Yeh-Shen
Korea
During the time of the Ch'in and Han dynasties, a cave chief named Wu
married two wives and each gave birth to baby girls.
Before long Chief Wu and one wife died leaving one baby, Yeh-Shen, to
be reared by her stepmother. The stepmother didn't like Yeh-Shen for
she was more beautiful and kinder than her own daughter so she treated
her poorly.
Yeh-Shen was given the worse jobs and the only friend she had was a
beautiful fish with big golden eyes . Each day the fish came out of the
water onto the bank to be fed by Yeh-Shen. Now Yen-Shen had little food
for herself but she was willing to share with the fish. Her stepmother
hearing about the fish disguised herself as Yen-Shen and enticed the
fish from the water. She stabbed it with a dagger, and cooked the fish
for dinner.
Yeh-Shen was distraught when she learned of the fish's death. As she
sat crying she heard a voice and looked up to see a wise old man
wearing the coarsest of clothes and with hair hanging down over his
shoulders. He told her that the bones of the fish were filled with a
powerful spirit, and that when she was in serious need she was to kneel
before the bones and tell them of her heart's desires. She was warned
not to waste their gifts.
Yeh-Shen retrieved the bones from the trash heap and hid them in a safe
place. Time passed and the spring festival was nearing. This was a time
when the young people gathered in the village to meet one another and
to find husbands and wives. Yen-Shen longed to go to the festival but
her stepmother wouldn't allow it because she feared that someone would
pick Yeh-Shen rather than her own daughter.
The stepmother and the daughter left for the festival leaving Yeh-Shen
behind. Yeh-Shen wanting desperately to go asked the bones for clothes
to wear to the festival. Suddenly she was wearing a beautiful gown of
azure blue with a cloak of kingfisher feathers draped around her
shoulders. On her feet were beautiful slippers.They were woven of
golden threads in a pattern of a scaled fish and the soles were made of
solid gold. When she walked she felt lighter than air. She was warned
not to lose the slippers.
Yeh-Shen arrived at the festival and soon all were looking her way. The
daughter and step-mother moved closer to her for they seemed to
recognize this beautiful person. Seeing that she would be found out,
Yeh-Shen dashed out of the village leaving behind one of the golden
slippers.
When she arrived home she was dressed again in her rags. She spoke
again to the bones, but they were now silent.
Saddened she put the one golden slipper in her bedstraw. After a time a
merchant found the lost slipper, and seeing the value in the golden
slipper sold it to a merchant who gave it to the king of the island
kingdom of T'o Han. Now the king wanted to find the owner of this tiny
beautiful slipper. He sent his people to search the kingdom but no ones
foot would fit in the tiny golden slipper. He had the slipper placed on
display in a pavilion on the side of the road where the slipper had
been found with an announcement that the shoe was to be returned to the
owner. The king's men waited out of sight.
All the women came to try on the shoe. One dark night Yeh-Shen slipped
quietly across the pavilion, took the tiny golden slipper and turned to
leave, but the king's men rushed out and arrested her. She was taken to
the king who was furious for he couldn't believe that any one in rags
could possibly own a golden slipper. As he looked closer at her face he
was struck by her beauty and he noticed she had the tiniest feet.
The king and his men returned home with her where she produced the
other slipper. As she slipped on the two slippers her rags turned into
the beautiful gown and cloak she had worn to the festival. The king
realized that she was the one for him. They married and lived happily
ever after. However, the stepmother and daughter were never allowed to
visit Yeh-Shen and were forced to continue to live in their cave until
the day they were crushed to death in a shower of flying stones.