Heungbu and Nolbu

A very long time ago, in a quiet little village, there lived two brothers. The older brother was named Nolbu, and the younger brother was named Heungbu.

Nolbu, the older brother, was a man who had a great many things. But Heungbu, the younger one, had a heart as soft and sweet as candy, warm through and through.

When their parents set off on a long, faraway journey, greedy Nolbu took everything their parents had left behind, all for himself. And then he sent kind, gentle Heungbu far away with nothing but empty hands.

Heungbu’s little home was full of children, so many of them. There was never quite enough to eat, never quite enough to wear. And yet Heungbu never lost the warmth in his heart. “We may have little,” he would say with a soft laugh, gathering the children close, “but our hearts are rich.”

One warm spring day, a pair of swallows built a cozy nest beneath the eaves of Heungbu’s roof. Before long, tiny, darling baby swallows hatched from their eggs.

But one day, one of the little swallows tumbled right out of the nest. Its thin, slender leg was broken, and it lay there trembling, ever so softly.

Heungbu cupped the tiny swallow in his two hands as gently as anything. He bound up its little leg with the greatest care, made a soft warm bed for it in a sheltered place, and looked after it every single day. And it was not long before the swallow’s leg was all healed, and it could soar high and free across the sky once more.

When autumn came, the swallows flew far away to the warm lands of the south. And then, the very next spring, the swallow that Heungbu had healed came flying home again. In its beak it carried a single small seed, and it let the seed fall ever so softly, right there in front of Heungbu.

Heungbu planted that little seed in his yard. The gourd vine grew and grew, until great big gourds hung heavy and ripe all along the roof.

When autumn came again, Heungbu and his family took up a saw and sawed the gourds open, back and forth, back and forth. And oh, what wonders! From the first gourd came shining gold and silver and jewels. From the second came rice and grain. And from the third rose a fine, beautiful new house. And so kind Heungbu became very rich indeed.

Soon this happy news reached the ears of his older brother, Nolbu. Greedy Nolbu was eaten up with envy. “If I mend a swallow’s leg too,” he thought, “then I shall be rich as well!”

So Nolbu caught a perfectly healthy swallow on purpose, broke its little leg himself, and then bound it back up again. The poor swallow flew off to the south, and the next spring it brought a seed to Nolbu, too.

Nolbu planted his gourd in great excitement. But this time, out of the gourds came tumbling a whole crowd of mischievous goblins! They carried off every last bit of Nolbu’s riches and went far, far away. Left with nothing at all, in the blink of an eye, Nolbu was so ashamed of his own greed that he sat down and wept and wept.

And what did Heungbu do when he heard this news? Heungbu did not hate his brother at all. Instead he hurried to him and, reaching out a warm and tender hand, he said, “Brother, come and live with us.”

Nolbu, full of shame, gently took his little brother’s hand. And from that day on, the two brothers cherished one another, living happily and kindly together for many, many long years.