Once upon a time, there lived a boy named Hong Gildong.
He was the son of Lord Hong, a rich and powerful official.
One day while Gildong was reading, he heard servants whispering about him.
"Why does that boy bother reading so much?" one servant said.
"His father is a noble.
But his late mother was a servant.
That makes him lowborn."
"Yes," another said.
"He can never become a high official like his father.
The law of the land prevents it."
"He's even stronger than a grown man," the first servant said.
"But he can't become a military leader either."
Gildong had heard enough.
He jumped to his feet and lifted a heavy chest.
Bam! It made a loud sound as he slammed it down. Bam!
The servants rushed away.
"That will stop them from talking about me like that," he thought.
Later Gildong spotted his father outside.
As Gildong approached, Lord Hong thought of a dream he once had.
Lord Hong stood by a river in a beautiful, misty valley.
It was the land of the gods.
Suddenly the calm river started to churn.
The entire valley rumbled.
A splendid blue dragon rose from the water and flew toward him.
Though the dream was old, it was still vivid.
"Father—I mean, Your Lordship," Gildong said.
Gildong's voice shook Lord Hong out of the dream.
Lord Hong frowned.
"You know you must not call me Father. What do you want?"
"Do you have any new books for me to read?" Gildong asked.
Lord Hong sighed.
"Gildong was born after my dream of a splendid dragon," he thought.
"It was a sign that he is a gifted child.
But nothing can change his low birth.
Though I love him, I cannot show too much kindness."
"What do you need books for?" Lord Hong snapped.
"You don't need to learn."
He stormed off.
Gildong looked down, holding back tears.
When he looked up, he saw his older half brother, Inhyun, laughing.
Inhyun pretended to be Lord Hong.
"What do you need books for? You don't need to learn."
Gildong scowled.
"You shouldn't mock His Lordship like that!
Maybe you need to learn." you
"You can't talk to me like that!
I'm noble and you're lowborn!" Inhyun shouted.
He pushed Gildong hard, but Gildong didn't move.
Inhyun picked up a stick.
"You want to learn? I'll teach you a lesson, servant boy."
