Fairy taleA1

Johnny-Cake

조니케이크

Joseph Jacobs (1890)

4 min read

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An old man and an old woman lived with their little boy on a small farm, and one morning the old woman decided to bake him a johnny-cake for breakfast.She mixed the batter, shaped it into a round, flat cake, and set it carefully in the oven to bake.But the moment she opened the oven door to check on it, the johnny-cake jumped out, rolled across the floor, and out the open door before anyone could catch it.

The old man and the old woman ran after it as fast as they could, but the johnny-cake only rolled faster, laughing as it went.Down the road it rolled, passing two men digging a well and two men digging a ditch, and every one of them dropped their tools to give chase.“I’ve outrun an old man, an old woman, two well-diggers, and two ditch-diggers,” the johnny-cake called back over its shoulder, “and I can outrun you too-o-o!”

Soon a hungry bear lumbered out of the woods and joined the chase, certain that such a plump little cake would make an easy breakfast.But the johnny-cake only rolled faster still, and the bear was soon left far behind, huffing and puffing on the road.A sharp-toothed wolf tried next, running harder than anyone before him, yet the johnny-cake rolled on without slowing even once.

At last the johnny-cake met a clever fox lying quietly in the grass, who did not chase it at all.“What a fine song you have,” the fox said pleasantly. “Won’t you sing it again, a little closer? I’m afraid my old ears don’t hear as well as they used to.”Flattered and a little too proud of himself, the johnny-cake rolled closer and closer to repeat his boastful little song.

Just as the fox leaned in and opened his jaws to snap, the johnny-cake felt the danger and threw himself backward down the hill.The fox’s teeth closed on nothing but air, and the johnny-cake went tumbling and rolling all the way home in one great hurry.He rolled straight through the open door and stopped, out of breath, right at the old woman’s feet.

The old man and the old woman were overjoyed to see him roll safely through the door, and they scooped him up and set him by the warm fire to rest.From that day on, Johnny-cake stayed close to home, and though he still loved to tell the story of outrunning a bear and a wolf, he never boasted to a stranger again.

Full translationTry the story first — open this only to check your understanding.

한 할아버지와 할머니가 어린 아들과 함께 작은 농장에서 살았는데, 어느 날 아침 할머니는 아침으로 조니케이크를 구워 주기로 했어요. 할머니는 반죽을 섞어 둥글고 납작한 케이크 모양을 만든 뒤, 조심스럽게 오븐에 넣어 구웠어요. 하지만 확인하려고 오븐 문을 여는 순간, 조니케이크는 밖으로 튀어나와 바닥을 굴러 아무도 붙잡기 전에 열린 문 밖으로 나가 버렸어요.

할아버지와 할머니는 있는 힘껏 뒤쫓았지만, 조니케이크는 웃으면서 오히려 더 빠르게 굴러갔어요. 조니케이크는 길을 따라 굴러가다가 우물을 파던 두 사람과 도랑을 파던 두 사람을 지나쳤고, 넷 모두 연장을 내려놓고 쫓아왔어요. "할아버지도, 할머니도, 우물 파던 두 사람도, 도랑 파던 두 사람도 다 따돌렸는걸." 조니케이크는 뒤돌아보며 외쳤어요. "너희도 얼마든지 따돌릴 수 있어!"

곧 배고픈 곰 한 마리가 숲에서 어슬렁어슬렁 나와 뒤쫓기 시작했는데, 통통한 케이크쯤은 쉬운 아침거리가 될 거라 확신했어요. 하지만 조니케이크는 오히려 더 빠르게 굴러갔고, 곰은 곧 길 위에서 헉헉대며 저 멀리 뒤처지고 말았어요. 다음에는 이빨이 날카로운 늑대가 나서서 그 누구보다 힘껏 달렸지만, 조니케이크는 단 한 번도 속도를 늦추지 않고 계속 굴러갔어요.

마침내 조니케이크는 풀밭에 조용히 누워 있는 영리한 여우를 만났는데, 여우는 전혀 쫓아오지 않았어요. "노래 솜씨가 참 좋구나." 여우가 상냥하게 말했어요. "조금 더 가까이 와서 다시 불러 주지 않겠니? 늙어서 귀가 예전 같지 않아서 말이야." 칭찬에 우쭐해진 조니케이크는 자랑스러운 노래를 다시 들려주려고 점점 더 가까이 굴러갔어요.

여우가 몸을 기울여 입을 벌려 낚아채려는 순간, 조니케이크는 위험을 느끼고 재빨리 몸을 뒤로 던져 언덕 아래로 굴러갔어요. 여우의 이빨은 허공만 물었고, 조니케이크는 부랴부랴 데굴데굴 굴러 집까지 곧장 달아났어요. 조니케이크는 열린 문을 통해 곧장 굴러 들어와 숨을 헐떡이며 할머니 발밑에서 멈춰 섰어요.

할아버지와 할머니는 조니케이크가 무사히 문으로 굴러 들어온 것을 보고 매우 기뻐하며, 따뜻한 난롯가에 눕혀 쉬게 해 주었어요. 그날 이후로 조니케이크는 집 가까이에 머물렀고, 곰과 늑대를 따돌렸던 이야기는 여전히 즐겨 들려주었지만, 다시는 낯선 이에게 뽐내지 않았어요.

Original text

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Comprehension Check

1. Why did the johnny-cake jump out of the oven?

2. What did the johnny-cake say to each new pursuer?

3. How did the fox almost catch the johnny-cake?

Vocabulary

1 / 5Tap to flip

noun

chase

추격

Down the road it rolled, passing two men digging a well and two men digging a ditch, and every one of them dropped their tools to give chase.

조니케이크는 길을 따라 굴러가다가 우물을 파던 두 사람과 도랑을 파던 두 사람을 지나쳤고, 넷 모두 연장을 내려놓고 쫓아왔어요.

Your Summary

In 1–2 sentences, say how the johnny-cake nearly got caught by the fox, and how he escaped.

Source: Adapted from "Johnny-Cake" in Joseph Jacobs's English Fairy Tales (1890; Project Gutenberg #7439, long in the public domain) — a seventh tale from the same collection as Henny-Penny, The Three Little Pigs, The Old Woman and Her Pig, The Story of the Three Bears, Jack and the Beanstalk, and The Three Sillies. The original ending, in which a fox tricks the johnny-cake close enough to bite him in two and eat him, is softened here: the johnny-cake feels the trick coming just in time and rolls all the way home safely, having learned not to boast to strangers. This simplified retelling and its Korean translation are original text written for SeoJae Story.

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