Dalnim- Korean GodDeity"Moon Goddess"

The Tiger at the Door

The story begins with a poor widow living with her son and daughter in a remote mountain village. The mother worked as a rice cake seller, traveling to distant villages to sell her wares. One evening on her way home through the mountains, she encountered a massive tiger blocking her path. The tiger demanded a rice cake in exchange for letting her pass. She gave him one, but at the next ridge the tiger appeared again, demanding another. This repeated until all her rice cakes were gone.

When the mother had nothing left to give, the tiger devoured her and took her clothing. Disguised in the mother's clothes, it approached the family's home, calling out in an imitation of her voice. The brother and sister, suspicious of the strange, gruff tone, looked through a crack in the door and saw a tiger's paw instead of their mother's hand.

The Rope from Heaven

The children fled and climbed a tall tree. The tiger circled below, demanding they come down. When it asked how they had climbed so high, the children truthfully told it they had used sesame oil on their hands to grip the bark. The tiger oiled its paws and began climbing after them.

In terror, the children prayed to heaven for salvation. A golden rope descended from the sky, and the siblings grabbed hold and were lifted upward. The tiger prayed for a rope as well. One descended, but it was rotten. The tiger climbed partway before the rope snapped, sending the beast plunging to its death on a millet field far below. Where the tiger's blood splattered, the millet stalks turned red at their tips.

The Shy Moon

Safe in heaven, the siblings were offered celestial positions. The brother became Hae-nim, the Sun, shining brightly by day. The sister was to become the moon, but Dalnim was shy. She was embarrassed by the thought of people staring at her during the bright hours and begged to switch, asking to shine at night when fewer people would be awake to look.

Heaven granted her request. Dalnim became the moon. And so moonlight is softer than sunlight. When people try to look directly at her, she covers her face, and the moon's surface shifts with patterns and shadows.