Kumiho [The Fox Sister]

Kumiho [The Fox Sister] skin description

The Fox SisterThere was once a farmer who lived with his wife and three sons. What this man wanted most of all was a daughter; even if she were a fox. After many prayers, his wish was granted, and his wife became pregnant and bore a baby girl. After the girl turned six years old, the cattle on the farm began to disappear, with no trace of what caused the disappearance. In hopes to find an answer to this problem, the farmer sent his oldest son to keep watch of the cows at night. As expected, a cow had gone missing. The next morning, when the farmer asked his son what happened to the cow, he said, "Our little sister killed the cow and ate its heart!" Of course, the man loved his daughter more than anything and did not believe his son. Then, upset because of the dishonesty of his son, the farmer sent him out and told him not to come back. The second son was then sent out to watch the cows, and everything went well, until a month later during the next full moon. Again a cow disappeared, again the son claimed the sister was the culprit, and again the son was sent away. Finally, the last son was sent out to watch the cows. However, not wanting to be disowned by his father, when the next cow disappeared, he did not claim it was the sister's fault. "Father," he said, "The cow must have been frightened by the full moon!" The farmer was pleased by this and the son stayed at home. Meanwhile, the two older sons traveled far into the mountains, where they soon met an old Buddhist monk. They told him of their plight, and the monk said he could help. He gave them three potions, one white, one blue, and one red. The brothers thanked the monk and traveled back to their home. There, they found their sister living all alone. The sister asked the brothers to stay, and as it was almost night time, the brothers reluctantly agreed. That night, the sister made them the most delicious meal they had ever had. Soon after, they went to sleep. But the older brother was then awakened by what sounded like someone chewing. Around him were various organs and parts strewn about the room. Realizing what his dinner was, he shot up in horror only to see his little sister chewing on the liver of his dead brother. Without hesitation, the brother ran out of the house. Of course, the sister was following closely. He remembered the three potions the monk gave him, and threw the white bottle behind him. A thicket of brambles appeared before the sister, but was no threat to the fox sister. Next, the brother threw the blue bottle behind him, and a great river appeared, This was also no obstacle to the sister, and she easily swam through. The brother threw the final bottle behind him, and with a flash, a ball of fire engulfed the sister. And she was burned until there was nothing left but a tiny mosquito. I'm horrible at writing and paraphrasing, but there's a readable version of this folktale here. A kumiho is a Korean 9-tailed fox demon that takes the form of a beautiful woman. It's commonly believed that with each liver or heart the kumiho eats it gains a tail. Once it gains 9 tails, it becomes fully human. Most depictions of kumiho that I've seen have white tails. This was also inspired by the K-Drama My Girlfriend is a Nine-Tailed Fox. She's also wearing a traditional Korean hanbok. :)