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

Overview

Old White Whiskers is a huge tawny tiger living in the mountains of Kang Wen in Griffis’s account. The narrator describes him as a retainer of the Mountain Spirit, tasked with checking offerings at the shrines in mountain passes. His formidable hunting strength and escape from hunters have made him conceited. The surrounding account of spirit worship is Griffis’s literary framing and is not treated as an independent account of all Korean religious practice.

When he catches a rabbit on a frozen river, the smaller animal promises to bring him abundant game if he lies still with his eyes closed. The tiger falls asleep while the rabbit piles dry grass around him and lights it. He escapes with a scorched paw and singed coat; other tigers laugh, and the Mountain Spirit no longer entrusts him with his former standing. The promised charm is a deception, not an enacted hunting spell, and the story does not give the tiger a human form.

Mountain-spirit retainerShrine-offering inspectorRabbit’s false hunting charm
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

    Old White Whiskers and Mr. Bunny, pp. 59–64

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)

Old White Whiskers and Mr. Bunny. Old White Whiskers and Mr. Bunny, pp. 59–64

Complete chapter X directly read, including loss of standing after the fire. Narrative mountain-spirit service distinguished from independently verified religious practice; no magic ascribed to the rabbit’s bluff.

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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), Old White Whiskers and Mr. Bunny, pp. 59–64Research 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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