The door was not locked. Inside he found the old couple weeping, exactly as in his dream. They were surprised to see a stranger there in spite of their sorrow. When Jung asked them what the reason was for their grief, they told him the following sad tale:

“We had an only son whom we loved dearly. He was so wise and understanding. One day, thirty-two years ago—he was only six then—we took him to see the arrival of the new governor. Suddenly the boy asked if he, too, would one day be governor. His mother told him to be quiet, for we are only very simple people. This seemed to make him sad. He grew very quiet indeed, then fell ill and died. Today, that is just thirty-two years ago. We are mourning the day, even though he was so little.”

Then Governor Jung knew that he had been dreaming all these years that these two good people were his parents. He bowed reverently toward them and asked humbly that they come and join him in his palace as his own parents.

The Minister of Police

There once was a man whose name was Bag who lived outside East Gate in Seoul. He had the reputation of being very strong and imperturbable in times of danger. One afternoon, as he was walking in the mountains, he decided to lie down on the summit of a hill. Suddenly he felt himself surrounded by little creatures.

Instead of showing fear he decided to ignore them, half-amused by their squeaking voices. There must have been hundreds of these little men, none taller than a man’s middle finger. One of them commanded, “We will carry this living body into our cave.” At once, thousands of little hands lifted him up and off they went, Bag holding himself still like a corpse.

When they arrived at their cave, they carried him right inside. Bag did not move, nor protest, even though they carried him along a narrow path near the edge of a precipice. Sometimes his arm hung down over the abyss.

In the cave, the hundreds of odd little men who were carrying him put him down on the floor, and the leader shouted: “Come on, men, now put the slab on top of him, otherwise the rains might wash him away.” No sooner had he spoken than Bag saw a hundred little men climb up the cave wall and prepare to push a tall stone slab away from the wall and on top of him.