-du-rag-tag-tag, come out wine." At once, a cask of wine appeared. [This mallet would be a hit at parties] The goblin continued striking the mallet on the floor. Many delicious things appeared and the goblins feasted merrily. [apparently magical mallets are carried by Dokkaebi in Korean folklore]

As the boy watched quietly from the rafters, he began to feel hungry too. He took a walnut from his sack and cracked it between his teeth. The noise frightened the goblins and they shouted, "The roof is falling down! Let's get out of here!" They all rushed out and ran away, leaving behind the food and the mallet.

The boy cautiously climbed down from the rafters. The goblins were nowhere to be seen so he sat down and ate until he thought he would burst. Then he picked up the mallet and struck it on the floor, saying, "Tu-du-rag-tag-tag, come out clothes." Immediately, a suit of fine clothes appeared. Then he wished for a pair of shoes in the same way. The shoes appeared and the boy was convinced that this was indeed the magic mallet of legendary fame.

At daybreak, the boy ran home with the mallet as fast as he could and his family rejoiced at their good fortune.

But, in the same village, there lived a very selfish boy. When he heard of the sudden wealth of the woodcutter's family, he went to their house and asked the boy about the secret of his great luck. The boy told his friend what had happened in the forest.

The selfish boy ran into the mountains and found the walnut tree. He quickly picked some nuts and put them into his sack. Then he ran to the shrine and climbed up into the rafters. In the middle of the night, the goblins came in. The head goblin struck a mallet on the floor and the feast began. But the selfish boy was too impatient to wait until the goblins were groggy from the wine. He took a walnut from the sack and cracked it between his teeth.

But this time the goblins were not frightened. They shouted, "There is the mischievous boy who tricked us!" and they dragged him down from the rafters.

"What shall we do with this greedy fellow?" asked the head goblin.

"Beat him!" replied one.

"Hang him!" said another.

The head goblin thought for a few moments and said, "No. After all, he's only a boy. I think we should just stretch his tongue." The others agreed. [best punishment ever? I think juvenile delinquents would think twice if this were the punishment] The head goblin struck the boy's tongue with his mallet, saying, "Tu-du-rag-tag-tag, come out tongue, one-hundred feet long." The boy's tongue started to grow and it did not stop until it was a hundred feet long. The goblins sent him away and the poor boy staggered along, carrying his tongue on his back. Exhausted, he collapsed on a river bank.

He thought for a long, long time. Feeling great remorse for his selfishness, he decided that he must change his ways and try to help others. He saw that there was no way for travelers to cross the river so he stretched his tongue to the other side to serve as a bridge. [because that makes more sense than, you know, building a bridge, right? also, did he nail his tongue to the other side?] Everyone who crossed the bridge was most appreciative and the boy was glad to be of service. But, needless to say, he was miserable to think that he would be in such a state for the rest of his life.

The End. [just kidding]

Back in the village, the woodcutter boy heard about the terrible fate which had befallen his friend and he went off to rescue him. He wandered through the mountains and eventually came to the river and saw his friend with his tongue stretched across it.

The boy crossed the river on the tongue-bridge and approached his friend. The selfish boy cried, "I have repented of my evil-minded ways but now I'm stuck here forever."

"I shall try to help you," replied the kind lad.

He took the magic mallet from his belt and, striking the gigantic tongue, said, "Tu-du-rag-tag-tag, tongue, draw back in." At once, the enormous tongue shrank back into the boy's mouth and became its normal size.

The boys returned to their village and the selfish boy was so grateful that he never did another selfish thing again as long as he lived.


[The moral of this story is to wait for goblins / people to get drunk before eating walnuts]