- Overview
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This book tells a fairytale about the proverb, "a frog in a well."
- Book Intro
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The dictionary explains the meaning of "a frog in a well" as follows: "a figurative expression to refer to someone who doesn't know anything about the bigger world outside his/her small world." Then where did this proverb come from?
One day, two frogs living in a well (Eutteum and Beogeum) had a match to see who could swim faster in the well. A bird saw the match and laughed at them, saying "It seems you're so proud of yourself for swimming fast in such a tiny well! But there are tons of other animals who swim better than you!"
Because of what the bird said, Eutteum became curious about the outside world. On the other hand, Beogeum was afraid of many dangerous animals and refused to go outside. So Eutteum went on a trip alone to explore the outside world. What would happen to him?
In a stream, Eutteum met frogs who swam faster than him. There were also storks hunting frogs. While travelling along the stream, he encountered a butterfly. The butterfly told him about the sea, and the whale, the biggest animal in the world. Eutteum wanted to go to the sea to meet a whale, and he managed to do so. He met a whale and visited many places in the world, riding the whale. Eutteum saw snow-covered mountains, the jungle, the desert, and various animals.
His journey around the world made him a lot stronger than before. Eutteum went back to the well because he missed Beogeum. He told Beogeum about his experiences and suggested him to go outside together. But Beogeum didn't want to leave the well. "I don't mind even if you call me a frog in a well and laugh at me. I won't leave this well. I like it here," said Beogeum. Eutteum had no choice but to leave the well without Beogeum. When he came out from the well, there was a snake waiting for him. Eutteum found himself in danger of being eaten by the snake. At the very moment, someone saved Eutteum. Who saved him? and what happened to the two frogs?"
- About the Author
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Jung Hasup
Han Byoungho
(Russian) Автор родился и вырос в Сеуле. В университете обучался по специальности корейская традиционная живопись, в настоящее время работает иллюстратором и писателем детских книг. В 2005 г. впервые среди корейских писателей получил премия лучшего иллюстратора "Золотое яблоко" BIB в Братиславе. В 2014 г. выдвигался на премию Андерсена. Среди написанных и иллюстрированных его книг "Хочу стать птицей", "Можно встретиться в горном ущелье Мисан", "Страшный Ку-ка-ре-ка" и др. Среди книг иллюстрированных автором "Пошли в горы!", "Пустой дом", "День выдры", "Собака-след", "В объятиях папы" и др.
(English) Han Byoungho won the Golden Apple Award in the BIB with his work I Wish I Were a Bird, and received the International Hans Christian Andersen Award nomination in 2014. Picture books written and drawn by Han Byoungho include I Wish I Were a Bird, Scary Cock-A-Doodle-Doo and Things We Can See at the Masan Valley. Books illustrated by Han include The Footprint Dog, Cheongyangjang, The Invitation to a Birthday Party in the Woods, The Hen and the Dog and An Empty House.