The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1913-08-15
The Magic Gourd

shoes set out on the ground in front or him a fisherman looked through his stock A pair was selected because their measurement, the stretch be- tween thumb and second finger with a little bit over, proved they would fit The two men were haggling over the price, till at last the fisherman offered to take the whole stock in exchange for great fish he had caught less than an hour previously. Now if there was anything Ko liked more than an other it was broiled fish The fisher man had but little difficulty in per suading him to go and examine that big fish which was kept alive In a large tub of water. What a beauty 1t was!
 Nearly a yard long! Visions of fish steaks broiIing over a charcoal fire be gan to float through Kos brain; he snimed the air and fancfed he could
 smell that delightful aroma. That was
 enough for him; he closed the bargain and was in a hurry to be off home with
 his prize
 When the deh was taken up out of the water Ko found it to be a. great deal heavier than he expected. Before
 ha had walked halfway down the market his arms literally ached with the burden. It seemed as though he would never reach the river. for the weight of the fish seemed to be getting greater and greater. When at last he
 arrived at the rivers brink he was so completely worn out that he did not
 care what he did. He laid the fish down in the shallow water while he wiped the precipitation from his brow.
 He looked round. and to his utter anazenpent saw the fish quietly swim
 ming away. His shoes had gone in barter, his fish had vanished; a de3ect-
 cd man was Ko. The ferry-man had to take him across on credit From the fact that he arrived home earlier than in the
 he did, and spoke Gnappishfy bo every body, his wife could realize that some thing had gone wrong with her lord and that he was in an exceedingly pad huznoF. Therefore, wisely enough she piled him with no questionss he vouch- eafed no information
 THE TTSH AND THE. GOURD. Early the next day K5o went to the l rivers brink as usual to perform his
 morning ab1utfons. It Is very custom ary in Korea that all members of a
 family should go to the riverside to
 wash; the chief reason for this is that \ it is cheaper than a basin His sleeves
 were rolled up, his collar turned back,
 and while vigorously washing his neck
 and face after dampening it with the
 river water, he was disturbed by a splaShing in the water just in front of
 him. We can well imagine his aston ishment when he found it was caused by a big fish which brought a half gourd and left it floating on the water | within his easy reach It was the very l fish he had bought on the previous | day, which he had enabled to return | to it's native clement that had brought 1 this gourd in token of it's gratitude for
 it's deIiverance.
 1 Ko was pleased with the circum-
 stance and carried the gourd home. Ii 1 would be of use to hold all sorts o1 I odds and ends; yet after all, in his in- nermost mind, even though he did not give expression to his thought, he could not help feeling that the gourd was rather a poor compensation for
 having lost that great and beautiful 1 fish. | Shortly after his return to the house the breakfast was made ready. It con- sisted Of a bowlfuk of rice, mi11et and
 bans cooked together; which is so an I pa1atable that unless one has som< pickle it is impossible to eat it. Int I pickle most eaten by the Koreans iE
 Kim-chi. It fs mysterious1y and won derfu1Iy made of~cabbage, turnfp ant l other sundry things. Doubtless K,
 partook of some Kim-chi t0 help dowT
 his rice. His appetite was. not very good, and since he did not finish wlaa was before him, he thought he wou1c save the remainder for lunch to b eatne later. This he aemptied into hi new .gourd when 10 and behold it wa suddenly doubled! Just twice the Quan
 tity he had put in! Ko was
 AsTONIsHED AND MYSTIFTED.
 He wondered however it could hav happened; he was turning the matte over in his mind and it occurred ta