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The Rabbit and the Dragon King: Based on a Korean Folk Tale
The dragon rules the ocean deep and all its creatures. He is a great king - but an even greater hypochondriac. Though his physician can find neither cause nor cure for his latest ailment, the king believes he is not long for this world. "Here we go again," says the queen. After consulting with his court magician, the king is convinced that eating the heart of a rabbit will cure what ails him. Turtle volunteers to swim ashore and trick a rabbit into visiting the undersea palace. When the rabbit comes face-to-face with the dragon king and learns her fate, she shows that she has a few tricks of her own. Daniel San Souci's splendid retelling finds new riches in an ancient tale that was recorded as early as A.D. 642 during Korea's Shila Dynasty. Eujin Kim Neilan's breathtaking paintings depict a magical, underwater world, where dragons and turtles and rabbits mingle on the ocean floor. From the author and illustrator of In the Moonlight Mist comes a stunning new version of one of the best-loved folk-tales of Korea.
32 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2002
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
September 26, 2017
An enjoyable book of a smart rabbit and a king who believes he is dying. The king thinks if he eats the heart of a rabbit he will live so he sends a turtle to fetch a rabbit for him. The rabbit offers his "heart" to the king who seems to make a full recovery after eating what he believes to be the rabbit's heart. Pictures are wonderful!
November 7, 2023
This is a Korean folk tale about a dragon king who lives under the sea that is tricked by a rabbit. I am not sure about this one. I liked the interaction between the turtle and the rabbit. I didn’t like the dragon king much.
February 28, 2018
A wonderful Korean folktale about how a rabbit tricked the Dragon King.
July 13, 2018
Read for outreach at SLO Makerspace daycamp for the Maidens & Minstrels: Fantasy! theme week - July 13th, 2018
November 20, 2008
The moral of this story, a retelling of a Korean tale from the 7th century, is that you should fully appreciate the life you are living, lest it be plucked from you by illness or apathy. In The Rabbit and the Dragon King, a hypochondriac ruler sends a turtle to find a cure for what ails him. A complacent rabbit is the unwitting victim who cleverly avoids sacrifice while healing herself and the dragon king of their ailments with her will to live. This folk tale retold by Daniel San Souci exposes some of the common symptoms of a comfortable life. The colorful illustrations by Eujin Kim Neilan bring the story to life. An interesting cast of players supports the main characters: the dragon king’s wife (“Belief, not medicine, is what he needs!”), the cuttlefish physician, the puffer fish magician who targets the rabbit as the source of the cure, and a team of volunteers that include a toothy shark, a swordfish, and an octopus. The author’s mention of a relationship between the ancestors of the wise turtle and the clever bunny will help children to feel that they know these characters well. The picture book design, the subtle humor, and the brilliantly detailed art make this book an excellent choice for story time reading for older children.
The author’s model source note credits Korea’s Shila Dynasty, A. D. 642, for the origin of this timeless tale. The tale has often been called The Hare’s Liver, but this version features the rabbit’s heart as the source of the king’s cure. Illustrator Neilan was born in Korea and currently lives in Boston. The note states she has drawn from both Eastern and Western sources in her beautiful depiction of the undersea world of the dragons and the rabbit’s island home. The dramatic brush strokes that overlay the deep tones of the paintings bring texture to the images of the swirling waters of the ocean and rabbit’s island home. This is the second Korean tale compiled by San Souci and Neilan. In the Moonlight Mist, published in 1999, tells the story of good-hearted woodcutter who finds a heavenly wife (LOC, n.d.).
The author’s model source note credits Korea’s Shila Dynasty, A. D. 642, for the origin of this timeless tale. The tale has often been called The Hare’s Liver, but this version features the rabbit’s heart as the source of the king’s cure. Illustrator Neilan was born in Korea and currently lives in Boston. The note states she has drawn from both Eastern and Western sources in her beautiful depiction of the undersea world of the dragons and the rabbit’s island home. The dramatic brush strokes that overlay the deep tones of the paintings bring texture to the images of the swirling waters of the ocean and rabbit’s island home. This is the second Korean tale compiled by San Souci and Neilan. In the Moonlight Mist, published in 1999, tells the story of good-hearted woodcutter who finds a heavenly wife (LOC, n.d.).
March 21, 2012
The Rabbit and the Dragon King is a fantasy book that is about a dragon who lives in the ocean, who has suddenly become very ill. The cuttlefish, who was the dragon king's personal physician said he tried all different ailments but has come up with nothing to heal him. So the Dragon King asks the puffer fish, who was the court magician, if he could come up with anything. The fish thought and then said, "Sire, you can be cured of all your nagging ailments if you simply eat the heart of a rabbit". The Dragon King then asks who will fetch the rabbit. The shark, and octopus, and the sword fish all nominated themselves. But of course, they can not survive both in water and on land. So, the turtle decides to go and find a rabbit. Once the turtle finds the rabbit he brings it to the Dragon King. The Dragon King tells the rabbit why he has been brought there, and the rabbit makes a sly move. The rabbit said when he was born, he knew his heart was very special so he took it out and hid it somewhere. The rabbit said that he would go with the turtle to fetch his heart and have the turtle return with it. The Dragon King agrees. The rabbit and turtle go back to land to find the "heart". The rabbit takes a piece of fruit off a tree and wraps it in leaves and has the turtle take it back to the Dragon King. The Dragon King eats the piece of fruit and had a miraculous recovery.
The age range for this book would be the intermediate age. Children younger than this, would not understand the content.
The pictures of the animals in this book are very detailed and realistic, but the lines and images around the animals are not. This book is very dark but filled with a lot of dark colors.
I would recommend this book. It expands the young childrens' imagination. It teaches young children that if they believe in something with their whole minds and hearts, that they can achieve it.
The age range for this book would be the intermediate age. Children younger than this, would not understand the content.
The pictures of the animals in this book are very detailed and realistic, but the lines and images around the animals are not. This book is very dark but filled with a lot of dark colors.
I would recommend this book. It expands the young childrens' imagination. It teaches young children that if they believe in something with their whole minds and hearts, that they can achieve it.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews