Page:The passing of Korea.djvu/491

 type; and it is very commonly the rabbit that outwits his stronger enemies. A wicked tortoise, in search of a rabbit's liver to use as medicine in healing the sea-king's daughter, inveigled a rabbit into riding on his back across the water to an island that the tortoise said was a rabbit's paradise. When well out from shore, the tortoise bade the rabbit prepare to die, for his liver was needed down below. After a moment's thought the rabbit laughed and said : " You might have had it without all this trouble. We are made with removable livers, so that after eating too much we can throw our livers out and wash them and keep them cool. I had just laid mine out to dry when you came, and your story was so fascinating that I forgot the liver entirely. You are welcome to it if you will let me show you where it is.. So the rabbit got safely back to shore and had a good laugh at the expense of the tortoise.

Spirits are everywhere, and they turn up on the most unlikely occasion. Even the door-hinges or the chopsticks may be the abode ol an imp who has the power to change a man's whole destiny. As a rule, they seem to be on the watch for someone to injure them, for only so can they gain the power they crave. These stories deal with the lowly and humble things of life, and it is in them that Korean humour shows itself to the best advantage. Their influence is very great, and it may be said with some degree of confidence that they define the religion of far more Koreans than do the more high-sounding names of Buddhism and Confucianism. If they had been left to themselves and had not been made the dumping-ground for other people's religions, it is probable that they would have developed some such pantheon as that of the Greeks; but even as it is, we find them worshipping the spirits of grove and rock and mountain with a fervour that neither Buddhism nor Confucianism can arouse.

We will now consider briefly the legends of Korea. Under this heading we include all supernatural or extra-natural incidents, believed by the credulous to form a part of the history