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

Overview

Mr. Long Body Wum is an earthworm who earns his living tunnelling, while Miss Thousand Feet Pil is a lead-coloured pill millipede who curls into a ball when disturbed. Griffis explicitly calls her thousand feet a convenient round number, not a counted anatomical total, and plays an English pun on Pil and pill. Their families arrange an engagement through a go-between, but neighbours speculate about the expense and labour of outfitting such different bodies.

Miss Pil worries about making, washing and polishing the long one-legged garments expected by her prospective husband. Mr. Wum fears the cost and storage of shoes for her many feet. Each independently writes to end the engagement; their letters cross, and no marriage takes place. The ending leaves both single in their respective hiding places. The tale’s household satire and broad statements about Korean etiquette belong to Griffis’s literary retelling, not verified universal customs or evidence of hybrid offspring.

Speaking invertebrate fableCrossing letters end an engagementThousand feet explicitly a round number
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

    Sir One Long Body and Madam Thousand Feet, pp. 147–154

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)

Sir One Long Body and Madam Thousand Feet. Sir One Long Body and Madam Thousand Feet, pp. 147–154

Whole XIX directly read through the unmarried ending. Earthworm and pill millipede identified in the text; thousand-foot number explicitly approximate. English pun and literary cultural generalizations attributed, no Korean original inferred.

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References

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  1. Historical English literary retellingGriffis, Korean Fairy Tales (1922), Sir One Long Body and Madam Thousand Feet, pp. 147–154Research 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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