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 Once upon a time in Korea, there lived a young boy. Each night before he went to sleep, his faithful servant would tell him a story. The boy loved stories, but he didn't like to share. So he made his servant promise not to tell the stories to anyone else. Reluctantly, the servant agreed. He promised that the stories would travel no further than the boy's room.
As the boy grew up, the number of stories grew. Finally, the day came for the boy to be married. On the eve of his wedding, a strange thing happened. The old servant heard voices coming from the boy's room. Knowing that the room should be empty, the servant crept closer. He was astonished to see the room was full of spirits, all talking angrily.
"That boy has no right to keep us trapped in this room!" one of the spirits yelled. "There's not enough space in here for all of us!" agreed another.
"He is a selfish boy and it is time we punished him!" another spirit chimed in.
"I agree! I can take revenge because I am a story about poisoned water," said a spirit. "I will poison the well that lies on the road to his wedding. If he stops to quench his thirst, he will die!"
 "Good idea!" said another. "I am a story about poisoned berries. I will poison the fruit growing by the roadside in case he gets hungry on the way to the wedding."
"My story involves a red-hot poker," said another spirit. "I will hide under the pillow that he will step onto as he enters the house of his bride-to-be and burn him."
"My story is about a poisonous snake," a spirit added. "If all else fails, I will lay in the bed on his wedding night and kill both him and his bride!"
The servant reeled in horror. His young master had grown to become a good and fair man. He had to try to save him from the story spirits! The next morning, the old servant begged to accompany the boy to his wedding. The boy agreed, but was shocked when his servant refused to let him stop to drink from the well on the way to the wedding. "We have no time, sir," the servant said. Spying some strawberries growing in the fields by the road, the boy commanded his servant to pick some for him to eat. Again, the old servant refused. "The strawberries at the wedding feast will be much sweeter," he said. The boy was really surprised when his servant pulled away a pillow before he could step on it. "This pillow is dirty!" the servant exclaimed.
 The young man was delighted to meet his bride, who was as young as he and very beautiful. He promised he would do his best to be a good husband to her. As they entered their room for the night, the young man was stunned to find his old servant waiting for them. In the candlelight, he saw the old man had a knife. The young bride screamed in horror. "Have you lost your mind?!" her husband exclaimed. "First you disobey my orders and now you attack us!"
"Trust me, young master," the servant implored. In a flash, he pulled back the bed covers and exposed a hissing viper. With a sure thrust, he plunged his knife into the deadly snake. "I had to save you," he explained. Then he told the couple about the angry spirits he had seen in the boy's room. "I knew no one would believe a humble servant," he said. "So I had to act."
The young man was instantly sorry. Finally, he understood now how selfish he had been. "I will release the story spirits." he said. "Will you tell them they are free to go?" The servant agreed gladly. At long last, all his stories would be shared with the world.
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