Miss Mole Searches for the World's Most Wonderful Thing
an adaptation of a Korean folktale
Long ago, by the Kingin River, in the dark, rich soil beneath a giant stone sculpture named Miryek, there lived a curious mole named Miss Mole, who was determined to find the most wonderful, amazing thing in the world.
Miss Mole asked her friends and neighbors, 'What is the most wonderful thing in all of nature?"
Everyone agreed. "It is Great Blue Sky."
Miss Mole went up to visit Great Blue Sky and said, "With your beautiful azure robe, you must be the most wonderful thing in the world."
"It is true that I am wonderful," he said. "But Sun is more amazing. I can only swirl my blue robe when Sun rises in the sky. When Sun goes down, darkness falls."
So, Miss Mole went to Sun. She shielded her eyes from Sun's golden fire. "With your brilliance, you must be the most wonderful thing in the world."
Sun laughed. "Cloud is more amazing," she said. "Cloud can cover me up and make me disappear!"
So Miss Mole went to visit Cloud. She watched Cloud change from soft layers, like white cotton, to gray sheets, to shooting fire, and to tears. "With your many moods, you must be the most wonderful thing in the world."
"Oh, not at all," said Cloud glumly. "Wind is in charge of me. Wind can drive me across Great Blue Sky."
So, Miss Mole went to visit Wind. "With your grace and motion, you must be the most wonderful thing in the world."
"I certainly am wonderful," blew Wind. "But, sadly, there is someone more wonderful than I am. Have you seen the statue Miryek? No matter how I roar in his ears, he does not flinch. I dance right into his eyes, and he does not blink. I've tried for thousands of years, and he does not move. Only someone very amazing could resist me like that."
So Miss Mole visited Miryek. "With your calm, granite strength, you must be the most wonderful thing in the world."
Miryek murmured, "I am indeed great. I am the same in day or night, no matter what Great Blue Sky does. Sun cannot burn me. Cloud cannot make me disappear. Wind cannot wear me down. Yes. I am great."
Miss Mole held her breath.
"But there is something even more amazing," said Miryek.
"Below the ground," he continued, "working in the dark, rich soil beneath me, lives a small, kind creature with soft brown fur."
Miss Mole looked at her own soft brown fur. Miryek was not finished. "This creature digs night and day and makes tunnels through the soil. If it digs enough tunnels beneath me, the soil will not hold me. I will topple and lie there like any rock in a garden. That creature is the most amazing." His granite eyes sparkled. "Perhaps you know the creature I am describing?"
"I do!" said Miss Mole. She thanked Miryek and scurried down a tunnel to tell her family and friends, the most wonderful creatures in the world.