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

Overview

The fish king is suffering from a hook lodged in his gills after breaking a fisherman’s line. Dr. Turtle leads the consultation of aquatic physicians, who prescribe a poultice of rabbit eyes. He goes ashore and entices a rabbit with descriptions of the underwater palace’s gardens, jewels, food and entertainments, carrying him below the waves on his shell without disclosing the intended operation.

The rabbit discovers the plan and falsely claims to have left his real eyes on land, replacing them temporarily with crystal ones. Dr. Turtle takes him back to fetch them, whereupon the rabbit escapes into the woods. The physician returns in tears, and the tale gives no eventual cure for the king. Griffis alternates turtle and tortoise in the telling; the detachable eyes are the rabbit’s bluff, while the prescription is part of the story rather than medical advice.

Allen’s earlier 1889 version, read in full, calls the sovereign the king of fishes and places the hook through his nose, rather than the gills in Griffis. An unnamed turtle proposes the rabbit-eye poultice, promises to procure the victim and asks to avoid the operation because blood disturbs him. After the rabbit’s crystal-eye bluff, the ashamed fish officials command the turtle to carry him back. The account ends with the rabbit’s escape and future avoidance of the turtle; it does not include Griffis’s additional tearful return. These are edition-specific differences, not grounds for inventing a second magical species.

Animal physician who carries a rabbit to the underwater courtSpecific literary witness
01

Origins & earliest records

Korean tale in an English literary retelling

02

Records & interpretation

Full relevant tale and collection preface directly read.

Selected bibliography

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

  1. 01

    Korean Fairy Tales

    William Elliot Griffis · 1922

    The Rabbit’s Eyes, pp. 24–29

  2. 02

    Korean Tales

    Horace Newton Allen, translator and narrator · 1889

    III, The Rabbit, and Other Legends, pp. 34–39; earlier English comparison with Griffis

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

William Elliot Griffis, Korean Fairy Tales (1922)

The Rabbit’s Eyes. The Rabbit’s Eyes, pp. 24–29

Complete chapter V directly read through Dr. Turtle’s return. Rabbit’s crystal-eye story explicitly a bluff; no final cure invented. No Korean-language original or named narrator supplied by Griffis. Additional complete Allen1889 chapter III, pp.34–39, compared: https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/55539/pg55539-images.html#ch2 . Hook placement and narrative ending differences retained; original evidence record remains primary for Griffis.

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References

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

  1. Historical English literary retellingGriffis, Korean Fairy Tales (1922), The Rabbit’s Eyes, pp. 24–29Research access: 2026-10-05
  2. Historical English translation and narrative noticesAllen, Korean Tales (New York and London: G. P. Putnam’s Sons, 1889), IIIResearch 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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