Once upon a time, there was a young woman named Yun Ok who found herself deeply troubled. Her husband, who had once been a loving and kind man, had returned from war a completely different person. The gentle husband she had known was now angry, irritable, and unpredictable. Yun Ok barely recognized the man she had married, and it frightened her. In fleeting moments, she caught glimpses of the man he once was, but those moments were rare and quickly vanished.
Desperate, she decided to seek help from a famous hermit who lived deep in the mountains. People in her village often went to him for cures when they were sick, but Yun Ok had always taken pride in solving her own problems. This time, however, she needed guidance.
When Yun Ok reached the hermit’s hut, she found the door open. Without turning to face her, the hermit said, “I hear you. What is it that you need?”
Yun Ok explained her plight, telling him about the drastic change in her husband. The hermit, still with his back to her, replied, “It is not uncommon for soldiers to return from war this way. But what do you want me to do about it?”
“Please, make me a potion!” Yun Ok begged. “Or give me a charm, a drink, anything that will bring my husband back to the way he was before.”
The hermit finally turned around and looked at her. “Young woman,” he said, “what you ask for is not as simple as curing a broken bone or treating a fever.”
“I understand,” Yun Ok replied, her voice determined.
“It will take three days for me to consider this matter. Return then.”
Three days later, Yun Ok stood once again at the hermit’s hut. This time, the hermit greeted her with a smile. “I have good news for you,” he said. “There is indeed a potion that can restore your husband, but it requires a special ingredient—one that is not easy to obtain. You must bring me a whisker from a live tiger.”
Yun Ok gasped in disbelief. “A whisker from a live tiger? That’s impossible!”
“I cannot make the potion without it,” the hermit insisted, his voice firm. “There is nothing more to discuss.”
That night, Yun Ok could not sleep. How could she possibly get close enough to a tiger to pull out one of its whiskers? The thought terrified her, but she could not give up.
The next morning, she rose before dawn and prepared a bowl of rice with meat sauce. She made her way to a cave in the mountains where a tiger was known to live. With trembling hands, she placed the bowl of food near the entrance of the cave and quietly backed away, her heart racing.
The following day, she did the same thing, bringing another bowl of rice with meat sauce. This time, she noticed the first bowl had been emptied, and the tiger’s paw prints were visible in the dirt. She left the fresh bowl in the same spot and again retreated, being careful not to make a sound.
For weeks, Yun Ok repeated this process, bringing food to the tiger every day before dawn. She never saw the beast, but its footprints confirmed that it was eating her offerings. Over time, the tiger began to trust her. One day, she saw its head poking out of the cave as she approached. Although it stayed a safe distance away, it watched her as she placed the food down and collected the empty bowl.
Months passed, and the tiger began to appear regularly as Yun Ok approached. It would sit by the empty bowl, waiting for her to replace it with a fresh one. She could now hear its low growls, but they no longer frightened her. In fact, she started to notice the beauty of the creature’s reddish fur and its calm presence.
One morning, after many months of careful preparation, Yun Ok decided that the time had come. She brought a small knife with her along with the food. As she set the bowl down and the tiger allowed her to pet its head, she spoke softly, asking it for a whisker. Gently, she grasped one of its long whiskers and, in a quick motion, cut it free. The tiger did not flinch. Yun Ok thanked the creature and hurried away.
The next day, Yun Ok rushed to the hermit’s hut, clutching the precious whisker. Bursting through the door, she exclaimed, “I have it! I have the tiger’s whisker!”
The hermit turned around slowly, examining the whisker with a look of approval. “From a live tiger?” he asked.
“Yes!” Yun Ok proudly replied. “I earned its trust over many months, and today it allowed me to take this whisker.”
The hermit smiled, then tossed the whisker into the fire, where it sizzled and vanished in an instant.
“Why did you do that?” Yun Ok cried, shocked.
The hermit looked at her kindly. “Yun Ok,” he said, “you no longer need the whisker. If you can gain the trust of a wild tiger with patience and care, can you not do the same with your husband? Is a man more fierce than a tiger?”
Yun Ok stood in silence, her mind racing. As she walked back down the mountain, she thought about the tiger and her husband. She now understood what she needed to do. With time and patience, she could help her husband heal, just as she had won the trust of the tiger.