A story from a shepherd - 양치기의 이야기

Once upon a time, there was a small village that raised sheep. Next to the village’s green meadow was a sesame cake warehouse. Every spring, the villagers would plow the fields and plant sesame seeds, and in the fall, to celebrate the abundant harvest, they would squeeze and store sesame cake.

Sesame cake was an important food source for the winter. However, one year, a large fire broke out in the village. The fire started in the sesame cake warehouse.

That day, the shepherd went out to the meadow with his sheep as usual. But the sky began to turn strangely red, and soon black smoke rose up, and people could be heard screaming from the village. The shepherd instinctively knew what had happened. The sesame cake warehouse was on fire.

The place where the shepherd had let his sheep out was close to the sesame cake warehouse, and the wind blew from the burning warehouse, causing the sheep to rush into the burning warehouse because of the delicious smell of sesame cake.

The shepherd who was guarding the sheep and some of the shepherds who were putting out the fire in the warehouse beat the sheep with a stick and told them not to come near, but if they blocked this side, the other side would explode, and if they blocked that side, this side would explode.

They were so exhausted and hurt that they had to protect the sheep rather than put out the fire. Later, they were sick for several weeks because their bodies were so tired and injured.

The sheep listen to the shepherd's voice because that is the path to life. However, when the sesame cake warehouse caught fire, the shepherd's voice was useless. Because of the delicious smell that came from the sesame cake burning...

When they enter a place where there is a fire, they run without even knowing that their fur will catch fire and die. It is just like us humans.

We usually live by reason and our own righteous judgment, but sometimes, when the devil tries to deceive us and knock us down, we cannot come to our senses.

The devil confuses our minds, and once greed is triggered, we cannot properly control our judgment and run towards death like a flock of sheep that have lost their minds.

목동으로부터 들은 이야기

옛날 어느 양떼를키우는 작은 마을이 있었다. 그 마을의 푸른 초원 옆에는 깻묵 창고가 있었다. 마을 사람들은 매년 봄에 밭을 일구어 깨를 심은 후  가을에 풍성한 수확을 기념하며 기름을 짜고 깻묵을 만들어 저장했다. 깻묵은 겨울을 나는 중요한 식량이었다. 하지만 어느 해, 마을에 큰 화재가 발생했다. 바로 깻묵 창고에서 시작된 불길이었다.

그날, 목동은 평소처럼 양떼를 몰고 초원으로 나갔다. 그런데 하늘이 이상하게 붉게 물들기 시작했고 곧이어 검은 연기가 솟아오르고, 마을 쪽에서 사람들의 비명 소리가 들려왔다. 목동은 무슨 일이 일어났는지 직감했다. 깻묵 창고에 불이 난 것이다.

마침 목동이 양떼를 풀어놓은 곳이  깻묵창고와 가까운 곳에 있었는데 바람이 화재 창고로 부터 불어와 풀어놓은 양들이 깻묵타는 고소한 냄새 때문에 불타는 창고로 양들이 몰려 들었다.

양을 지키던 목동은 창고에서 불을 끄던 일부 목동들과 함께 막대기로 양떼들을 때리며 가까이 오지 말라고 하였는데도 이쪽을 막으면 저쪽이 터지고 저쪽을 막으면 이쪽이 터지고

정신을 못차리고 불끄는 것보다 양떼들을 지켜야 하기 때문에 정신없이 이리저리 양떼의 접근을 막아서다 나중에는 얼마나 몸이 지치고 상했는지 몇일을 앓았다.

양떼들은 목자의 음성을 듣는다 그것이 생명 길이니까. 그런데 깻묵 창고에 불이나니 목자의 음성도 소용이 없었다. 그 깻묵 탈때 나는 고소한 냄새 때문에…

불이나는 곳에 들어가면 털에 불이 붙어 타죽는 줄도 모르고 달려든다.

마치 그게 우리 인간과 비슷하다.

평소에는 이성과 자신의 옳은 판단으로 살아가지만 가끔은 마귀가 우리를 미혹해서 넘어뜨리려고 하면 정신을 못 차린다.

마귀가 우리의 마음을 혼미케하여 한번 욕심이 발동하면 자신의 판단을 올바로 제어하지 못하고 정신줄 놓은 양떼처럼 죽는 길로 달려간다.