Happily they cut the first gourd. They couldn’t believe their eyes. Out tumbled strings of gold and silver coins, all kinds of precious jewels, and silk and brocade fabrics. Once they were over the surprise, they cut the second gourd. At once the yard became filled with sacks of rice. They cut the last gourd. Out marched hundreds of tiny carpenters. Within a few minutes they constructed a large tile-roofed house surrounded by a wall with a large gate and then disappeared. Hung-bu and his family danced for joy. They were wealthy!

Word of Hung-bu’s newfound wealth spread quickly throughout the nearby villages and soon reached his brother Nol-bu. It made him angry, and finally he had to go see for himself. Hung-bu welcomed Nol-bu with open arms, but Nol-bu could not restrain himself, and he blurted out, “How could a bum like you become wealthy overnight? Tell me the truth. Who did you rob?”

Hung-bu told him about the snake, the swallow, and the seed and how they were so surprised when they cut open the gourds. “All I can imagine is that the swallow must have been the one we nursed back to health.”

(page 3 of 6)