중학교 영어 3 (미래엔 최연희) 연계 글

Koreans have passed down many tales about Yi Hang-bok, a scholar whose quick wit made him famous. He lived from 1556 to 1618 and became one of the highest officials in Joseon. People often call him Oseong, after a title he received later in life. Many of these tales also include his friend Yi Deok-hyeong, known as Haneum. This story is one of those tales, so no one knows whether it really happened.

When Hang-bok was a boy, his family had a persimmon tree whose branch hung over the wall into the neighbor's yard. The neighbor was an important official whose servants picked the fruit on that branch. "This branch is on our side of the wall, so its fruit belongs to us," they said. Hang-bok was upset, but he was only a boy. "If I were a grown man, the servants would listen to me," he thought. Then a clever idea came to him.

One day, Hang-bok went next door to the room where the official was sitting. Without a word, he pushed his fist through the paper door. The surprised official turned to the boy whose fist had just come through the door. Hang-bok asked, "Sir, whose fist is this?" "It is your fist, of course," the official answered.

"My fist is inside your room, but it still belongs to me," the boy said. "In the same way, our branch hangs over your wall, but the tree's roots are in our yard," he went on. "If the branch were yours just because it hangs over your wall, this fist would be yours, too." Then he asked why the official's servants picked his family's persimmons.

In some versions, the official admires the boy's quick wit. In others, he tells his servants to leave the fruit alone after that. If you were the official, what would you say to such a clever boy?