A sourced illustration has not yet been added. This gap is included in the coverage record.

Overview

A poor man gives a weary traveller the last drink in his jug. The narrator identifies the visitor as a divine being in human form, and the stranger gives him an amber-like object, promising a continuing supply of drink while it remains in the vessel. The traveller disappears before the man can offer him more. Much later, after losing and recovering the charm, the recipient learns that its replenishing effect also works on clothing and money. The donor has no personal name, religious identification or described nonhuman body. Allen briefly calls the sound in the shaken jug a dancing, laughing elf, but does not separately explain that image or identify it as the traveller’s imprisoned spirit.

Disguised benefactor whose gift replenishes a poor man’s possessionsHistorical folklore notice
01

Origins & earliest records

Korea; accounts presented by Allen

02

Records & interpretation

Complete wine-jug tale, note and collection preface directly read.

Selected bibliography

Documented works and useful reading. This is not a list of every appearance.

  1. 01

    Korean Tales

    Horace Newton Allen, translator and narrator · 1889

    IV, The Enchanted Wine-Jug, pp. 40–55, gift episode pp. 43–44

Family & connections

A source-supported family tree or inspiration record has not yet been compiled for this profile. Related reading below indicates a connection in subject matter, not a proven lineage or creative influence.

Primary records and illustrations

Direct primary record

H. N. Allen, Korean Tales (New York and London: G. P. Putnam’s Sons, 1889)

IV, The Enchanted Wine-Jug. pp. 40–55, gift episode pp. 43–44

Entire chapter and preface read; brief notice kept proportionate. Narrator’s uncertainty and limits preserved. No individual teller or original Korean edition identified by the passage.

Inspect the digitized plate · Source collection manifest

References

Sources supporting this profile. Linked pages have their own scope and editorial standards.

  1. Historical English translation and narrative noticesAllen, Korean Tales (New York and London: G. P. Putnam’s Sons, 1889), IVResearch access: 2026-10-05

Image credits

A sourced illustration has not yet been added. This gap is included in the coverage record.

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