Legends (collected  trom Internet)

     Story of the betel leaf and the areca nut

There were two twin brothers of the Cao family. Their names were Tan for the eldest brother, and Lang for the youngest one. They got schooling with a Taoist named Chu Chu who lived with his eighteen-year old daughter. He then married her to Tân, and the young couple lived their conjugal life happily. But, Lang found out that his brother treated him less intimately since he got married. In fact, Lang left the house wandering around the country. He reached a larger river and couldn't cross it. Not even a small boat was in the vicinity to transport him to the other side of the river. He was so sad that he kept on weeping till death and was transformed into a lime-stone lying by the river side.

Troubled by the long absence of his brother, Tân went out to look for him. When he reached the riverside he sat on the lime-stone and died by exhaustion and weariness. He was transformed into an areca tree. The young woman in turn was upset by the long absence of her husband and got out for a search. She reached the same place where the areca tree had grown, leaned against the tree and died, transformed into a plant with large piquant leaves climbing on the areca tree. Hearing of this tragic love story, local inhabitants in the area set up a temple to their memory.

One day, King Hùng went by the site and gained knowledge of this story from local people. He ordered his men to take and ground together a leaf of betel, an areca nut and a piece of lime. A juice as red as human blood was squeezed out from the melange. He tasted the juice and found it delicious. Then he recommended the use of betel chewed along with areca nut and lime at every marital ceremony. From this time on, chewing betel became a custom for Vietnamese, and very often they began their conversation with a quid of betel.

      Story of the rice cake

Emperor Hung-Vuong had many sons. Some pursued literary careers. Others excelled in martial arts. The youngest prince named Tiet - Lieu, however, loved neither. Instead, he and his wife and their children chose the countryside where they farmed the land.

One day, toward the end of the year, the emperor met with all his sons. He told them whoever brought him the most special and unusual food would be made the new emperor.

 Almost immediately, the princes left for their homes and started looking for the most delicious food to offer the emperor. Some went hunting in the forests and brought home birds and animals which they prepared into the most palatable dishes. Some others sailed out to the open sea, trying to catch fish, lobsters and other much loved sea food. Neither the rough sea nor the violent weather could stop them from looking for the best gifts to please the emperor.

In his search, Tiet-Lieu went back to the countryside. He saw that the rice in his paddy fields was ripe and ready to be harvested, Walking by a glutinous rice field, he picked some golden grains on a long stalk. He brought them close to his nose and he could smell a delicate aroma.

His entire family then set out to harvest the rice, Tiet-Lieu himself ground the glutinous rice grains into fine flour. His wife mixed it with water into a soft paste. His children helped by building a fire and wrapping the cakes with leaves. In no time, they finished, and in front of them lay two kinds of cakes: one was round and the other was square in shape.

The round cake was made with glutinous rice dough and was called "banh day" by Tiet-Lieu. He named the square shaped cake "banh chung" which he made with rice, green beans wrapped in leaves. Everybody was extremely happy with the new kind of cakes.

On the first day of Spring, the princes took the gifts of their labor and love to the emperor. One carried a delicious dish of steamed fish and mushrooms. Another brought with him a roasted peacock and some lobsters. All the food was beautifully cooked.

When it was Tiet-Lieu's turn to present his gifts, he carried the "banh chung" and his wife carried the "banh day" to the emperor. Seeing Tiet-Lieu's simple offerings, other princes sneered at them. But after tasting all the food brought to court by his sons, the emperor decided that the first prize should be awarded to Tiet-Lieu.

The emperor then said that his youngest son's gifts were not only the purest, but also the most meaningful because Tiet-Lieu had used nothing except rice which was the basic foodstuff of the people to make them. The emperor gave up the throne and make Tiet-Lieu the new emperor. All the other princes bowed to show respect and congratulated the new emperor

      Story of  the water melon

Once upon a time, the sixth son of King Hung Vuong the Fifth named An-Tiem disobeyed the King's order and was exiled to a deserted island.

The Prince had to build his own shelter, dig a well for water, and fish and hunt animals for food. One day, he found a green fruit as big and round as a ball. He split the fruit into halves and found the inside of the fruit red. He dared not eat it because he was afraid it was poisonous.

Days passed and the dry and sunny season came. It was so hot that all the plants were dry and the well had no water left. One day An-Tiem was so tired and thirsty that he tasted the fruit He found out that it tasted delicious and quenched his thirst. He tried to grow the plant around his house then. Soon the whole island was covered with the green fruit.

An-Tiem carved the island's name and his own on some of the fruit and threw them into the sea. Later, seamen found the strange fruit with An-Tiem's name floating in the sea.

Soon, words about the fruit reached the continent and many merchants tried to find the way the island. This then turned the deserted island into a busy island. The island was now crowded. Many boats came and went. An-Tiem helped anyone who wanted settle on the island. Soon, news about that reach the King.

King Hung Vuong was very proud of having a son who was brave and strong enough to overcome difficulties without anyone's help. An-Tiem was immediately summoned back to the court. He brought his fruit with him to offer the King, his father. The King gave him his crown and An-Tiem became King Hung Vuong VI.

Since then the fruit which was called "dua hau" and has become the symbol of luck; people often offer it to relatives and friends as a New Year present.

       Story of the golden star fruit tree
                 By Tran Van Dien

Once upon a time, there was a very rich man who lived in a village. When he died, he left his two sons a huge fortune. But the two brothers were entirely different. The elder was greedy, but the younger was very kind. So after the parents' death, the elder claimed the fortune and left his younger brother only star fruit tree. (A very productive tree that gives sour fruit.) The younger brother took good care of his tree, watering it every day and hoping that it would give him a lot of fruit so that he could make a living by selling it. The elder brother, on the other hand, was so happy with his inheritance that he had nothing to worry about.

Unfortunately for the younger brother, when the fruit was ripe, a raven flew by and stopped in the tree to eat it. He was very sad to see this happen every day, but he did not know what to do. So one day, he decided to stand beneath the tree an speak to the raven: "Raven, please don't eat my fruit." he called. "This fruit tree is my only fortune. If you eat the fruit, my family will starve."

"Don't worry," the raven answered. "I'll pay you back in gold.Go and make yourself a bag 60 centimeters long to keep the gold."

Hearing those words, he was very excited and told his wife to make a bag of 60 centimeters. The next day, the raven came as he had promised. He landed by the gate, let the younger brother sit on his back, and took off for a place filled with gold. There the younger brother filled the bag with gold. Then he flew back home on the raven's back. And so he became very rich. But he still loved and respected his elder brother.

So one day he told his wife to prepare a good meal for his brother and his family. But when he invited his brother, the latter refused to come at first. The brother only accepted after he had begged him again and again. When the older brother arrived at his house, he was surprised to see it all changed. It was no longer the poor house that he had seen before. So he asked his younger brother the reason. The latter told him everything that happened. After he heard it all, he offered to trade all his fortune for the fruit-tree. The kind brother gladly accepted the offer.

The raven came as usual. The greedy brother spoke to the raven the same words as his brother and received the same answer from the raven. But he was so greedy that he made a much larger bag instead of a 60 centimeter bag. The next day, the raven came to take him to place of gold. After he had filled the bag, he filled all his pockets, too, before he climbed onto the raven's back to go home. But the load was so heavy that when they flew over the sea, the raven tilted his tired wings and dropped him off into the sea. His wife and younger brother waited and waited but did not see him come back. So they decided to ask the raven and learn all the facts.

      The story of LUU-BINH and DUONG-LE
                                     By Tran Van Dien

Long ago there were two very close friends. One named Luu-Binh, came from a wealthy family; the other, named Duong-Le, came from a pool family.

Knowing that Duong-Le did not have enough money to study, Luu-Binh kindly invited him to come and live with him to help him. Conscious of his poverty, Duong-Le was hard working and industrious while Luu-Binh, satisfied with his wealth, was wasteful and lazy. As expected, when the final examination arrived Luu-Binh failed while Duong-Le succeeded. He then became a high-ranking official and lived comfortably in a big house in the capital.

Luu-Binh went on with his idle, wasteful and extravagant way of life. Soon he had squandered all his fortune and was still not graduated. Reduced to bare poverty, Luu-Binh then remembered his old friend, now a high ranking official. So he made the trip to the capital and called at Duong-Le's to ask for help. Duong-Le pretended to be cold and indifferent because he knew his friend too well. If he helped him at once he would be always lazy.

"You're not my friend. All my friends are rich and important people not poor and ignorant like you." he shouted at Luu-Binh contemptuously. He then called: "Guards! See the man out. Give him some leftover rice and salt!"

Ashamed and disappointed to see that his friend was not too proud to remember their lifelong friendship, Luu-Binh sadly returned to his village, determined to study hard so that he would one day erase this shame.

In the meantime Duong-Le told his beautiful third wife, Chau-Long to dress as a girl selling silk, to go to Luu-Binh`s village, get acquainted with Luu-Binh and then propose to stay with him. She would be selling silk and supporting him while he was studying. She also promised that they would become husband and wife once he successfully completed his studies. Encouraged by that promise, Luu-Binh studied hard day and night. It was not long before the examination came again and Luu-Binh passed it. As soon as he heard the result he hurried home to share the good news with Chau-Long only to find that she had disappeared. Later on, Luu-Binh, too, was invited to serve as a high ranking official. But he did not forget the shame Duong-Le had caused him in the past. So he went to Duong-Le's to seek revenge. Duong-Le treated him completely differently when he arrived. This time he greeted him with open arms. He did not mind his friend's harsh words. Patiently waiting for his friend to calm down, Duong-Le then called his wife Chau-Long out to introduce her to his friend. Only then did Luu-Binh realize that Duong-Le, a true friend, had really helped him complete his studies. Both friends ran to each other and hugged each other tightly.

           The story of THACH SANH

                        Research from any source

A long time ago there was a kind and old but childless couple. They lived a simple life, cutting fire wood in exchange for rice and food. The couple prayed for a child every day. God felt moved and sent an angel to grant their wish, so the old woman became pregnant. The next year she gave birth a healthy son. The child was named Thach Sanh.

Thach Sanh grew up to be a strong, beautiful and very kind boy. Unfortunately, he became parentless when he was 12 years old. He lived by himself in a shabby cottage under the old Banyan tree, deep in the woods. Thach Sanh chopped fire wood and hunted for a living. Thạch Sanh made a decent living by selling fire wood and hunted meat at a local market. Being very generous, he often shared his earnings with the less fortunate in the village. As a result, he was always poor and lived a very humble life. Gradually, Thach Sanh became a handsome, well respected and strong young man. His only valuable possessions were a sharp hammer and a set of bow and arrows.

Thach Sanh had a friend named Ly Thong. Lý Thông was a sneaky business man, who sold groceries from market to market. He passed by the Thạch Sanh's hut once in a while. They drank tea and shared stories with each other. Lý Thông was a bad man but took a liking to Thạch Sanh. Time to time, he would invite Thạch Sanh to his house for dinner and sleepovers in the next village. Lý Thông had an old mother that Thạch Sanh respected because of memories of his own parents.

In Lý Thông 's village, there was a man-eating monster. Since no one could kill the monster, the King had to make the monster's house a temple and offered it one man annually. That was the deal to keep the monster in the forest, away from the village and away from the people. Each year, the villagers drew lottery and the winning man had to sacrify himself for the monster's food. The King offered a great award to anyone who could kill the monster.

Unfortunate for Lý Thông , this year he won the deadly lottery. Knowing that Thạch Sanh was kind and easily influenced, Lý Thông made up a plan to trick his friend.

On an evening with a full moon, Lý Thông invited Thạch Sanh come over for dinner. After a good meal Lý Thông told Thạch Sanh:
- Today it is my turn to offer food to the monster temple, but my mother is ill. Can you help me to bring the cake and fruit to the temple ?

Thạch Sanh gladly helped Lý Thông . Under the moon light, Thạch Sanh carried his hammer and the food to the temple. When Thạch Sanh approached the monster temple, he heard a terrible roar. There were a deadly smell and the sound of cracking and falling trees. A huge, hungry, terrifying monster with sharp claws jumped out to attack Thạch Sanh. Thạch Sanh calmly and bravely fought back with his hammer. Under the moon light, Thạch Sanh and the monster fought for two hours.

Finally, Thạch Sanh won and killed the monster. He chopped its head off and brought it back to Lý Thông house. At that time, Lý Thông and his mom were sure that Thạch Sanh was dead. Hearing the knocks at the front door, they thought that was Thạch Sanh's ghost came back for them. They were trembling and said:

- Thạch Sanh, please forgive us. We are sorry to trick you, but we will appreciate you and offer you memorial yearly.

Hearing that, Thạch Sanh learned the truth about Lý Thông 's plan. But he kindly answer:

-Don't worry. I am still alive. I just killed the monster and brought back his head here. Open the door, and you will see.

Hearing Thạch Sanh voice, Lý Thông peeked through the door slots and then opened the door. To their surprise, there Thạch Sanh stood next to the bloody monster's head. Seeing the scary head, both of them fainted. After recovering, Lý Thông found another way to cheat Thạch Sanh. He pretended to be worried:

- This monster is the King's pet, but now you have killed him. That was a serious crime. Why don't you run away immediately. I'll take care of the head.

Thạch Sanh still believed that Lý Thông was serious. He ran back to his hut in the forest. Lý Thông hurried to the capital and claimed to the King that he has killed the monster himself. The King gladly ordered a group of soldiers to Lý Thông 's house to bring back the monster's head. The head was so heavy that it took 4 soldiers to carry. The King award Lý Thông lots of moneys and gold and set him up to be a corporal to train the royal guards for the King.

The King had a beautiful princess, named Thúy Hoa, who just reached 18. He was looking for a right man for his daughter. One day, when the princess Thúy Hoa was waking in the royal garden, a huge evil hawk dropped down and captured the princess, flying away. It happened that the hawk flew by the Thạch Sanh’s hut. Hearing the yell “Help” from the princess, Thạch Sanh ran out and saw the bird capturing a girl. Thạch Sanh ran after the bird and shot at his wing with a bow and arrow. With a wounded wing, the bird tried his best to fly away. Thạch Sanh ran after the bird and saw he flew toward the mountains at a distance. Unable to do anything further, Thạch Sanh tried to remember the direction and went back home.

Hearing the painful news of the princess, the King ordered Lý Thông to go out to find her. The King also promised her hand in marriage if he can return her safely. Lý Thông felt happy but worried. He knew clearly that he had almost no way to find her. Finally, he remembered Thạch Sanh so he brought his army to Thạch Sanh house, and told Thạch Sanh about the story. Being honest, Thạch Sanh told Lý Thông about how he saw the bird, shot and wounded the bird with an arrow. Lý Thông felt very happy. He asked Thạch Sanh to go with his army to the mountains. They found a cave where the bird lived. Thạch Sanh volunteered to go down the cave to find the princess.

Lý Thông lowed Thạch Sanh down with a rope. Thạch Sanh carried his hammer to the bottom of the cave, following the spots of dried blood to a hall. There, he saw a girl crying and cooking herbal medicine for the evil bird. Thinking that was the princess Thúy Hoa, Thạch Sanh called her with a soft voice:

- Princess, don’t be afraid. My name is Thạch Sanh. I am looking for you by the King’s order.

The princess told Thạch Sanh about the evil hawk. He was transformed and became a cruel man now. He was wounded by Thạch Sanh’s arrow and was lying in his room. The princess had to serve him, prepared the herbal medicine for him.

Thạch Sanh asked the princess to bring medicine to the bird man as he followed behind. When the room door opened, Thạch Sanh jumped in and attacked the bird man with the hammer. Even though the bird man was very strong, the wound had slowed him down. After a big fight, Thạch Sanh managed to kill the bird man and watched him transform back to a big dead bird.

The princess happily thanked Thạch Sanh. Thạch Sanh lead the princess to the rope and gave signal so that Lý Thông pulled her up. Princess Thúy Hoa appreciated for Thạch Sanh save and wanted Thạch Sanh to go up with her. But Thạch Sanh politely asked the princess go up first. Then he will came later since the rope might not be strong enough for both of them.

Surprisingly, after rescuing the princess, Lý Thông ordered his army to hold the rope and throw big rocks down so that Thạch Sanh had no way to go up. Lý Thông wanted to kill Thạch Sanh so that he could claim the prize by himself. Being so shocked with Lý Thông merciless action, the princess became moveless and speechless.

Thạch Sanh waited and waited. No rope appeared but in its place were big falling rocks. Thạch Sanh did not understand what was going on. Confused, he walked deeper into the cave searching for a survival route. 

Suddenly, Thạch Sanh heard a girl crying. Following the sound, Thạch Sanh found two ladies imprisoned in a small room. Using his ax to break through the door, Thạch Sanh rescued the girls. They were the princesses of the King of the Ocean that the bird man had captured and imprisoned. The two princesses were mermaids in the ocean and became the girls upon stepping foot on land. Since the cave opening was blocked, the 2 princesses led Thạch Sanh inward to a small lake that connected to the ocean. With the help from the ocean princesses, Thạch Sanh was able to swim under water without any problems.

They all swam to the Royal palace at the bottom of the ocean where they were welcomed by the King of the Ocean. The King hosted Thạch Sanh for two weeks to say thanks to him. When Thạch Sanh came to say good bye to the King, he gave Thạch Sanh one special guitar, and a small pot for cooking rice. The King told him that the souvenirs can be useful in case of an emergency. They will help Thạch Sanh in difficult times. Then the two ocean princesses swam with Thạch Sanh back to the dry land. Thạch Sanh came home and lived in his small hut again.

On the other side, Lý Thông brought princess Thúy Hoa home and received a big award from the King. But Lý Thông could not marry the princess yet for she had been very sad and speechless. Lý Thông knew that she still remember Thạch Sanh who had saved her life. Lý Thông ordered the spies check for Thạch Sanh in the village from time to time. Knowing that Thạch Sanh had come back to his hut, Lý Thông made a plan to frame Thạch Sanh for stealing and to put Thạch Sanh into the central jail at the capital. Lý Thông would wait to kill Thạch Sanh some day later.

Thạch Sanh was surprised to get imprisoned for no reason. One day, feeling sad, Thạch Sanh played with the guitar that the King of the Ocean had given him. At first the guitar sounded normal. Then the music sound became louder and louder and echoed very far. The guitar strings sounded like a song:
“ Tic tic tang tang !
Who saved the princess from the cave so she can return home ? …”

Lonely in her room, the princess Thuy Hoa suddenly heard the song from the magic guitar. She stood up, voiced out and and started speaking again. She came to the King, told him everything about the merciless Lý Thông who had blocked the cave to kill Thạch Sanh. She also asked permission to see the guitarist.

After talking to Thạch Sanh, the King learned all the truth about Lý Thông. The King angrily order Lý Thông and his mom present. The King wanted to order capital punishment. But Thạch Sanh pledged for mercy since they were his friends. The King ordered them to leave the capital immediately. On the way home, Lý Thông and his mom were struck and killed by a thunder storm.

The King married Thạch Sanh and princess Thúy Hoa. Thạch Sanh became a general who took care of the guarding of the capital city.

A few year later, the neighboring armies invaded the country. The King order Thạch Sanh and his army go out to defend the country. The invading armies were bigger and stronger. At first, Thạch Sanh’s army was isolated and enclosed in a mountain area. His soldiers ran out of food. In that situation, Thạch Sanh calmly and cleverly arranged his army to hold up the defending position. He remember the small rice pot that the King of the Ocean had given him. Thạch Sanh used the pot to cook rice. After eating, the pot would magically refill itself and was never running out of rice. Thạch Sanh shared the food with his whole army so everybody could have enough food.

With his intelligence, patience, and strength, Thạch Sanh arranged many counterattacks. Gradually, Thạch Sanh’s army gained back the land which led to a full victory.

              La  le'gende de Thach Sanh

Autrefois, Il y avait bien longtemps, vivait un vieux couple bûcheron sans enfants. Il vivait une vie simple, coupant du bois pour l’échanger avec du riz et de la nourriture. Le couple priait pour avoir un enfant chaque jour. Dieu sentit devoir faire quelque chose et consentit à combler leur désir, de sorte que la vieille femme tomba enceinte. L’année suivante, elle mît au monde un fils en bonne santé. L’enfant fut nommé Thach Sanh

Thach Sanh grandit et devint un fort, beau et gentil garçon. Malheureusement, il devint orphelin à l’âge de 12 ans. Il vécut alors seul dans une maison minable sous le vieil arbre Banyan, loin dans les bois. Thach Sanh coupa du bois pour le feu et chassa pour vivre. Thach Sanh vécut décemment en vendant du bois de chauffage et en vendant les produits de sa chasse sur le marché. Etant très généreux, il partagea souvent ses gains avec les pauvres du village. De ce fait, il fut toujours pauvre et vécut une vie humble. Graduellement, Thach Sanh devint un beau, très respecté et solide jeune homme. Ses biens ayant le plus de valeur se résumaient à une grosse hache et à un ensemble d’arc et de flèches

Thach Sanh avait un ami nommé Lý Thông. Lý Thông était un homme d’affaire sournois qui vendait de l’épicerie de marché en marché. Il passait devant la case de Sanh Thach de temps en temps. Ils buvaient du thé et se racontaient des histoires. Ly Thông était un mauvais homme, mais prit goût à Thach Sanh. De temps en temps, il invitait Thach Sanh dans sa maison pour dîner et passer la nuit dans le village voisin. Ly Thông avait une vieille mère que Thach Sanh respectait à cause du souvenir de ses propres parents

Dans le village de Ly Thông, il y avait un monstre mangeur d'hommes. Comme personne ne pouvait tuer le monstre, le roi devait faire de la maison du monstre un temple et lui offrit un homme chaque année. C’était une affaire que de garder le monstre dans la forêt, loin du village, loin du peuple. Chaque année, les villageois tiraient à la loterie l'homme à sacrifier pour la nourriture du monstre. Le roi offrit un grand prix pour toute personne qui pourrait tuer le monstre

Malheureusement pour Lý Thông, cette année là, il gagna à la lotterie. Sachant que Thạch Sanh était bon et influençable aisément, Lý Thông conçut un plan pour tromper son ami.

Un soir de pleine lune, Lý Thông invita Thạch Sanh à dinner. Après un bon repas, Lý Thông dit à Thạch Sanh :
- Aujourd’hui, c’est mon tour d’offrir de la nourriture au temple du monstre, mais ma mère est malade. Pourrais-tu m’aider à apporter gâteau et fruit au temple ?

Thạch Sanh aida avec joie Lý Thông. A la lumière de la Lune, Thạch Sanh apporta sa hache et la nourriture au temple. Lorsque Thạch Sanh approcha le temple du monstre, il entendit un rugissement terrible. Il y avait là une odeur de mort et le son d’un craquement d’arbres qui s’abattent. Un énorme, affamé et terrible monstre avec des pinces aiguisées se jeta en sautant sur Thạch Sanh pour l’attaquer. Thạch Sanh répliqua bravement et calmement avec sa hache. Thạch Sanh combatit le monstre pendant deux heures sous la lumière de la Lune

Finalement, Thạch Sanh tua le monstre et le décapita. Il rapporta sa tête à la maison de Lý Thông. A ce moment, Lý Thông et sa mère étaient persuadés que Thạch Sanh était mort. Entendant frapper à la porte de la maison, ils pensèrent que c’était le fantôme de Thạch Sanh qui revenait pour eux. Ils tremblèrent et dirent :
-Thạch Sanh s’il vous plaît, pardonnez-nous. Nous sommes désolés de t’avoir trompé, mais nous vous serons reconnaissants et nous vous offrirons un mémorial chaque année

Entendant cela, Thạch Sanh compris la vérité au sujet du plan de Lý Thông, mais il répondit gentillement :
-Ne soyez pas désolés, je suis toujours en vie. J’ai juste tué le monstre et rapporté sa tête. Ouvrez la porte et vous verrez

Entendant la voix de Thạch Sanh, Lý Thông jeta un œil à travers une fente de la porte et l’ ouvrit . A leur surprise, Thạch Sanh se tenait debout près de la tête du monstre sanguinaire. Voyant l’effrayante tête, ils s’évanouirent tous les deux. Lorsqu’ils revinrent à eux Lý Thông trouva un autre moyen de tromper Thạch Sanh. Il prétendit d’être désolé :
-Ce monstre est l’animal domestique du roi, mais vous l’avez tué maintenant. C’est un crime important. Pourquoi ne vous échappez-vous pas immédiatement? Je prendrais soin de la tête.

Thạch Sanh pensa encore que Lý Thông était sérieux. Il retourna dans sa hutte dans la forêt. Lý Thông se précipita dans la capitale et prétendit au roi qu’il avait tué le monstre lui-même. Le roi heureux ordonna à un groupe de soldats de se rendre à la maison de Lý Thông pour rapporter la tête du monstre. La tête était si lourde qu’il fallut quatre soldats pour la transporter. Le roi accorda à Lý Thông beaucoup d’argent et de l’or et le nomma caporal-chef pour entraîner sa garde royale.

Le roi avait une jolie princesse nommée Thúy Hoa qui avait juste atteint l’âge de 18 ans. Il recherchait l’homme qu’il lui fallait. Un jour, alors que la princesse Thúy Hoa se promenait dans le jardin royal, un immense et démoniaque aigle s’abattit, captura et emporta la princesse au loin. Il se trouva que l’aigle passe au dessus de la hutte de Thạch Sanh. Entendant les cris d’appel à l’aide de la princesse, Thạch Sanh sortit et vît l’oiseau capturant une fille. Thạch Sanh courut après l’oiseau et visa son aile avec un arc et une flèche. Avec une aile blessée, l’oiseau essaya de s’éloigner en volant du mieux qu’il put. Thạch Sanh courut après l’oiseau et vît qu’il se dirigeait vers les montagnes au loin. Incapable de faire quelque chose de plus, Thạch Sanh essaya de se rappeler la direction du vent et retourna chez lui

Entendant les nouvelles douloureuses au sujet de la princesse, le roi ordonna à Lý Thông d’aller la chercher. Le roi promit également de lui donner la princesse en mariage s’ il pouvait la ramener saine et sauve. Lý Thông se sentit heureux mais inquiet. Il savait clairement qu’il n’y avait presqu’aucune chance la trouver. Finalement, il se rappela de Thạch Sanh et il vînt avec son armée à la maison de Thạch Sanh et raconta l’histoire à Thạch Sanh. Etant honnête, Thạch Sanh dit à Lý Thông qu’il avait vu l’oiseau et qu’il l’avait blessé avec une flèche. Lý Thông se sentit très heureux. Il demanda à Thạch Sanh d’aller avec son armée dans les montagnes. Ils trouvèrent une caverne où l’oiseau vivait. Thạch Sanh se porta volontaire pour descendre dans la caverne pour trouver la princesse.

Lý Thông descendit Thạch Sanh à l’aide d’une corde. Thạch Sanh emporta sa hache au fond de la caverne en suivant les taches de sang séchées jusqu’à une salle. Là, il vit la fille crier et cuisinant une herbe médicinale pour le démon. Pensant qu’il s’agissait de la princesse Thúy Hoa, Thạch Sanh l’appela d’une voie douce :
-Princesse, n’ayez pas peur. Je m’appelle Thạch Sanh. Je vous recherche au nom du roi.

La princesse dit ce qu’elle savait au sujet de l’aigle démoniaque. Il s’était transformé et était devenu maintenant un homme cruel. Il avait été blessé par la flèche de Thạch Sanh et il était étendu dans sa chambre. La princesse devait le servir et lui préparer l’herbe.

Thach Sanh demanda à la princesse d’apporter le médicament à l’homme oiseau en la suivant. Lorsque la porte de la chambre s’ouvrit, Thạch Sanh se précipita à l’intérieur et attaqua l’homme oiseau avec la hache. Bien que l’homme oiseau fût très costaud, la blessure l’avait affaibli. Après une grande attaque, Thạch Sanh arriva à tuer l’homme oiseau et le vit se transformer en un gros oiseau mort.

La princesse remercia chaudement Thạch Sanh. Thạch Sanh conduisit la princesse à la corde et donna le signal à Lý Thông pour la tirer. La princesse Thạch Sanh lui en fut reconnaissante. La princesse désira que Thạch Sanh remonte avec elle, mais Thạch Sanh poliment demande à la princesse d’y aller la première. Il remonterait après puisque la corde ne pourrait pas être assez solide pour tous les deux.

Sa façon surprenante, après avoir sauvé la princesse, Lý Thông ordonna à son armée de tenir la corde et de jeter de grosses pierres de façon à empêcher Thạch Sanh de remonter. Lý Thông voulait tuer Thạch Sanh pour réclamer le prix pour lui-même. Choquée par l’action sans merci de Lý Thông, la princesse devint impotente et muette

Thạch Sanh attendit sans fin. Aucune corde n’apparût, mais à la place de grosse pierres. Thạch Sanh ne comprit pas ce qui se passait. Troublé, il marcha à tâtons au plus profond de la caverne à la recherche d’une issue

Soudain, Thạch Sanh entendit le cri d’une fille. En suivant le son, Thạch Sanh trouva deux femmes emprisonnées dans une petite chambre. Thạch Sanh sauva les filles en utilisant sa hache pour briser la porte. C’étaient les princesses du roi de l’océan que l’oiseau homme avait capturées et emprisonnées. Les deux princesses étaient des sirènes dans l’océan et étaient devenues des filles en posant le pied sur la terre ferme. Puisque l’ouverture de la caverne était bloquée, les deux princesses conduites par Thạch Sanh vers l’intérieur à un petit lac qui était relié à l’océan. Avec l’aide des princesses de l’océan, Thạch Sanh put nager sous l’eau sans problème

Ils nagèrent tous au palais royal au fond de l’océan où ils furent accueillis par le roi de l’océan. Le roi hébergea Thạch Sanh pendant deux semaines pour le remercier. Lorsque Thạch Sanh vint dire au revoir au roi, le roi lui donna une guitare spéciale et un petit pot pour cuire le riz. Le roi lui dit que les souvenirs peuvent être utiles en cas d’urgence. Ils aideront Thạch Sanh en temps difficiles. Alors, les deux princesses de l’océan nagèrent avec Thạch Sanh jusqu'à la terre ferme. Thạch Sanh retourna vivre dans sa maison

De l’autre côté, Lý Thông rapporta la princesse Thúy Hoa à la maison et reçu une grosse récompense du roi. Mais Lý Thông ne pouvait encore se marier avec la princesse depuis qu’elle était muette et triste. Lý Thông savait qu’elle se rappelait toujours de Thạch Sanh qui avait sauvé sa vie. Lý Thông ordonna à ses espions de rechercher Thạch Sanh dans le village de temps en temps sachant que Thạch Sanh était revenu dans sa hutte. Lý Thông conçut un plan pour faire croire que Thạch Sanh avait volé afin de le mettre en prison dans la prison centrale de la capitale. Lý Thông tuerait alors Thạch Sanh quelques jours plus tard.

Thạch Sanh fut surpris d’être emprisonné sans raison. Un jour se sentant triste, Thạch Sanh joua de sa guitare que le roi de l’océan lui avait donnée. Tout d’abord le son de la guitare sembla normal. Puis le son de la musique devint de plus en plus fort et porta très loin. Les cordes de la guitare sonnaient comme une chanson.
« Tic tic tang tang ! » Qui a sauvé la princesse de la caverne pour lui permettre de retourner chez elle ?

Seule dans sa chambre, la princesse Thúy Hoa entendit soudainement la chanson de la guitare magique. Elle se leva, retrouva la parole et se remit à parler. Elle vint trouver le roi, lui dit tout au sujet du manque de charité de Lý Thông qui avait bloqué la caverne pour tuer Thạch Sanh. Elle demanda aussi la permission de voir le guitariste

Après avoir parlé à Thạch Sanh, le roi apprit toute la vérité au sujet de Lý Thông et de sa mère présente. Le roi voulut appliquer la peine de mort, mais Thạch Sanh plaida pour le pardon puisqu’ils étaient amis. Le roi ordonna qu’ils quittent la capitale immédiatement. Sur le chemin du retour à sa maison, Lý Thông et sa mère furent frappés et tués par un coup de tonnerre.

Le roi marria Thạch Sanh et la princesse Thúy Hoa. Thạch Sanh devint un général qui prit en charge la garde de la capitale

Quelques années plus tard, les armées de pays voisins envahirent le pays. Le roi ordonna à Thạch Sanh et à son armée de sortir pour défendre le pays. Les armées d’invasion étaient plus grosses et plus solides. Tout d’abord, l’armée de Thạch Sanh fut isolée et enfermée dans une région montagneuse. Ces soldats en vinrent à manquer de nourriture. Dans cette situation, Thạch Sanh calmement et de façon intelligente disposa son armée en position défensive. Il se rappela du petit pot pour cuire le riz. Après avoir mangé, the pot se remplit de nouveau magiquement sans qu’il ne manque jamais de riz. Thạch Sanh partagea la nourriture avec toute son armée de telle sorte que chacun puisse en avoir assez.

With his intelligence, patience, and strength, Thạch Sanh arranged many counterattacks. Gradually, Thạch Sanh’s army gained back the land which led to a full victory.

Plus tard, lorsque le roi devint vieux, il passa le trône à Thạch Sanh qui avec la princesse Thúy Hoa prit soin du pays et du peuple avec amour. Chaque habitant vécut heureux dans leur pays en paix./.