Alieli: 1

At the end of the Korean War in the 1950s, the story of Heungbu and Nolbu has become
one of the most popular Korean stories, forming the basis of many stage and television dramas.
Recognition of the tale's "typicality" is further indicated by its selection as an example of folk culture on
a set of stamps published by North Korea in 1963 and as one of four representative Korean folktales in
the series of folktale postage stamps printed by the Republic of Korea in 1969-1970.

Narrator:Heungbu and Nolbu. The story of two brothers. 2Long ago, there were two brothers,
Heungbu and Nolbu. Heungbu, was poor, but very kind-hearted. He is also very hard working, but for
some reason he didn't have much luck. Meanwhile, his brother Nolbu, despite being very rich, was an
extremely greedy man who causes trouble for his neighbors. 3One day, when Heungbu returned from
work, he saw a snake attacking a swallow's nest. 4He tried to help but was only able to save one injured
chick. 5Heungbu quickly brought some ointment and rubbed it on the young swallow's wounded leg.

Heungbu: Don’t worry little birdie. Everything will be alright.

Narrator:Then, he carefully wrapped some string around its leg to give some support before carefully
placed it back in it’s nest where it steadily recovered. Winter passed, 7then spring came.
One day, Heungbu was delighted to see the young swallow chirping delightfully
around its old nest, Then it moved closer to him and dropped a gourd seed on
the ground. 8Heungbu picked up the seed and planted it in the garden. A few
days later, the seed began to grow. Eventually, it bore five large gourds.

Heungbu: Wife! Come here quick! Take a look at the gourds!

Wife: Wow! Those gourds are many times larger than the normal ones.
Let’s cut one open.

Narrator: No sooner had they cut open the gourd when rice began to flow out of
the gourd.

Wife: Oh my! There is so much rice coming out! Let us try putting it in a
container before opening another one.

Narrator: Heungbu then took another gourd and cut it open. This time, gold
flowed out in large quantities.

Heungbu: We are rich! We are rich!

Narrator: After that, Heungbu became a wealthy man. He was able to build a
mansion for his family and they lived comfortably. When his brother Nolbu heard
the news, he demanded Heungbu to tell him how he managed to become so rich
in such a short span of time.
Nolbu: Heungbu! How on earth did you become so rich?! It's impossible!

Narrator: Heungbu told him what happened. Nolbu went home, jealous of what
his brother had become. Then he built a swallow's nest and waited for the bird to
come make its home. Soon after, a swallow came and laid her eggs there.
When the eggs hatched, the impatient Nolbu then threw one of the baby swallow
out of the nest and broke its leg. Then he did what his brother had done, rubbing
some ointment on the injured leg and wrapping it up before placing it back in the
nest. Another winter passed and Nolbu saw the swallow returned in the spring.
The bird dropped a gourd seed in front of Nolbu.

Nolbu: At last! I’m going to be rich!

Narrator: Nolbu then took the seed and planted it. When the gourds appeared,
Nolbu immediately split open one gourd to see what was inside. Never did he
imagine that the gourd will only bring him great misfortune.

Nolbu: Oh my...!!! A monster!

Monster: I’m here to punish you for your greediness.

Narrator: The monster destroyed Nolbu’s house and took all his possession.
The beaten-up Nolbu then ran to Heungbu's house for help, scared that other
bad things might come out of the other gourds.

Nolbu: Brother, I am really sorry for my greediness, can you please forgive
me?

Heungbu: It’s okay. I forgive you.

Nolbu: Thank you so much. I don’t have anywhere else to go. Can I stay
with you for a while?

Heungbu: That’s fine with me. Come, I’ll introduce you to my wife and the kids.

Narrator: His compassionate brother took pity on him and welcomed him
warmly. Without all his possessions, the greedy brother reflected on his deeds
and was very sorry for everything he had done wrong. From then on, he became
a very humble person. Afterwards, Heungbu decided to divide his fortune
equally with his brother and both of them lived happily ever after!
 This story teaches us the importance of treating all creatures with love and
respect as well as the consequences of our actions, whether good or bad. It also
showed the brotherly love between Heungbu and Nolbu and how Heungbu’s
kindness changed his brother’s attitude.