A Single Shard

When Tree-ear arrives at Min’s the following morning, Min scolds him for coming back with the wood so late—and not depositing it at the kiln. Though Tree-ear is embarrassed, he’s also annoyed: Min only told him to fill the cart with wood, not to bring it to the kiln. Since Tree-ear is afraid Min will dismiss him before teaching him pottery, he apologizes and asks for a second chance. Min orders him to fill the cart with wood again.

Tree-ear keeps chopping wood for Min. On the third day, Crane-man offers to help. Tree-ear, terrified that Crane-man will injure himself with the axe, says that the best thing Crane-man can do for Tree-ear is make sure dinner is ready when he gets home. On the fourth day, while Tree-ear is unloading wood at the kiln, a potter named Kang identifies him as “Min’s new boy” and says it’s good elderly Min has an assistant now—he wasn’t depositing enough wood at the kiln before.

After Tree-ear’s ninth day of work, he wonders how he can convince Min to teach him pottery. On the morning of the tenth day, when Tree-ear approaches Min’s house and calls for him, Min’s wife comes out, tells him Min is eating breakfast, and asks him to wait. Then she tells him that it’s a good thing Tree-ear chopped the wood: Min is getting old. She smiles at Tree-ear, and Tree-ear has the odd thought that her “bright and soft” eyes are similar to Crane-man’s.

Tree-ear finds Min in the back yard and asks whether he could continue working for Min. Min says that he can’t give Tree-ear any money. Tree-ear is overjoyed: Min is agreeing. Tree-ear says that working for Min for free would be an honor and bows. The next day, Tree-ear gathers clay for Min from the clay pits. Though he observes other people cutting clay before he attempts it, he still has difficulty—and tears open his blistered hand. Yet when he finishes, he’s very happy: because he’s now Min’s employee rather than his debtor, Min will at least give Tree-ear food.

When Tree-ear returns to Min’s house with a cart full of clay, Min criticizes him for taking so long and stomps back into the house—but Min’s wife brings him a bowl of rice and kimchee to eat and tells him, “Eat well, work well.” Tree-ear is proud to have earned his food. After lunch, Tree-ear refills the cart with clay. After work, he goes home to the bridge.

Tree-ear and Crane-man eat a dinner of wild mushrooms. Then Tree-ear notices that Crane-man’s crutch is missing and asks about it. Crane-man says that a “run of flounder” happened earlier in the day: that is, a school of flounder swam close to the beach, some being thrown ashore by waves. When a run of flounder happens, the villagers go to the beach to catch beached fish. Ordinarily, Tree-ear would have gone to catch fish for himself and Crane-man. With Tree-ear working for Min, Crane-man went by himself—and couldn’t catch anything. After a moment, Crane-man explains that in anger, he hit a rock with his crutch and broke the crutch.

An embarrassed Tree-ear realizes that he should have saved some of his lunch for Crane-man. He apologizes about the fish. Crane-man says he might as well apologize about Crane-man’s leg—but when Crane-man “leave[s] this world,” both his legs will be healthy. When Tree-ear jokes that four of his legs will be healthy, Crane-man asks what Tree-ear is implying about his reincarnation, and they jokingly fight.