The Three-Year Tumble: Based on a Korean Folktale

Ages 4 to 8, Grades P to 2

Based on the traditional Korean folktale “Samnyeongogae” (“Three-Year Mountain Pass"), this picture book parable by Korean-German artist Dayeon Auh features a fateful mountain, a superstitious grandfather, and a granddaughter with a clever perspective on life.

Legend says that anyone who falls down Misfortune Mountain has three years left to live. Grandfather must travel over the treacherous mountain to get to the market, but one day catastrophe happens and he tumbles down! The doctor says he is perfectly healthy, but Grandfather feels the end is near . . . until his granddaughter comes to visit and makes a different calculation about his fate.

From then on, the legend of the mountain takes on a new meaning and everyone finds themselves eager to tumble down it. A fable that demonstrates how a change in one’s mindset can make a positive impact.

About the Author

Dayeon Auh was born in Seoul, South Korea, and studied at Burg Giebichenstein University of Art and Design in Halle, Germany, as well as the University of the Arts in Berlin. She has traveled extensively, including places such as Sri Lanka, India, and Italy, and is often commissioned by hostels along the way to create large murals. She hopes her works will live on, spread joy and inspiration, and highlight the small moments that make life meaningful. She lives and works in Berlin and Leipzig.

Tim Mohr is an award-winning translator of German writers such as Sibylle Berg, Alina Bronsky, and Wolfgang Herrndorf, and the author of Burning Down the Haus, a history of East German punk rock and the role dissident musicians played in bringing down the Berlin Wall. Prior to starting his writing career, he earned his living as a club DJ in Berlin.