Bak Bong-chun

“ This girl, this weeping girl, alone in a desolate field,
The girl who was lonely when she crossed thousands of rivers and hills,
The girl who is lonely before her parents' gate!
"Is this all of my parents that I'll ever see? Is this all that I was supposed to do?
"Should I go back to Gangnim? Why bother? I'll die here.
"But what about everything I promised to ask?
"Cold-hearted gatekeeper, pitiless gods,
"Mom, I missed you—Dad, I missed you."
Today spoke half-consciously, half-unconsciously
And wept on and wept on. Even in the gatekeeper's stony heart
The pity of tears sprang up. ”

“ Her parents said
"If Jangsang and Everyday become husband and wife
"They will know glory for ten thousand years.
"If the lotus-child lets its topmost flower be plucked
"And gives it to the first person it meets,
"Every other branch will bloom in splendor.
"The giant snake should have had only one pearl
"But it was too greedy and insisted on three.
"That is why it could not become a dragon. If it gives away two of the pearls
"To the first person it meets, it will be a dragon soon.
"Once you have those pearls and that flower, you will be a goddess, too." ”

“ On the way back, Today met Everyday
And told her what her parents had said.
She asked her the place where Jangsang was.
Today said, "I'll take you there." While going together
They met the giant snake, and Today explained what she had learned.
The snake let two pearls drop from its mouth and gave them to her,
At once became a dragon, and rose to heaven with lightning and thunder. ”