해와 바람
The sun and the wind

하늘에 해와 바람이 살고 있었어요.
The sun and the wind were living in the sky.

바람은 해에게 항상 힘 자랑을 했어요.
The wind would always brag about his power to the sun.

“내가 입김 한 번만 불면 저 집을 날려 버릴 수 있어!”
“If I blow just one breath, I can make that house fly away!"

하지만 해는 항상 온화하게 웃기만 했어요.
But the sun would always just smile warmly.

바람은 그런 해가 못마땅했어요.
The wind was not happy with the sun being that way.

“내가 해보다 힘이 훨씬 센데 사람들은 왜 해만 좋아할까?”
“I am much stronger than the sun, but why do people only like the sun?"

바람은 해를 이기고 싶었어요.
The wind wanted to beat the sun.

어느 날이었어요.
Then one day,

바람은 길을 지나가고 있는 사람을 발견했어요.
The wind found a person who was passing by on the road.

“해야, 우리 내기할까? 지나가는 저 사람의 옷을 벗기는 사람이 이기는 거야.”
“Sun, shall we make a bet? The bet is to make that passer-by take off his clothes."

바람은 말이 끝나기가 무섭게 입김을 불었어요.
As soon as he finished his words, he blowed with his breath.

지나가던 사람은 갑자기 바람이 불자 깜짝 놀라서 옷을 붙잡았어요.
The passer-by was surprised at the sudden gust of wind, and held on to his clothes.

“갑자기 왜 이렇게 바람이 심하게 불지? 아휴, 걷기도 힘드네.”
“Why is the wind blowing so strongly all of a sudden like this? It’s difficult to even walk.”

바람은 더욱 힘을 줘서 입김을 불기 시작했어요.
The wind started blowing with his breath by exerting even more force.

그러자 그 사람은 옷이 날아가지 않게 꼭 잡고 조심스럽게 앞으로 걸어갔어요.
And then the person held on to his clothes tight so that they won’t fly away and cautiously walked forward.

바람은 결국 지쳐 버렸어요.
The wind ended up being tired.

“이상하다. 이쯤이면 옷이 벗겨질 때가 됐는데.”
“That’s strange. By now the clothes should be taken off."

해는 웃으며 말했어요.
The sun said smiling.

“이번에는 내 차례지? 내가 해 볼게.”
“It’s my turn this time, right? Let me try.”

이제 바람이 멈추고 따뜻한 날씨가 되었어요.
Now the wind stopped and the weather became warm.

그리고 해가 힘을 주자 점점 더 더워졌어요.
And when the sun exerted force, it became hotter and hotter.

“오늘 날씨 정말 이상하네. 이제는 너무 덥잖아.”
“Today’s weather is really weird. It’s too hot now."

지나가던 사람은 하나둘씩 옷을 벗기 시작했어요.
The passer-by started taking his clothes one after another.

해가 말했어요.
The sun said,

“바람아, 무조건 힘만 세다고 해서 좋은 게 아니란다. 앞으로는 힘 자랑은 그만하고 우리 사이좋게 지내자.”
“Wind, being strong isn’t everything. From now on, stop bragging about your power and let’s get along with each other.”
 

Grammar point

Verb stem + -기가 무섭게

-기가 무섭게 is a figurative way to say “as soon as” or “right after something”. Sometimes people also say -기가 바쁘게 to mean the same thing.

Ex)
끝나다 (to finish) + -기가 무섭게
= 끝나기가 무섭게 (as soon as something finished)

말하다 (to say) + -기가 무섭게
= 말하기가 무섭게 (as soon as someone says something)

일어나다 (to wake up) + -기가 무섭게
= 일어나기가 무섭게 (as soon as one wakes up)

도착하다 (to arrive) + -기가 무섭게
= 도착하기가 무섭게 (as soon as one arrives)

시작하다 (to start) + -기가 무섭게
= 시작하기가 무섭게 (as soon as something starts)