독사과 나무의 비밀(The Secret of the Poison Apple Tree)

Once upon a time, in a quiet land filled with green forests and bright rivers, there was a peaceful little village named Elly.
The people of Elly were always kind to each other. They helped their neighbors, laughed every day, and lived happily together.

But one day, a very tall and handsome man came into the village.
He wore shiny clothes, had a smile on his face, and spoke with a soft, gentle voice.
Everyone in the village said, “Wow! He looks like a prince!”

But they didn’t know the truth…

This man was not a prince.
He was a wicked wizard who became stronger by making people feel sad and angry.

He whispered in people’s ears,
“Why does your friend always get more attention?”
“Don’t you think you're better than them?”

At first, no one listened.
But slowly, the wizard’s words made people jealous and mean.
They stopped helping each other.
They stopped laughing.
Their hearts became dark and cold.

As the village became sadder, the wizard grew stronger.
He became even taller,
his shiny clothes turned into giant black wings,
and his handsome face changed into a terrifying dragon’s head!

“Ha ha ha!” he roared.
“The more unhappy you are, the stronger I become!”

Now the wizard ruled the village like a dragon king.
He made the people work like slaves, and the happy village of Elly became quiet and gray.

But far away, a brave young girl was riding her horse toward the village.
Her name was Irene.

Irene had long black hair like the night sky,
skin white as snow,
and lips red like cherry candy.
She looked like a princess from a storybook—
but what made her truly special was her kind heart and strong courage.

When Irene arrived in Elly, she looked around and said,
“Something terrible has happened here… I must help.”

She found out that the evil wizard was living in a tall, dark castle far away.
To get there, Irene had to pass through ten magical obstacles set by the wizard himself.

The first obstacle was called the Poison Apple Tree.

Long ago, it was a happy tree that gave sweet red apples to the villagers.
But now, it had become a scary monster tree.
Its branches moved like arms, and it threw black, poisonous apples at anyone who came near!

“Whoosh!”
“Thump!”
The apples flew through the air as Irene carefully dodged them.

But she didn’t look afraid.
She looked at the tree and said softly,
“You used to be kind. You don’t really want to hurt anyone, do you?”

Then, she pulled out her shining holy sword,
and with one deep breath, she ran up and stabbed it gently into the heart of the tree.

A bright light exploded from the trunk!
The branches stopped moving.
The black apples disappeared.
And one by one, shiny red apples began growing again.

The Poison Apple Tree had turned back into a good tree.

The wind blew through the leaves like a happy sigh.
Irene smiled and whispered,
“One down, nine to go.”

Then she stepped back on the path toward the dark castle.
Her adventure was just beginning…

---

옛날 옛날, 푸른 숲과 맑은 강이 흐르는 곳에 ‘엘리’라는 아주 평화로운 마을이 있었어요.
엘리 마을 사람들은 사이좋게 지내고, 서로 도우며 웃음 가득한 하루를 보냈지요.

그런데 어느 날, 반짝이는 망토를 입고 잘생긴 얼굴을 한 키 큰 마법사가 마을에 나타났어요.
사람들은 “우와, 멋지다!” 하며 환영했지요.
하지만 이 마법사는 겉모습만 멋졌을 뿐, 속은 아주 나쁜 마법사였어요.

마법사는 몰래 사람들 귀에 속삭였어요.
“너보다 잘난 친구가 밉지 않니?”
“왜 너는 혼자야? 다 저 사람들 때문이야.”

사람들 마음속엔 시기와 미움이 자라났어요.
점점 싸움이 많아지고, 웃음이 사라졌어요.
그때부터 마법사의 모습도 달라졌어요.

키는 더 커지고,
반짝이던 옷은 무서운 날개로 바뀌고,
잘생긴 얼굴은 으르렁거리는 용의 얼굴이 되었어요!

“하하하! 너희가 불행할수록, 나는 더 강해지지!”

이제 마법사는 마을을 지배하는 무서운 용이 되어
사람들을 시키는 대로 일만 하게 만들었어요.
엘리 마을은 웃음이 없는 슬픈 마을이 되었지요.

그런 슬픈 마을에,
작고 용감한 소녀 기사 한 명이 찾아왔어요.

그 아이의 이름은 아이린이었어요.
아이린은 까만 머리카락이 부드럽게 흘러내리고,
백옥처럼 하얀 피부,
그리고 앵두같이 새빨간 입술을 가진 아주 아름다운 소녀였어요.

하지만 아이린이 진짜 멋진 이유는, 겉모습이 아니라 용기와 착한 마음이었어요.

아이린은 마을을 둘러보며 말했어요.
“이 마을엔 무슨 일이 있었던 걸까? 모두가 너무 슬퍼 보여…”

그리고 결심했어요.
“이 마을을 예전처럼 돌려놓을 거야!”

마법사의 성으로 가는 길에는 열 개의 무서운 장애물이 있었어요.
아이린은 한 발 한 발 조심스럽게 걸어가기 시작했지요.

그 첫 번째 장애물은 바로… 독사과 나무였어요!

예전엔 맛있는 사과를 주던 착한 나무였지만,
마법에 걸려 가지가 팔처럼 움직이고,
검은 독사과를 사람들에게 마구 던지는 무서운 나무가 되어버렸지요.

“휙!”
“퍽!”
독사과가 날아오자 아이린은 재빨리 피하며 말했어요.

“넌 원래 착한 나무였잖아… 내가 도와줄게.”

아이린은 허리에 찬 신성한 검을 꺼내,
용기 있게 나무의 중심에 꽂았어요!

그 순간, 환한 빛이 퍼지며
독사과는 사라지고,
다시 빨갛고 맛있는 사과들이 주렁주렁 열렸어요.

“우와, 정말 돌아왔구나!”

나무는 바람에 잎사귀를 살랑살랑 흔들며 고마운 마음을 전했어요.
아이린은 조용히 웃으며 말했어요.

“첫 번째 장애물, 해결 완료!”

그리고 다음 장애물을 향해 걸어갔어요.
아이린의 모험은 이제 막 시작된 참이었어요…