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

Overview

After Hyung Bo heals an injured swallow, the bird king sends a seed that grows four immense gourds. Two handsome youths emerge from the first, carrying a jade table and vessels whose contents they say can revive the dead, restore sight or speech, and prevent ageing and death. They then disappear. These powers are the youths’ declarations; no recipient is actually revived or cured in the scene. The next gourd supplies clothing and furniture, while the third releases carpenters who erect a complete house almost immediately, followed by loaded animals and servants.

The fourth contains a maiden who identifies herself as the bird king’s gift to become Hyung Bo’s concubine. His wife’s protest and his acceptance introduce conflict into the reward, rather than making every gift equally welcome to the household. The youths, workmen and maiden are not called one shape-changing being or given wings. Their emergence is narrated as real within the story, although the astonished recipients initially wonder whether they are dreaming.

Bird king’s household benefactors who emerge from enchanted fruitHistorical folklore notice
01

Origins & earliest records

Korea; accounts presented by Allen

02

Records & interpretation

Complete Hyung Bo and Nahl Bo narrative 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

    VI, Hyung Bo and Nahl Bo, pp. 89–115; gift gourds pp. 98–103

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)

VI, Hyung Bo and Nahl Bo. VI, Hyung Bo and Nahl Bo, pp. 89–115; gift gourds pp. 98–103

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), VIResearch 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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