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skillywidden — Selkie
#black #ink #sea #selkie #white
Published: 2015-05-01 21:20:17 +0000 UTC; Views: 1903; Favourites: 33; Downloads: 0
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It's very interesting how there are similar stories all over the world despite the cultural and timely differences.
There's this folktale in Korea that approximately translates to The Celestial Maiden and the Woodcutter. Like with any folktales there's variations here and there and within Korea there's about three different endings, but this is the basic most commonly told storyline.
A lone woodcutter who lives with his old mother is cutting woods in the forest like usual when a deer comes by and asks for help. It is being chased by a hunter. The woodcutter hides the deer and points out the wrong direction for the hunter. The deer, grateful for the woodcutter's help, tell him of a way to get a wife as a way to show its gratitude.
Deep within the forest lies a spring where the Celestial Maidens come to bathe in. The deer tells the woodcutter to take one of the maiden's garbs so she cannot fly back to the heavens. When all of the others are gone and there's only one left, the woodcutter can take her as his wife.
The woodcutter does as the deer tells him and gets a beautiful maiden for his wife. He takes the maiden to his home and they have two children together (a boy and a girl usually). While living together the woodcutter slips about him having the celestial garb. His wife begs him to let her see it for a moment. She continues to beg and and the woodcutter relents. But as soon as she sees it she put the garbs on, takes her children each in her arms and flies to the heavens.
This is where most of the time the tale ends. But there's more and this is the ending I've grown up with.
The woodcutter lives in sadness for a while but then meets the very deer he saved years before. The deer tells the woodcutter to go to the spring where he first met the Maiden. Each night a well bucket will fall from the sky for the spring's water. The woodcutter must climb into the bucket and if he doesn't fall off during the way, he'll meet his beloved wife and children. The woodcutter does as told and he does reunite with his wife and children.
The woodcutter lives and content live with his family but then starts to worry and miss his old mother back on Earth. So his wife gives him a Celestial Horse that can take him back to Earth, but he must not climb off from the Horse or he'll never be able to come back to the heavens again.
The woodcutter goes to meet his mother who has his favorite porridge made. Because he can't get off he eats on the Horse. But some of the hot porridge drops on the Horse's back and it throws the woodcutter off from its back and flies away. The woodcutter tries looking for the deer again but he never sees it again. He dies early from a broken heart and becomes a rooster, and every day he cries into the sky in grief of never ever being able to see his wife and children.
The end.
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It is interesting indeed how easily one comes across common themes in fairytales around the world.
Thank you so much for taking the time to write down the Korean fairytale, I loved reading it.
I am really sorry it took me so long to respond.
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Awww, I love stories about selkies!!! There is this animated movie...Song of the Sea or something. I have to buy it some day!
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I think you would really like the animation, it is really beautiful.
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I know this fairy tale!!! The boy steals the selkie's seal skin so that she has to stay on land and marry him. I love that story!! This is so beautiful!!! I love it!!!!
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There are no word to describe just how beautiful this is! Oh my goodness, darling you really out did yourself! I'm stunned!
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Lovely illustration! I wander if there is a story behind this?
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Thank you.
The selkie stories are usually the same: man spies on selkies in human form, steals a seal skin so one of them can't transform and go back to the ocean; selkie becomes man's wife but in the end manages to go back to the ocean by finding her seal skin, never to return on land again.
I always found it creepy and not at all romantic how the selkie falls in love with her captor so I tried to draw the man actually handing the selkie her skin instead of stealing it but I don't think I did a very good job of it, facial expressions are not really my strong point.
I can't believe it took me so, so very long to respond, I am ashamed and can only ask for your forgiveness.
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