The Star Money
별의 돈
Jacob & Wilhelm Grimm (1785–1863, 1786–1859)
The Story
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Once there was a poor little girl with no father and no mother.She had nothing left in the world but the clothes she wore and one small piece of bread.But she had a kind heart, so she walked out into the wide world, trusting God.
On the road, a poor man met her and said, “Please give me something to eat. I am so hungry.”She gave him her whole piece of bread and said, “May it do you good.”
She walked on, and a child called to her, “I am so cold. Please give me something for my head.”She took off her own cap and gave it to the child.A little further, another child had no jacket, so she gave away her jacket too.
Then a child asked for a skirt, and she gave that away as well.At last she came to a dark forest, and a child asked her for a shift to wear.
The good little girl thought, “It is dark here. No one can see me,” so she took off her own shift and gave it away.Now she stood there with nothing left at all, not even one small piece of clothing.
Suddenly, stars began to fall down from the sky.Each star turned into a shining silver coin as soon as it touched the ground.And though she had given away her shift, she found she was wearing a new one, made of the finest linen.
She gathered up all the silver coins and carried them home in her apron.She had given away everything she owned, and now she was rich for the rest of her life.
Full translationTry the story first — open this only to check your understanding.
옛날에 아버지도 어머니도 없는 가난한 소녀가 있었어요. 소녀에게는 입고 있는 옷과 작은 빵 한 조각 말고는 아무것도 없었어요. 하지만 소녀는 마음이 착해서, 하느님을 믿으며 넓은 세상으로 걸어 나갔어요.
길에서 가난한 남자가 소녀를 만나 말했어요. "먹을 것을 좀 주세요. 너무 배가 고파요." 소녀는 자기 빵을 전부 주며 말했어요. "이 빵이 도움이 되길 바라요."
소녀가 계속 걸어가자, 한 아이가 소녀를 불렀어요. "너무 추워요. 머리에 쓸 것을 좀 주세요." 소녀는 자기 모자를 벗어 그 아이에게 주었어요. 조금 더 가자, 다른 아이는 겉옷이 없었고, 소녀는 자기 겉옷도 주어 버렸어요.
그다음, 한 아이가 치마를 달라고 했고, 소녀는 그것도 주었어요. 마침내 소녀는 어두운 숲에 이르렀고, 한 아이가 입을 속옷을 달라고 했어요.
착한 소녀는 생각했어요. "여긴 어두우니 아무도 나를 보지 못할 거야." 그러고는 자기 속옷마저 벗어 주었어요. 이제 소녀는 작은 옷 한 조각조차 남지 않은 채 그렇게 서 있었어요.
그때 갑자기 하늘에서 별들이 떨어지기 시작했어요. 별은 땅에 닿자마자 하나하나 반짝이는 은화로 변했어요. 소녀는 속옷마저 주어 버렸지만, 어느새 가장 고운 삼베로 지은 새 속옷을 입고 있었어요.
소녀는 은화를 모두 모아 앞치마에 담아 집으로 가져갔어요. 소녀는 가진 것을 모두 나누어 주었고, 그 후로 평생 부유하게 살았어요.
Original text
Now read the original
You just read an easy retelling. Here is the same passage exactly as the author wrote it — unabridged, split into short readings.
The complete story · 337 words · 1 short readings
Read the originalComprehension Check
1. What did the poor girl have when the story begins?
2. What did the girl do every time she met someone in need?
3. What happened after the girl gave away her very last piece of clothing?
Vocabulary
adjective
poor
가난한
There was a poor little girl with no father and no mother.
아버지도 어머니도 없는 가난한 소녀가 있었어요.
Your Summary
In 1–2 sentences, say what the girl gave away, and what happened to her at the end of the story.
Source: Adapted from the Brothers Grimm's tale "The Star Money" ("Die Sterntaler," 1812; long in the public domain, Project Gutenberg #5314). This simplified retelling and its Korean translation are original text written for SeoJae Story; no softening was needed — the tale has no peril at all.
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