A Cruel Fairy Tale (Hidden Story)
blood-stained dress
Long ago, there lived a poor young man in Athens, Greece.
The young man's teacher had a daughter so beautiful that she was called the sister of Aphrodite, the goddess of beauty.
In fact, the young man had admired her for a long time.
One day, I had the opportunity to talk to my teacher's daughter, away from the other students.
The young man was a disciple of his master who could not be beaten by anyone in the way of theories and arguments, but he was completely shy when it came to making and presenting a bouquet of flowers with the secret of love, like a poet.
So, to win her favor, he boasted that he would give her whatever he wanted on his birthday.
She said with sparkling eyes.
소녀
I want a bright red dress. A dress that looks like it's been dyed with the blood of a living person...
소녀
If you give me a gift like that on my birthday, I will give you whatever you want in return.
The young man was filled with hope and his eyes were dizzy, but soon despair gripped him and his vision darkened.
Because she was poor, she couldn't afford such an expensive dress, and the dress in the color she wanted was hard to find.
Besides, the birthday I had to give the gift to was in three days.
A mute girl who happened to live next door saw the young man standing there blankly with tears in his eyes.
The girl looked at the young man's face with worried eyes, as she had been secretly in love with him.
청년
Yeah, it's you?
The young man barely noticed and said.
청년
I was promised a dreamlike fortune, but I was also sentenced to death. But telling you this would be pointless.
The young man couldn't bear not to tell the mute girl everything.
How beautiful his daughter is and how much he loves her.
It was a heart-wrenching story for the mute girl, but the young man interpreted her pained expression as pity for him and continued talking.
청년
I guess I said this to you, who can't even speak, but it's not like there's any good that can come of it.
청년
Oh, if you were the goddess Athena, transformed into a poor mute girl...
청년
Then maybe you'll grant my wish, but no, this is a joke.
청년
Now, I think I should think about myself like a philosopher.
The girl left the young man who was lecturing on difficult philosophical theories and went up to the temple.
There, people were praying and asking Athena for help.
The girl wanted to weave a dress dyed with her own blood and give it to the young man if only her love could be conveyed to him.
Then Athena appeared before the girl.
The goddess, as she had heard, shone with majesty and intelligence, but she seemed to have little affection and showed no expression of pity for the girl.
Still, the goddess, as befitting the patron goddess of Athens, looked intently into the girl's eyes and patiently listened to her silent pleas.
아테나
Unfortunately, your problem is beyond my ability to help.
아테나
It would be simple to ask Eros, son of Aphrodite, to make the young man unable to bear not to love you, but I don't think that would be the best solution.
아테나
You wouldn't want to borrow Eros' arrow to win the love of a young man, would you?
아테나
If I may give you some advice, it would be best to love someone who is right for you.
아테나
If you wish, I will cleanse your heart of all love for that young man.
The girl shook her head desperately.
벙어리 소녀
Please don't do that. I can't abandon my love for that person.
벙어리 소녀
I would be satisfied if I could just give my love to that person.
아테나
I know that, but you won't get anything in return from that young man.
벙어리 소녀
I believe in the power of love.
The girl shouted.
벙어리 소녀
I would give up my life for love.
벙어리 소녀
Please weave a cloth with the thread dyed with my blood and make a bright red dress.
아테나
What you believe seems wrong, though...
The goddess Athena said.
아테나
If that's your wish, I can grant it.
아테나
But that will be a more dreadful and painful thing than going to hell, and it will be as unpleasant as fighting that proud Arachne.
Still, the mute girl prayed earnestly to the goddess to grant her wish.
The goddess became a little displeased.
Why do human authors only talk about their own circumstances and ask for help from the gods?
I didn't like the idea of clinging to God for those mostly useless, unpraising hours.
Athena thought this, but then changed her mind and started the annoying task, thinking that this was also something a god should do.
아테나
According to the wish, the dress should be a color that looks like it was dyed with living human blood, and that kind of sacrifice is necessary to achieve such a vivid color.
벙어리 소녀
Goddess Athena! I am a being destined to die anyway. I will endure any help or suffering.
아테나
It takes time to do this.
아테나
During that time, no matter how much pain you are in, you must not die, and you must not even think about wanting to die.
아테나
You have to stay alive to keep bleeding fresh blood.
The goddess took the oath and stabbed the end of the thread into the heart of the dumb girl.
Then he moved his fingers quickly.
The truth is, it passed through my heart and came out dyed bright red.
The goddess began to weave the thread into a cloth. The thread was drawn into the girl's beating heart, dyed vividly.
The pain of the thread passing through my heart and being pulled out was indescribable.
Excruciating pain followed, but the girl couldn't even moan, her body silent.
He was suffering with his eyes wide open, filled with tears, and sweat dripping down his entire body.
As I was about to lose consciousness, the goddess's rebuke could be heard from afar.
Athena was determined to spare the life of the girl who, unable to overcome her pain, begged to be spared, saying she needed neither love nor gifts.
So I strained my heart's ear, waiting to hear the girl's silent scream, but her heart was firmly closed.
The girl did not say a word to the goddess.
The girl's heart continued to beat like a small spinning wheel, and the thread was released from her heart, dyed red.
The spinning wheel gradually lost its power and began to make an unpleasant rattling sound.
The girl's blood was running low because she had been dyeing the thread all night.
Athena encouraged the girl that she did not have much time left, and she finally finished weaving the blood-stained cloth.
But the girl's heart had already stopped beating like a windless windmill.
Athena quickly made a bright red dress from the fabric.
Athena, transformed into a mute girl, took the dress to the young man.
And she looked at the young man with eyes still wet with tears.
With the power of the goddess, she could have spoken directly to the young man's heart, but instead, she spoke to the mute girl's large eyes.
청년
Why do you have such scary eyes?
The young man asked.
청년
And your face is pale too. It's like a vampire sucked your blood.
Athena, transformed into a mute girl, was so disappointed that she could not even be angry when she learned that the young man had been doing nothing up until now and wasting his time like a dog biting its own butt, just dealing with despair.
Still, since it was the mute girl's wish, she gave the blood-stained dress to the young man.
The young man jumped up and down with joy.
And the master's daughter, after shouting loudly that she was as good as her own, looked at the mute girl standing there with a sad expression and asked her.
청년
But how did you get your hands on the dress?
Athena, who had transformed into a girl, pointed to her heart, which had not a single drop of blood left.
청년
I see. This is your kindness. It's a gift of love towards me. I will gratefully accept it.
The young man was so excited to get the dress that he hugged the girl and tried to kiss her on the cheek.
But Athena slipped away and disappeared.
On her birthday, when the young man proudly presented her with a bright red dress, the teacher's daughter frowned and threw the dress away.
소녀
I don't like it, this unpleasant color... It looks like it's dyed with blood.
청년
You said you wanted a bright red dress like this.
소녀
What I'm talking about isn't this off-putting color.
소녀
I don't like it anyway. This color doesn't suit me.
The young man also glared and shouted.
청년
You're such an arrogant girl. Do you know how much I struggled to get this?!
청년
This is a dress that is really stained with blood!
The young man ran out in anger, threw the dress on the floor, and walked away without looking back, saying:
청년
I'm going to change teachers. I need to find a teacher with a much kinder daughter.
The blood-stained dress thrown on the street was trampled by passersby and covered in dirt, turning it into a rag, and one day a dog carried it away somewhere.
Love that bites its own tail, neglect that bites its own tail.
A story where no one is loved.
The blood-stained dress ends