The laughing bear, and other stories

In Short

This collection of seven allegorical children's stories weaves fairy-tale adventure with explicitly Christian moral instruction. Across varied landscapes—from ancient Korean courts to subterranean pygmy kingdoms, deep American woods, and allegorical oceans—child protagonists face terrifying monsters, wicked witches, and bizarre magical transformations. Along their journeys, animals speak, ugly hags become radiant maidens, and strange beasts embody human vices like drunkenness and falsehood. Written originally to entertain and instruct parish children, the stories have endured through their striking visual imagination, playful humor, and unapologetic commitment to teaching selflessness, obedience, and spiritual truth through whimsical fantasy.

The Story

The volume opens in ancient Korea, where eight-year-old Princess Chonwa is snatched from the royal garden by a assassin who has just stabbed her mother. A giant, grinning bear named Mouwou intervenes, disabling the attacker and carrying the girl to safety. Joined by a young prince named Mousan, a magical bird, and an erratic quack doctor, the companions traverse the woods. Mouwou dispels dark magic—scratching dozens of hidden snakes out of Chonwa's skin—and punishes a wicked hunchback by twisting his body until he is forced to walk backward and repent. Ultimately, the travelers reach the Land of Sunshine and Joy, where the children grow up, marry, and rule peacefully.

The narrative shifts to modern settings and allegorical realms. In "The Gray Witch," a spoiled, peevish girl named Polly refuses to say her prayers and wishes punishment on her enemies. An ugly hag drags her out of bed into a surreal landscape where the environment directly reflects Polly's internal mood: bad tempers bring snakes and toads, while good behavior reveals singing birds and floating chimes. The witch herself transforms into a radiant woman whenever Polly chooses kindness, proving that internal virtue dictates outward beauty.

Subterranean and mythical adventures follow. In "The Mid-Earth People," a dwarf named Pietas guides human children down a three-mile fall into a kingdom of tiny pygmies. When the pygmy king arrests Pietas for preaching foreign truths, the giant human children rescue him, framing a clear parable of a rejected prophet. In "The Black Hus," a demonic black pig with glowing red eyes appears whenever men indulge in drunkenness. Egkartes, a brave youth, tracks the beast through Greece to redeem his family's honor, discovering that the Hus cannot be slain by military force so long as men succumb to temptation.

In "The Leviathan," two children are trapped on the back of a sea monster controlled by Mendacia, the embodiment of falsehood. They witness her feed helpless bathers to the beast until they break her deceptive spell. Finally, "The Brown Friar" takes place in the North American wilderness, where siblings Charlie and Betty seek out a mysterious forest monk. When their dog loses an eye, the monk asks the children if they will sacrifice their own eyes to restore the pet's sight. Both bravely consent, only to discover it was a test of love: their vision is instantly restored, clearer than before.

How It Unfolds

The bear's intervention A murderous assassin attacks the Korean queen and snatches Princess Chonwa, but an ugly, grinning bear named Mouwou intercepts the villain with a crushing blow. Mouwou carries the princess into the woods, gathering a strange band of companions along the way.

Confronting the witch After throwing a temper tantrum, young Polly is snatched from her bed by a terrifying gray hag. Transported to a magical realm, Polly discovers that the landscape and the hag's appearance shift instantly from grotesque to glorious depending on her own moral choices.

Descent to the under-world Guided by the dwarf Pietas, a group of children plunges three miles into the interior of the earth. They arrive at a golden pygmy city where they must defend their small guide from an army of tiny soldiers who reject his message.

Hunting the monster pig Egkartes sets out to slay the Black Hus, a fierce black boar that terrorizes towns whenever citizens fall into drunken revelry. Though celebrated as a hero, Egkartes realizes the beast will keep returning as long as human foolishness persists.

The monk's severe test Charlie and Betty track down a legendary hermit in the American woods to learn the secret of true happiness. The monk tests their devotion by asking them to give up their own eyes for their injured dog, revealing that true joy comes from selfless sacrifice.

The People

• Chonwa wants safety and healing after her mother's violent death. Confronted by kidnappers, dark magic, and venomous snakes, she relies entirely on her animal protector and matures into a wise, trusting ruler.
• Mouwou (The Laughing Bear) wants to protect innocent children and punish deceitful adults. Armed with a terrifying paw and a permanent grin, she acts as an unyielding force of justice, physically rearranging villains until they repent.
• Polly wants to be petted, waited on, and humored without controlling her temper. Terrified by the Gray Witch, she struggles against her own cranky nature until she learns that her own choices shape the world she sees.
• Pietas wants to bring news of a brighter, sunlit upper world to his subterranean pygmy homeland. Facing arrest and execution from his skeptical countrymen, he remains willing to suffer for the truth he preaches.
• Egkartes wants to clear his family's name and win a princess by slaying the Black Hus. Faced with the monster's recurring nature, he realizes that physical strength cannot defeat moral corruption.
• Charlie and Betty want to explore the deep woods and find the famous Brown Friar. Tested by a painful demand to save their dog, both prove their willingness to sacrifice for another, emerging with enhanced spiritual vision.

In Its Own Voice

"The bear sat up, still grinning. When the man came near enough, she struck him such a blow on the head that he went sprawling to the ground, and the knife flew out of his hand."

The opening story quickly establishes the bear Mouwou as a formidable protector who delivers swift physical justice to wicked men.

"In this land, if she was cranky and irritable she saw snakes and toads and worms and other creeping things, while if she was good she saw only singing birds and laughing waters and other beautiful objects."

Polly learns that her surrounding environment acts as a direct psychological and moral mirror of her inner state.

"'Shoot, if thou darest, fool! I have beaten thee in thine argument. Because thou art big as a moose, strong as Goliath, thou thinkest to put an end to my arguments by destroying my mortal body!'"

A talking bird mocks a hunter in the woods, highlighting the book's recurring theme that physical power cannot overcome truth.

What It's Really About

Beneath its playful fairy-tale surface, the book operates as an explicit series of moral and religious parables. The core argument is that physical reality reflects spiritual health. Vices like pride, drunkenness, lying, and selfish whining are not merely bad habits; they manifest as real monsters—such as the Black Hus or the sea-beast Leviathan—that enslave and devour people.

The stories consistently argue that true transformation requires internal change rather than external force. Mouwou physically twists the hunchback's face to force him to look at his own faults, just as the Gray Witch changes from hag to maiden only when Polly purges her own peevishness. Ultimate happiness, the author asserts through the Brown Friar, is never found in wealth or self-preservation, but in immediate, sacrificial love for others.

Why Read It Today

Modern readers looking for historical children's literature will find this collection an intriguing specimen of early twentieth-century moral storytelling. It blends traditional folklore structures with clear Christian allegory, reminiscent of C.S. Lewis or George MacDonald, though delivered in a simpler, episodic style.

The reading experience is fast-paced, colorful, and occasionally startling in its physical comedy and directness. The author does not shy away from sharp consequences: villains are struck down, snakes are squeezed out of skin, and children face intense emotional trials.

Readers should be prepared for period attitudes and heavy-handed didacticism. The frame stories frequently pause so an adult figure—a mother, an uncle, or a monk—can explain the exact sermon behind the adventure. The Asian settings, particularly the opening story in Korea, reflect early 1900s Western perspectives and romanticized orientalism rather than authentic regional folklore. Yet for those interested in the history of instructional children's fiction, the book offers vivid imagery, genuine humor, and an earnest belief in the power of goodness.