Chuseok’s¹ harvest moon guided the old woman home. Chuseok was her favourite holiday, but this year would be lonely. Queen Seondeok² had summoned her son to build the Cheomseongdae,³ the Silla kingdom’s first heavenly observatory. At least her faithful cat and dog would greet her on her return home.

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She shivered in the night air. Winter was approaching. Suddenly, a stranger appeared from the darkness, wearing a shimmering black hanbok.⁴ stranger’s face was masked by a straw peasant’s hat.

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“Why are you out late, stranger?” she asked nervously. Legends of dokkaebis⁵ searching for humans to torment came to mind.

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“Have no fear, Grandmother. I’m a harmless stranger on a quest,” the stranger answered in a musical voice.

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“Quests are hungry work,” the old woman said. “Will you share a bowl of porridge with me?” she asked, putting her fear aside.

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“I would enjoy that,” the stranger said, following the old woman home in silence.

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A fireplace’s dancing flames greeted them as they entered her straw-thatched cottage. A crooked-tailed calico cat and a mustard-brown dog snored softly by the hearth. The old woman took two clay bowls from her cupboard. She filled them with steaming porridge from a pot simmering over the fire. She peeked at the stranger as she handed him the bowl, but the stranger’s face remained hidden under the hat’s shadow. They finished their porridge in silence.

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“My quest is a search for kindness. I’ve found it here,” the stranger said, placing a lump of burnt-orange amber in the old woman’s weathered hand. “Add this to your pot each night. Dream of your favourite food—and you’ll never be hungry.”

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The old woman wondered what use the amber could be as the stranger vanished into the night. Even so, she followed the stranger’s directions. The next morning, she woke to a delicious, spicy smell. Cat yowled and Dog howled with delight.

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“Kimchee stew!” the old woman said, dancing a jig with Cat and Dog. Each night, she dreamed of her favourite food. The next morning, the pot overflowed with it. This magical food appeared every day. Then, one morning, a wispy-bearded young man from the village across the river visited.

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“I’ve heard your son is away. I came to see if you have enough food until spring.”

“You’re kind, but a stranger has provided for my winter needs. Will you share my stew before returning home?”

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“Happily,” the neighbour said, wondering who had helped the old woman.

“Take this extra pot of stew for your family,” the old woman said after they ate.

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The young man thanked the old woman, then bid her farewell. That evening, she discovered that the amber was missing.

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“I’ve lost the magic stone,” she sighed. “What could have happened to it? There will be no dream food tomorrow, my little friends.”

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Later, after the old woman fell asleep, Cat and Dog talked about what to do.

“I think the magic stone was in the pot given to the visitor,” Cat said.

“You may be right,” Dog said. “Let’s visit the village and sniff for that magic stone.”

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“We’re good sniffers,” Cat agreed. “But how can we get to the village? I can’t swim across the river.”

“I’m a prodigious swimmer,” Dog bragged, wagging her tail. “You can ride on my back.”

“What a wonderful idea!” Cat trembled at the idea of crossing the swift-flowing river on Dog’s back.

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The next night, Cat clung to Dog’s back tighter than a flea as they crossed the river.

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“Mind your claws, Cat! I have sensitive skin.”

“Remember, Dog, I’m allergic to water,” Cat mewed. Cat leaped ashore as soon as they reached the village riverbank.

“Now what?” Cat asked.

“We search the village,” Dog said. “You’re soft-pawed. You sniff inside. I’ll sniff outside. We’ll find that magic stone sooner or later.”

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The two bumped paws and began their hunt.

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They searched night after night with no success. Then, one night, Cat sniffed magic. The scent came from a box on a cabinet, but it was locked. Even Cat’s sharp claws couldn’t open it. Cat padded softly outside to tell Dog of his discovery.

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“I’ve found it, Dog, but it’s in a wooden box. I can’t open it. What shall we do?”

“Let’s visit Rat.”

“What good is Rat?” Cat’s tummy rumbled hungrily at the thought of Rat.

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“Rat can gnaw anything,” Dog explained. “If Rat gets the magic stone, we won’t hunt Rat for twelve moons.”

“That’s a long time to go ratless,” Cat hissed. They scampered to Rat’s den for help. Cat’s yowls and Dog’s barks woke Rat.

“What do you two want?” Rat asked, peeking from his tree den.

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“We have a favour to ask,” Cat said.

“A supper invitation?” Rat shivered at Cat’s sharp claws.

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“No! We want you to steal a stone,” Cat explained. “We won’t hunt you for twelve moons if you help us.”

“Where is this stone?” Rat asked warily.

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“It’s locked in a wooden box in the last house in the village,” Cat said.

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“I know the place,” Rat said. “Wooden boxes are my speciality. Come tomorrow night, and I’ll have your stone.”

Dog and Cat returned the next evening. Rat rolled the magic stone outside his den.

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“Is this it?” Cat asked, snatching it up.

“See you in twelve moons, Rat,” Cat said with a grin, licking his teeth. Rat shuddered and scurried deep into his den.

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Cat and Dog crossed the river as dawn broke. The dark water rippled and swirled. Cat gripped the magic stone tightly in his jaws.

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“Watch your claws,” Dog warned as she paddled through the choppy water. A hawk swirled high above. It spotted Cat on top of Dog.

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“Why not swoop down and give Cat a good scare?” Hawk thought. “That would repay Cat for trying to get my nestlings.”

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Hawk shrieked as she dived towards Cat and Dog. Cat saw Hawk diving at them and dug his claws into Dog. Dog howled and sank below a wave. Cat was swamped. He yowled in fright, dropping the stone into the water. Dog dived after it while Cat splashed ashore. Dog dived again and again, but the magic stone was gone. Hawk swooped off to her nest, shrieking in delight.

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“Stupid cat!” Dog barked. “The stone is gone!”

“If you hadn’t tried to drown me…” Cat hissed.

“It’s water,” Dog said. “Do what I do—shake yourself off. That will dry you.”

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“That shows what you know, Dog,” Cat complained. “I’ll be grooming my fur all day, then coughing up furballs all night.”

“How about I chase you? That will dry you off!” Dog barked.

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Cat wasn’t sure if Dog was joking. He scurried up a tree for safety.

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Cat shivered in the treetop all night. Dog paced back and forth below. She thought that one nip would straighten Cat’s tail if he fell from the tree. The old woman discovered the next morning that her friends had fallen out. She decided to go fishing. That might get her little family together again.

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“If I catch a fish, you two must make up,” she bargained. Dog barked, and Cat hissed at her. The old woman tossed her fishnet into the river. The net began thrashing immediately.

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“It fights like a whale!” the old woman cried as she dragged the net ashore. A huge, shimmering, rainbow-coloured fish lay tangled in the net.

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“I could never eat such a magnificent fish,” she gasped as she released it into the river.

The fish vanished, and the stranger who had visited her on Chuseok appeared from a thick rainbow mist.

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“Remember me, old woman?”

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“Are you a dokkaebi?” the old woman stuttered.

“We dokkaebis don’t always cause humans mischief. We help those with strong, generous hearts.”

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The dokkaebi blew on the old woman’s trembling palm. The magic stone reappeared. It sparkled like a rainbow.

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“You lost the magic stone. Yet you displayed kindness by putting your despair aside to reunite your little family. My quest was to prove to my dokkaebi friends that humans can be kind, too.”

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A dazzling rainbow cloud blinded the old woman briefly. The stranger was gone when she opened her eyes, but the shimmering magical stone was still in her hand. She hurried home and placed it inside her bamboo chest. It rested beside a dingy silver coin on a faded, threadbare hanbok.

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“I’m tired from this excitement, my little friends. Let’s nap,” the old woman said. “I’ll put the magic stone in the pot tonight and dream of wonderful food for tomorrow.”

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Cat, Dog, and the old woman napped soundly. They slept so soundly that they didn’t wake until bluebirds chirped them awake the next morning.

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“I overslept, my little friends. But tonight, I’ll dream of magic food for tomorrow.”

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That evening, she opened the chest to get the magic stone. To her surprise, glittering silver coins filled the bamboo chest. They rested on rainbow silk hanboks worthy of a queen. The old woman, Cat, and Dog danced a jig, singing, yowling, and howling with delight. These riches would provide for all their future days.

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1 Chuseok is an autumn harvest festival celebrated in Korea.

2 Queen Seondeok ruled the Silla Kingdom from 632–647 C.E.

3 Cheomseongdae means ‘star-gazing tower’.

4 Hanbok is traditional clothing worn in Korea.

5 Dokkaebis are goblins or mystical creatures in Korean mythology.