[The Tear Drinking Bird]

I was reading this Korean fantasy novel named
The Tear Drinking Bird by an author I really like.
I just wanted to post a poorly translated version
(I'm really bad at writing in English you know) of
the part I like.



"Before we say good bye, I'd like to tell you a story, Bihyeong.
It's an old story of the Kitalzer Hunters. Is it okay for you?"

"Huh? Yes, what is it?"

"There are four brother birds. They all differ in what the prefer
to eat. Water, blood, poison and tears. The one that lives the
longest is the blood drinking bird. Then what would be the one
that lives the shortest?"
.
.
.
.
"Yes. The reason the blood drinking bird has the longest life
span is because it drinks what one would never want to lose.
On the other hand, tear is what you lose and dump it outside
your body. How harmful would it be to be dumped like that?
It's natrual to live shortly when you drink such a thing, but."

"But?"

"They say the tear drinking bird sings most beautifully of the four."
.
.
.
.
"The blood drinking bird lives the longest. It drinks the precious
thing that one never wants to give away. But because of that
smell of the blood, no one comes around it."



It has four volumes and I didn't finish reading it yet.
This short story that Keigun tells Bihyung says that a king should
be a one who can drink the tears of his people. One who craves
for his people's blood, craving just for money and power is no king.
And the king must will to die first instead of sacrificing his people.

I actually didn't get to this part yet, but this part was what made
me decide to read it; and there was this other book which viewed
the flow of the time in an interesting way I really loved by the same
author. That one had a western background but this one's mostly
oriental. I'm enjoying it.