✦ A Korean Folktale ✦
The Gold Axe and the Silver Axe
금도끼 은도끼 · Geumdokki Eundokki
The mountain spirit's test
The story
The tale of The Gold Axe and the Silver Axe
A poor woodcutter drops his iron axe into a pond. A mountain spirit rises holding three axes — gold, silver, and iron — asking which is his. The woodcutter answers honestly: "Only the iron one." Moved by his honesty, the spirit gives him all three. When a greedy neighbor tries the same trick by lying, the spirit gives him nothing at all.
한국어로 읽기
어느 가난한 나무꾼이 도끼를 연못에 빠뜨렸어요. 산신령이 나타나 황금 도끼, 은도끼, 쇠도끼를 차례로 보여주며 '네 도끼냐'고 묻죠. 나무꾼은 정직하게 '쇠도끼만이 제 것입니다'라고 답해요. 감동한 산신령은 세 도끼 모두를 줬어요. 욕심 많은 이웃이 따라 했지만, 거짓말 때문에 도끼 하나도 받지 못했답니다.
Origin
Where this tale comes from
One of the most-told Korean folktales for children. A short, clear story about the value of honesty.
한국에서 어린이들에게 가장 많이 들려주는 옛이야기 중 하나예요. 정직함의 가치를 가르치는 짧고 분명한 이야기예요.
Vocabulary
Korean words you'll meet in "The Gold Axe and the Silver Axe"
- 도끼dokki/DOH-kkee/
An axe — a tool for chopping wood, with a long handle and heavy head.
- 금geum/GUM/
Gold — the shining yellow metal of treasure.
- 은eun/UHN/
Silver — a precious metal with a softer shine than gold.
- 산신령sansilryeong/SAHN-shin-LYUNG/
The Mountain Spirit — often shown as a wise white-bearded grandfather in folktales.
- 연못yeonmot/YUHN-moht/
A pond — a small still body of water in the mountain or a village.
Scenes
Color each moment of the story
This folktale becomes a 5-page coloring storybook in the app. Two of these pages branch — you choose which path the story takes.
The Axe in the Pond
An honest woodcutter is chopping by a deep mountain pond. The axe slips from his hand and plunges into the water — his only axe, and he is a poor man. Small ripples spread quietly across the surface.
The Mountain Spirit's Test
As he sat down to rest, light surged from the center of the pond and a white-bearded Mountain Spirit rose up. In his hands — a gold axe, a silver axe, and the iron axe the woodcutter had lost. "Which one is yours?"
The Lure of Gold
As he sighed and waited, the pond began to glow softly. The Mountain Spirit rose and held out three axes in turn. The gold one shimmered in the sunlight. "Which is yours?"
The Mountain's Lesson · 🌟 The Sharing ending
The woodcutter went home and shared the lesson of honesty with everyone. The village children grew up on his story, and the gifted axes were enshrined in a small wooden hall beside the pond — a treasure belonging to all.
The Iron Axe Once More · 🌿 The Quiet Lesson ending
The mountain spirit took back the gold and the silver. Only the simple iron axe remained in the woodcutter's hand. Yet as he climbed the mountain with it, his step carried something deeper than before — a quiet understanding.
Our version
What's different in the app
The original contrasts the honest woodcutter with a greedy neighbor. Our version lets you walk both paths — answering honestly, or hesitating for a moment — and choose between two endings.
원작은 정직한 나무꾼과 욕심쟁이 이웃의 대비예요. 우리 버전은 정직하게 답하는 길과 잠시 흔들리는 길 모두를 따라가 보고, 두 가지 결말을 골라볼 수 있어요.
Color your way through The Gold Axe and the Silver Axe
Free · bilingual · branching endings · no sign-up · printable PDF when you finish.
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