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    The Tale of The Woodcutter and The Tiger

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    Girlie Dela Rama
    The tale describes an encounter between a woodcutter and a tiger in the forest. Fearing he would be eaten, the woodcutter claims they are long lost brothers, playing on the tiger's emotions. The tiger, moved by his story, spares the woodcutter. Every year since, an offering appears at the grave of the woodcutter's mother, though he does not know who leaves it. One year, three baby tigers appear, revealing the tiger's offspring continue to honor the woodcutter's mother in memory of their own.

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    © All Rights Reserved
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    The Tale of The Woodcutter and The Tiger

    Uploaded by

    Girlie Dela Rama
    718 views1 page
    The tale describes an encounter between a woodcutter and a tiger in the forest. Fearing he would be eaten, the woodcutter claims they are long lost brothers, playing on the tiger's emotions. The tiger, moved by his story, spares the woodcutter. Every year since, an offering appears at the grave of the woodcutter's mother, though he does not know who leaves it. One year, three baby tigers appear, revealing the tiger's offspring continue to honor the woodcutter's mother in memory of their own.

    Original Description:

    a Korean Folktale

    Original Title

    The Tale of the Woodcutter and the Tiger

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    © © All Rights Reserved

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    The tale describes an encounter between a woodcutter and a tiger in the forest. Fearing he would be eaten, the woodcutter claims they are long lost brothers, playing on the tiger's emotions. The tiger, moved by his story, spares the woodcutter. Every year since, an offering appears at the grave of the woodcutter's mother, though he does not know who leaves it. One year, three baby tigers appear, revealing the tiger's offspring continue to honor the woodcutter's mother in memory of their own.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as docx, pdf, or txt
    718 views1 page

    The Tale of The Woodcutter and The Tiger

    Uploaded by

    Girlie Dela Rama
    The tale describes an encounter between a woodcutter and a tiger in the forest. Fearing he would be eaten, the woodcutter claims they are long lost brothers, playing on the tiger's emotions. The tiger, moved by his story, spares the woodcutter. Every year since, an offering appears at the grave of the woodcutter's mother, though he does not know who leaves it. One year, three baby tigers appear, revealing the tiger's offspring continue to honor the woodcutter's mother in memory of their own.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as docx, pdf, or txt
    of 1

    The Tale of the Woodcutter and the Tiger

    Korean folklore recalls the tale of a woodcutter who encounters a tiger in the woods. Fearing that he
    would soon be the tiger’s dinner, he exclaimed: “You must be my long lost brother! Our mother cried
    for you when you left home. She had dinner ready for you every night, waiting for your return. Sadly,
    out mother has just passed away. How happy she would have been had she known you are alive and
    well!” The woodcutter took out his handkerchief and pretended to wipe at his eyes. The tiger turned
    away, as tears fell down his cheeks, leaving the woodcutter unharmed.

    Every year thereafter, on Chesa, the memorial day of the woodcutter’s mother’s death, an offering
    appeared on her grave - sometimes a peasant, or even his mother’s favorite mountain berries. The
    woodcutter did not know where these offerings came from.

    One year, the woodcutter noticed that the customary offering had not been placed on his mother’s
    grave, and he wondered what had happened. Out from the bush, three baby tigers appeared, carrying
    offerings. They approached the woodcutter and cried: “You must be our uncle! Mother tiger is gone
    now, and we know how important it is for her to honor grandmother by bringing an offering to her
    Chesa table beside her grave. We are here to bring offerings for our grandmother in loving memory of
    our mother.” The woodcutter noticed that his face had turned suddenly warm and realized that it was
    his own tears streaming down his cheeks.

    Tales capture and reflect fundamental cultural values of Korean society and its people, such as
    the transformation of potential conflict into opportunity through the use of intelligence and the
    power of injong (human feeling). No one misses the importance of children’s devotion to their
    parents, even after their death. In addition to the Confucian emphasis on filial piety, the tale
    conveys how interlinked one is to past, present and future generations of family and how bonded
    one is to family by a sense of duty and shared destiny. The Buddhist notion, adopted by many
    Koreans, of equality among all living things is also portrayed in the sibling relationship of the
    woodcutter and tiger.
    Now, that you have read the selection, find another reading partner and by pairs, write what
    is asked for in the Literary Elements Advance Organizer. Choose one element and use it as a
    basis for answering the questions below. Continue the interactive discussion until you get clarified
    with the Korean way of using their cultural values in coping with the challenges of modernity.
    Comprehension Questions:
    1.Identify the characters in the story. What roles do the characters play in the tale? What are
    the characteristics of these characters that you admire/don’t admire?
    2. What particular event or circumstance in the story has contributed to the Tiger’s way of
    looking at things in a different way? How has this new way of looking at things being passed on
    to the next generation?
    3.What kind of conflict led the woodcutter to “fool” the tiger? What would be your own way of
    saving yourself from danger?
    4.What would you do if that sense of duty and shared destiny passed on to you is in conflict
    with your own principles and beliefs in life?
    5.Could this tale be used as basis for you to have a glimpse of how the Koreans at present are
    coping with the challenges of modernity? Explain your answer.

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