Cover
The Land Beneath the Burrow
Image description: Cover of The Land Beneath the Burrow
Page 2
The girl thought a little differently from others. Clouds were the sky’s sketchbook, she said, and a snail was the world’s finest traveler. Her notebook was full of that world.
Image description: A girl drawing in a notebook under a tree
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But people said, “That’s strange.” “Useless thoughts.” On days she heard those words, the notebook felt a little heavier. Still she whispered, “Still, I am me.”
Image description: A girl walking a gray city holding a notebook
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One day, following white rabbit footprints across a meadow, the girl found a strange burrow under an old tree. From inside came the smell of star dust.
Image description: A girl peering into a glowing burrow
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The moment she looked in — whoosh! She fell down the burrow. She was not afraid. The fall was soft, and around her the pictures she had drawn sparkled as they fell too.
Image description: A girl falling through a burrow of flowing stars
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Thump~ no — soft! Eyes open: it was the very world she drew in her notebook. A cloud sketchbook hung in the sky, and the snail traveler tipped a hat. “Welcome. To the land you made.”
Image description: A girl landing in a flower field with a snail traveler
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Friends lived in that land. Dadada-running Hamdori, water-spraying Baby Elephant, bubble-blowing Elephant, everything-larger Wangnuni, high-jumping Kkangchong. Each sparkled in a different way.
Image description: A welcome from the five friends
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But sadness found this land too. One day in the square someone said, “A bird without wings is not a bird. That child is not like us.” A wingless baby bird hung its head low.
Image description: A wingless baby bird with head bowed in the square
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At those words the girl’s heart dropped. They were the same words she heard in the world above. Arms tightened around the notebook. ‘Should I run? …No. Here, I will go first.’
Image description: Side view of the girl holding her notebook tight, finding courage
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The girl sat quietly beside the baby bird. “Different is not strange. Different is new.”
Image description: The girl and the baby bird sitting side by side on steps
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Friends gathered. Wangnuni looked at the baby bird’s feet larger and larger. “Look! These feet are stronger than anyone’s!” Kkangchong cried, “Then jump with me!”
Image description: Wangnuni lighting up the baby bird’s sturdy feet
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Hamdori taught running; Kkangchong taught jumping. Baby Elephant made rainbows with a water fountain; Elephant made bubble stairs. The girl drew a new bird in her notebook — one that ran and jumped until it touched the sky.
Image description: The baby bird practicing with friends
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The night before the festival, the baby bird sniffled. “I can’t do it. I have no wings.” The girl opened her notebook. “I heard ‘strange’ a lot too. But look — those strange thoughts made this land.”
Image description: Under a lantern, the girl showing her notebook to the baby bird
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On festival day the baby bird ran. Dadada! Kkangchong! Bounce-bounce up the bubble stairs! And from the top of the rainbow fountain — whoosh — rode the wind. Everyone in the square cheered. “No wings, and still it reaches the sky!”
Image description: The baby bird riding the wind above a rainbow fountain
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That night the white rabbit said softly to the girl, “Time to go back. You made this land, but the place you live is the world above.” The girl hugged each friend tight.
Image description: The girl saying goodbye
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Climbing the burrow, the girl knew her heart was sturdier than before. The world above was the same, but she was a little different. “Different thoughts” were not to hide — they were to share. Still, I am me. No — so I am me!
Image description: The girl climbing the burrow toward the light
Artist’s note
The girl’s notebook is still full of drawings. And that land did not disappear. The world we make stays right where it is, as long as we believe. You, too, are inside that land right now. — Lee Minwoo
Image description: Five friends waving from inside a notebook