The Sneezing Colossus

The Sneezing Colossus

At the foot of the Korean mountains, Mr. Kim lived with his family: his wife, four children, and a small dog.

Kim was a good man, but he had one not-so-useful habit: he constantly hoped that luck would knock on his door.

“Today I will find something valuable,” he would say in the morning.

Then he would sit beside the house for a long time, wondering where that valuable thing might come and find him.

One day his wife put an almost empty bowl in front of him.

“Kim,” she said, “the children need supper. Go into the mountains. You don’t have to look for gold. Gather pears, berries, or grapes. Just bring home more than dreams.”

Kim sighed, took his basket, and set off up the path.

At first, he searched the ground for the gleam of a precious stone. Then he peered beneath bushes for rare roots. At last, he settled for looking for berries.

But he had no luck.

The sun rose high, and the basket remained empty.

Finally, Kim reached a clearing and saw an enormous stone figure carved into the rock.

It was ancient Miryok. A monastery had once stood nearby, but over the years the trees had grown tall and the paths had become overgrown. The stone giant remained, gazing calmly across the valley.

He was so big that his nose resembled a stone balcony, and a whole company of travelers could fit on his wide head.

Wild vines entwined his shoulders and chest.

And it was then that Kim noticed something amazing.

High above him, a little pear tree grew from a crack beside the giant’s head. A single pear hung from its farthest branch.

But what a pear it was!

Big, golden, ripe.

“Here’s dinner!” Kim exclaimed. “One pear like that will be enough for all the children.”

He set the basket down on the ground and began to climb up the vines.

He reached the stone chin.

Then the giant’s mouth.

Then he caught hold of the great stone nose.

But the pear was still hanging too high.

“A little more,” Kim muttered.

He tried to pull himself up the smooth stone. No use.

He tried to brace his foot against the giant’s cheek, but it slipped.

He looked at the enormous ear. Too far away.

And then Kim saw a dark hole in the stone nose.

“If I climb in here, perhaps I’ll find a ledge inside that will help me reach higher.”

It was not the best idea anyone had ever had.

But the pear looked delicious.

Kim carefully put his hand into the stone nostril.

Then his shoulder.

Then his head.

It was dark and cool inside.

“Just a little farther…”

He moved forward.

And suddenly he heard:

“Hmmm…”

Kim froze.

The stone seemed to tremble under his palms.

“Hmmmm…”

“Oh, no,” Kim whispered.

A terrible tickle stirred inside a nose.

Not Kim’s.

The giant’s.

“Ah… ah… ah…”

Kim quickly began to crawl back.

“…CHOO!”

The sneeze rolled through the mountains like the booming of a giant drum.

Birds took off from the trees.

The leaves trembled.

A gust of air swept Kim gently out of the stone nose and into a thick bush.

“Oh!” Kim said, leaves tangled in his hair.

He felt his arms, legs, and head. Everything was still where it belonged.

Then he heard a rustle overhead.

Swish!

Thump!

The enormous pear landed right beside his basket.

Kim looked up at the stone giant.

“Thank you… I guess,” he said.

Miryok, of course, said nothing. Once again, he stood still and calm, as though he had never sneezed in his life.

Kim put the pear in the basket and hurried home.

The little dog spotted him first. He poked his nose through his small opening in the door and barked happily.

The children ran out to meet him.

“Dad, what have you brought?”

Kim solemnly placed the pear on the table.

“Tonight, we shall dine on a pear given to me by a stone giant.”

“Given to you?” his wife asked in surprise.

“Well… first, I tickled his nose a little.”

Over supper, Kim told them the whole story: the vines, the enormous nose, the dark nostril, and the sneeze that shook the mountain.

The children laughed so hard they could hardly eat the pear.

And his wife said:

“You see, Kim? Sometimes you really can find good luck. But you still have to leave the house to do it.”

After that, Kim took his basket out more often, going to work or gathering fruit in the woods.

Whenever he passed old Miryok, he was very polite.

And he never climbed into the giant’s nose again.

May this story leave a little light in your heart ✨