단편#3 - A Promise of Gold Coin
(창작) 신뢰의 중요성을 가르쳐주는 단편 영어동화
이솝 우화나 그림 동화를 읽다 보니, 현시대에 적용되지 않는 교훈이라든가, 단순 재미만을 위한 이야기, 또는 잔인하다거나 딱히 주제가 무엇인지 모를 동화가 종종 발견되었다.
원래 계획은 오래된 동화를 현대에 맞게 각색하는 정도로 끝내려고 했다. 챗GPT의, "읽는 아이 수준에 맞는 영어문장력 50%와 옛날 동화가 가진 49%의 재미, 1%의 독창성을 섞으려고 했다.
그러나 요즘 시대에 맞게 각색하려면 스토리나 등장인물을 처음부터 뜯어고쳐야 했고, 이러다 보니 옛날이야기 구조에서 힌트를 얻어 현대식 동화를 만드는 게 더 낫겠다는 생각이 들었다.
아래는 공주와 개구리 이야기를 읽고, 내가 원하는 방식대로 이야기를 풀어 보았다. 초반부에 '공주가 무언가를 잃어버림"이라는 상황 외에는 모두 다를 터이니, 새로운 동화라고 생각하면 되겠다.
The Gold Coin Promise
A long time ago, there was a kind princess. She lived in a big castle with her father, the king.
Not far from the castle, a poor farm boy lived in a small house. He had a garden, a few chickens, and a very kind heart.
One sunny day, the princess was playing in the garden with her little cat. Suddenly, the cat ran off into the forest!
“Mallow, come back!” the princess called. She ran after the cat.
Deep in the forest, she heard a soft meow. The cat was stuck high in a tree! The princess looked around. No one was there. The cat was scared, and it looked like it might fall.
“Help! Please, someone help!” the princess cried.
Just then, the farm boy walked by. He was picking mushrooms.
He heard the princess and ran over. “Are you okay?” he asked.
“My cat is stuck in the tree!” the princess said. “She’s my best friend!”
The boy looked up. “Don’t worry. I’ll get her.”
He climbed the tree fast and carefully. He picked up the cat and came down safely.
“Here you go,” he said, handing her the cat.
The princess hugged her cat tight. “Thank you! That was so brave! I promise to give you a big pile of gold!”
The boy’s eyes went wide. “Really? Thank you, Princess!”
But when she told the king, he got angry.
“A pile of gold? For a farm boy? That’s nonsense!” the king shouted.
The king didn’t like the idea at all. He even said the boy should go to jail!
The princess was shocked. “But I made a promise,” she said. “He saved my cat!”
The king sighed. “Fine. He can have one small gold coin. That’s it.”
So the boy got only one gold coin. But to him, it was very special.
“Thank you,” he said with a smile. Then he went home.
Many years passed.
The old king died. The princess became the queen. She ruled kindly and helped her people.
But one year, no rain came. The rivers dried up. The plants died. People had no food.
“We are starving!” the people cried. “This is the queen’s fault!”
The queen was very worried. She didn’t know how to save the kingdom.
Then one day, a big group of wagons came to the castle. They were full of food, water, and seeds. A kind merchant had brought them.
The queen was surprised. “Why are you helping us?” she asked.
The merchant smiled. “You may not remember me,” he said, “but long ago, you gave a gold coin to a poor farm boy. That boy was me.”
The queen gasped. “You?”
“Yes,” he said. “You gave me that coin when I had nothing. I used it to buy a few apples and a small basket. I cleaned them up and sold the apples at the market.”
“Did it work?” the queen asked.
The merchant nodded. “Yes. I didn’t spend the coin right away. I waited. Then, one day, I bought a bundle of old clothes—torn, stained, and forgotten by others. Most people saw junk. But I saw something I could fix.”
The queen leaned in, listening.
“I cleaned the clothes, sewed up the holes, and added beautiful decorations—ribbons, buttons. I made each piece special.”
He smiled. “When I brought them to the market, people were surprised. ‘This is so lovely!’ they said. And they bought them—for 5 times more than I had spent.”
The queen looked amazed.
“So I did it again. And again. Each time, I started selling furnitures, and sometimes foods. And no matter what I sold, to whom I sold my products, I kept my promises. If I said a furniture would be ready in ten days, it was. I was honest and fair. People began to trust me. And trust, I found, is more precious than gold.”
He paused, then said softly, “I learned that from you. When you kept your promise to me, even though I was just a farm boy, it taught me how powerful honesty can be.”
The queen’s heart swelled with warmth. She smiled at him, her eyes shining.
“You helped me so long ago,” she said. “Now let me keep another promise. Will you stay and help me rule the kingdom?”
The merchant said yes.
They got married, and together they ruled with kindness and care. The rain came back, the land grew green again, and the people were happy.
And they lived happily ever after.
1) 이야기를 만들다 보니, farm boy 가 갑자기 왕자로 변하거나 하는 건 너무 진부한 듯하여 약간의 비즈니스 이야기를 곁들여 보았다. 꼭 이웃나라 왕자님만 공주님이랑 결혼하라는 법 있나.
2) 그런데 의외로 비즈니스 이야기를 만들다 보니, 동화 속의 캐릭터가 어떻게 성공할 수 있을지를 상상하는 재미가 있었다. 현존하는 기업가들의 성공사례를 벤치마킹하여 이야기 속에 넣으면 더 현실감 있는 동화가 될 수 있을 듯하다.
3) 마지막 삽화는 뒤의 백성분들 얼굴이 좀 그렇긴 한데... 그나마 주인공들 얼굴 제대로 나온 게 이 버전이라 넣었다.
