Once upon a time, an old couple lived in an isolated mountain.
The old man worked in the fields,
and his wife wove inside the house.
Whenever he returned from the fields,
the old woman asked him to tell her an interesting story.
However, he didn’t know any.
One day, the old woman had an idea.
She showed him one roll of cotton
that she made with great care.
"Sweetheart,
please go to market today and exchange this for one interesting story."
"Hmm... how can I exchange this for a story?"
"Maybe you can ask someone to trade."
So he went to the market carrying a roll of cotton.
Waiting for customers, the old man sat in the corner of the market.
"How much is it?"
A woman who was passing by asked him.
"It costs an interesting story."
"What?"
"I will sell this for one interesting story."
She thought he was joking,
so she frowned and walked away.
Soon after, a man with a bushy beard asked the old man.
"Sir,
how much does it cost?"
"I'll sell this for one interesting story."
"What?"
"I said, I'll sell this for one interesting story."
The bushy bearded man got angry and he left also.
After that, some other people stopped by,
but nobody bought the cotton.
In the evening, everyone went back to their homes,
and the market was empty.
The old man was worried
because he didn't have a story for his wife.
He just plodded on his way back home.
As he passed by a certain village,
farmers were resting under a tree.
"What is that you are carrying on your shoulder?"
A man with a red nose asked the grandfather.
"It’s a roll of cotton."
"Why are you carrying that?"
"I was trying to sell it."
"How much is it?"
"I don't need money, but just one interesting story."
The farmer was confused for a while,
but then he had an idea.
"I will buy it."
The grandfather faced the man with the red nose.
All of a sudden,
a big stork fluttered toward the rice paddy nearby and sat down.
Just then, the farmer said, smacking his knee,
"It's fluttering."
The old man also repeated the farmer’s words so he doesn't forget.
"It's fluttering."
The stork that had landed on the paddy started striding.
"It's striding."
Then, the stork started snooping around.
"It's snooping."
The stork, then, saw a freshwater snail
at the bottom of the rice paddy,
and pecked it to eat it.
"Pecking and eating."
Suddenly, the farmer clapped his hands
and shouted,
"Hey, you!”
Then, the grandfather also repeated,
"Hey, you!”
Then, the stork fluttered and flew far away.
"It's fluttering away."
"This is the end of the story."
"Oh, it was so interesting. Thank you."
The grandfather gladly gave his roll of cotton to the farmer.
and hurried home.
When the old man arrived at home, it was in the middle of the night.
His wife, who was waiting for him all day,
welcomed him.
"So, sweetheart,
did you exchange my cotton for an interesting story?"
She entered the room and looked closely at his face
because she really wanted to hear a story.
He cleared his throat,
"Ahem!,
then, started to tell her a story.
As he was getting ready,
a big, black shadow jumped over the fence
into the garden.
It was a thief.
In a loud voice, he started
telling the story that he heard from the farmer.
"It's fluttering."
Then, his wife repeated loudly.
"It's fluttering."
The thief was startled because of the sound,
and then sneaked into the kitchen with big steps.
"It's striding."
The thief's heart was pounding and he snooped into the kitchen.
Then, there came a sound from the room, "
"It's snooping."
Just then, the thief found a crust of overcooked rice
on top of a wood-burning stove.
So, he picked it up and ate it
because he was hungry.
"Pecking and eating."
Now, the thief was frightened to death
because he thought someone was watching him.
Suddenly, in the room, the old man shouted,
"Hey, you!”
"Hey, you! "
His wife followed him.
After hearing them, the thief escaped from the house as fast as his legs could carry him.
Now, the old couple said loudly,
"It's fluttering away."
The thief was horrified and ran far away.
The couple, who didn’t know what was happening,
kept talking.
When they were finished, the old woman asked,
"Oh, sweetheart,
where did you hear such a funny story?"
"I heard it from a farmer with a red nose who was resting under a tree."
"Oh, I see."
The couple started
laughing loudly,
"Ha-ha",
"Ho-ho".