Although people today are becoming more individualistic and attach less importance to Confucian traditions, filial duty to one’s parents and a respect for elders were important principles in traditional Korean culture. Some folk stories tell about animals that serve their parents devotedly, even more so than human beings. Today’s folktale is about a lazy person who was impressed by a dutiful mouse and became quite a changed man.

Once upon a time, an old couple and their unmarried son lived in a small village. The son was young and as strong as a horse. Despite his appearance, however, he never did anything but eat and sleep. The young man didn’t care about his old parents who toiled in the field all day long, but simply stayed at home as a sponger. When his parents asked him to help them with farm work, he didn’t even bother to answer them. The scapegrace son never listened to his parents no matter how much they threatened or coaxed him. He was such a lazy and disobedient son that people in the neighborhood called him a useless person.

The frustrated father nearly gave up on his good-for-nothing son. He often told his wife, “If you still have expectations for him, don’t even think about it. There is no hope for our son. How unlucky we are!” But the old mother still believed in her son, saying “It’s true our son is a little bit lazy. But he is good-hearted and he will soon come to his senses.” But the old man complained, “I’m better off wishing for my dead father to rise from his grave than expect our son to pull up his socks. Don’t waste your energy. Just give up.”

One day, as always, the idle son was lying on the floor. He felt sleepy, especially right after lunch. Just then, he happened to see a mouse snooping around the room. He thought to himself that it was strange for a mouse to move around the room where a man was lying down. But he lay still because it was too bothersome to chase away the mouse. Soon, a baby mouse ran from a mouse hole and quickly brought the first mouse to the hole. The young man now figured out what was happening. “Oh, the first mouse must be blind and her baby took her to the hole. That’s interesting.”

He found himself interested in the little mouse and its blind mother. He put some rice by the mouse hole. Before long, the mouse pup stuck its head out of the hole and looked all around. As if making sure that it was safe, the baby mouse pulled back to the hole and brought its mother. The two mice came out of the hole and began to eat the rice the man had placed on the floor. After finishing eating, the little mouse led its mother to the hole again. Having watched the entire scene, the man was impressed by the baby mouse that was feeding its blind mother.

From then on, the man placed a lump of rice in the room every day and waited for the mice to appear. He felt pity for the little mouse that was looking for food all the time to support its mother. Then he began to think about his own parents. He felt guilty about living off his old parents and causing them tremendous distress. He mumbled to himself, “Even a mouse is supporting its mother, but I haven’t done anything for my parents. Little mouse, you taught me a valuable lesson.”

The man jumped to his feet and ran toward to the field where his parents were working. Rolling up his sleeves, he told his parents to take a break as he was ready to work now. The old man and his wife gaped at their son in astonishment. “What did you say? Are you serious, son?” The father couldn’t tell if he was awake or dreaming, so he pinched his arm. Only when he felt pain in his arm, did he realize that all this was real. The mother even danced with joy. “What did I tell you? Our son has finally come to his senses.” The parents were happy to hear what had happened in the house. Little did they dream that a tiny mouse could move their son so deeply.

Afterward, the son became a completely different man and worked diligently to support his parents.