Korean Tale
The Hare’s Liver
Never trust anyone whose intentions you don’t know. This Korean folk tale is about a hare whose life is saved thanks to its wits and imagination. This story was written for you by Dominique Sakmar.
Careless Masha gets lost in the woods and comes across a bear. Instead of helping her, he selfishly locks her up in his cottage to cook for him. However, with her cleverness, Masha manages to outsmart the bear creatively. Find out how!
There was once a little cozy hut in a small village. Grandpa and grandma lived there with their granddaughter, Masha. The yard shimmered in pleasant sun beams. The roosters in the yard crowed, the flies buzzed merrily, and the sun heated everything with warmth. Then someone knocked on the door.
“Grandpa, grandma, my friends have come!” said Masha in excitement. “They're going to the forest to pick berries. Can I go with them? I'll collect some berries for us, too!”
“Go ahead, Masha!” said her grandparents, encouraging her. “Just stick together, you all! Don't go far from the path and make sure you don't get lost in the woods!" But Masha had already run after the girls, laughing happily.
The day was sunny indeed! The girls walked through the woods through a bright clearing and then in the pleasant shade of the rustling maple trees. And my, how many strawberries they'd found! The plump berries were as red as if they were deeply blushing.
Masha had even spotted a few morel mushrooms. She ran to the edge of the meadow to pick them when she noticed that there was a bush in the thicket. It was bursting full of raspberries. She approached it, then she found herself going to another full bush, and soon her friends lost sight of her.
Masha was suddenly all alone. “Hello! Where are you all?”she called out timidly. The quiet rustling of the forest was the only answer. What am I supposed to do now? Where should I go?
Máša wandered helplessly here and there for a while, until she came across a forest path. She went down this unknown path, which led her to a neat and tidy cottage. The cottage was clean, the threshold was swept, the…