Dr Do-Diddily and the Dee-Dot's
 Stories From Around The World ~ ~

THE goblins of Korea used to wear magic caps, called Horang Gamte, which had the power of rendering them invisible.

Now there once lived a man who was most diligent in his worship of his ancestors. He was always holding services to their memory, with lavish offerings of delicious food and drink. One day, when he had held such a service, a group of goblins came to his house, and ate up all the good things set out on the altars. And on every following occasion they did the same. Of course they were invisible, for they wore their magic caps, and so the offerings just disappeared. The man was very gratified at first to see his offerings eaten, for it seemed to prove that his ancestors relished them. So he spent more and more money to provide even more lavish feasts until he was almost ruined.

At last his wife complained of his extravagance. 'There must be something wrong,' she said.

'The spirits of our ancestors would never eat so much as to leave us almost ruined. There must be thieves coming in and stealing them while we are occupied with the ceremonial and bowing before the altar. In future I think we ought to keep a careful watch.'

So one night the husband hid behind a screen by the altar. He held a stout cudgel in his hand. In the middle of the night he heard the sound of whispering and of food being eaten. He peeped over the screen and saw the food steadily disappearing from the dishes. Yet he could see no one by the table. So all of a sudden he rushed out brandishing his cudgel and rushed round the altar and into all the corners of the room. Alarmed by his violent onslaught the goblins ran away, but the man touched one Of them with his cudgel and knocked his cap off. When the goblins had gone the man saw a red cap lying on the floor, the like of which he had never seen before. He picked it up curiously and put it on, and then began to shout 'Thief! Thief!’

His wife heard his shouts and came into the hall. But she could not see her husband, though she could hear him beside her gasping breathlessly, 'The thief got away, but he left a very strange cap behind. See?' His wife just stood there bewildered and said, 'But where are you, my dear? I can't see you.' Her husband took her by the hand and said, 'I'm here. What's the matter?' She felt him take hold of her, and tried to grasp him. she chanced to knock off the cap which he had put on his head. No sooner had it fallen to the floor than she saw him standing beside her.

She picked up the cap and said, 'Is this the cap you mean?' It must have made you invisible. So that's how the thief got in unnoticed. Let me try it.' she put it on her head and immediately vanished. 'This must be Horang Gamte, the magic cap. I'm sure of it!' she exclaimed. 'The thief was no man, but a goblin.'

Having made this remarkable find they determined that they would turn it to their profit. From that day on they went from house to house in the village, stealing all that they could lay their hands on. Many complaints were made to the authorities, but though a strict watch was kept not a single clue could be found, so stealthily were the thefts committed.

They continued their activities for more than a year, and became very rich. But one day the husband went to a jeweller's shop. It was not open yet, so he waited by the door. In a little while the jeweller came along and opened the door and the thief slipped in behind him. The jeweller took his money from the safe and began to count it. While he was counting it he was amazed to see the coins disappearing one by one. He searched the whole shop, on the door, and in every corner, but could find no trace of them. Then he looked up, and saw a piece of thread moving slowly in the air. He grabbed it with his fingers, something dropped on the floor, and there beside him he saw a man. The magic cap was beginning to wear out, and a thread had come loose from one of the seams.

The jeweller seized him with both hands, until he returned all the money he had stolen and offered him the magic cap did he let him go. Then the jeweller neglected his business and began himself to use the magic cap as the other had done. One day in the harvest time he went to a rich farmer's house, wearing the magic cap on his head.

The yard was full of labourers threshing rice with flails. As he passed through the yard to the house one of the flails knocked the cap off his head, and it fell intatters to the ground. So he was discovered, and immediately arrested.

He was brought to trial, and the husband and wife as well. They were all condemned to imprisonment, and shortly afterwards died in prison.

Ondoru Yawa, told by Zo Song-Gab; Onyang (I9I3).
Korean Fairy Tales

From the Ramayana to the National Epic of Thailand

A scene from the Ramakien as depicted at Bangkok's Wat Phra Kaew. Note the distinctly Thai headgear, ceremonial umbrellas, etc.

The Ramayana, holy revered text of Hindus, is believed by many archaeologists and historians to be a collection of stories from Indian mythology concentrating on the work of the gods in the lives of men, and was first written down, as legend states, in the forests of India by Valmiki in the third century B.C. Hindus, however, believe that Rama actually existed, and there are several holy sites in India that point to the reality of Rama's existence, including his birth place, his palace, and the route of his journey to Sri Lanka. Nevertheless, the Ramayana came to Southeast Asia by means of Tamil Indian traders and scholars who traded with the Khmer kingdoms (such as Funan and Angkor) and Srivijaya, with whom the Indians shared close economic and cultural ties.

In the late first millennium, the epic was adopted by the Thai people. The oldest recordings of the early Sukhothai kingdom, dating from the thirteenth century, include stories from the Ramayana legends. The history of the legends was told in the shade theater (Thai: หนัง, Nang), a shadow-puppet show in a style adopted from Indonesia, in which the characters were portrayed by leather dolls manipulated to cast shadows on a nearby screen while the spectators watched from the other side.

The Thai version of the legends were first written down in eighteenth century, during the Ayutthaya kingdom, following the demise of the Sukhothai government. Most editions, however, were lost when the city of Ayutthaya was destroyed by armies from Burma (modern Myanmar) in the year 1767.

The version recognized today was compiled in the kingdom of Siam under the supervision of King Rama I (1736-1809), the founder of the Chakri dynasty, which still maintains the throne of Thailand. Between the years of 1797 and 1807, Rama I supervised the writing of the well-known edition and even wrote parts of it. It was also under the reign of Rama I that construction began on the Thai Grand Palace in Bangkok, which includes the grounds of the Wat Phra Kaew, the Temple of the Emerald Buddha. The walls of the Wat Phra Kaew are lavishly decorated with paintings representing stories from the Ramakien.

Rama II (1766-1824) further adapted his father's edition of the Ramakien for the khon drama, a form of theater performed by non-speaking Thai dancers with elaborate costumes and masks. Narrations from the Ramakien were read by a chorus to one side of the stage. This version differs slightly from the one compiled by Rama I, giving an expanded role to Hanuman, the god-king of the apes, and adding a happy ending.

Since its introduction to the Thai people, the Ramakien has become a firm component of the culture. The Ramakien of Rama I is considered one of the masterpieces of the Thai literature. It is still read, and is taught in the country's schools.