Five-color- rat

Once upon a time, a student lived in wealthy family. His parent treated him generously. When he was 20 years old, his parent held for him a wedding. His wife was a beautiful and faithful woman. The new couple had to separate half year latter as the student followed his father’s words coming and studying with a teacher who lived distantly. The student said goodbye his wife and his parent brought an old servant and set off. Because of distance and busying in study, the student had not come back home for a half year.

One night, the wife suddenly woke up as he felt a man was approaching to her bed. That is her husband.

“When did you come back?”, said the wife.

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“I’ve just come”, replied the student.

“Why don’t you wake parent up while am preparing your food?”, asked the wife.

“Don’t wake up them. They will scold me because I didn’t let them know that I come back. I miss you so much so I go home just to meet you”, said the student.

Then they turned off the lamp and went to bed. The student left at early morning.

The next morning the student came back again. The wife felt doubting. She asked:

“Your school was so distant. Why can you leave and come back in a day?”

“Because I miss you so I has hid our parent and studied with a teacher who stays nearly that helps me could leave and come here in day”, “Promise, don’t let any body know that”, replied the student.

From that time, each few days the student came home. The wife was loved her husband so she kept the thing secretly. Therefore, none knew, including the student’s parent. But the wife's health declined clearly each day. Half year later, felt that their daughter-in-law seemed to be too weak so they sent a letter to his son and allowed him to come home.

The wife felt normal as she saw her husband. On other hand, the husband seemed to be very happy. He talked very much. He said her that he missed her very much and how much he felt happy as he was allowed to come home but the wife didn’t replied. The husband thought that his wife was angry with him so he turned to her and said sweet words but the wife still didn’t say any thing. The student turned away and pretended that he was angry. That moment, the wife started saying.

“You acted as if this is the first time you come back. You can pretend front of parent but don’t pretend front of me”, said the wife.

“I don’t understand what you talk about. Explain me”, said the student.

The wife said him what had happened for half year the she turned to his husband and asked:

“The man who had red mole on neck and a scar on forehead is not you, is he?”

When the student had heard she said, he knew that she had a mistake so he creamed and cried painfully. His parent sprinted to as they heard their son cried. After hearing the student said about what he had done in whole last half year, she bursted in to tears. That time, he knew that the man she had slept with for half year wasn’t her husband. She cried so painfully and nearly banged her head against the wall. Fortunately, others prevented her on time. The they all advised her not to do that till she felt relieved and gave up to die.

Few days later, the student and old servant came back school. The wife got calm back. Besides, his father had gone to temple and asked for incantation papers, he stuck them to the wall. He asked his daughter-in-law to scream as the man came back so that people who stayed near that would round him immediately.

Few days pass that was nothing happening. One night, suddenly they heard the wife creamed. They all sprinted and rounded the room. When they broke in they saw the wife was grabbing a man’s hair who was yelling. They caught and tied the man but when they turned on the lamp the person was not any one but the student. Student’ mother bursted into tears and untied the man immediately.

People who living in the village came to have a sight. They all were sure that was the student.

“He is exactly your son”, said some of them.

The father immediately asked servant to go and call his son who was in school back home. The student after heard the news came back home at in the next day. Now, front of people was two people who seemed to be one person but they were two. None could realize who was false though there were people who were his relatives.

At last, they tied both of them and escorted to district mandarin. As them district mandarin couldn’t do more, he asked soldiers to escort them to province mandarin at one. Mandarin wasted days considering but as district man he found nothing. The case was brought the king.

The king was wise person who had judged many difficult cases.

When they, the student and fake student, was brought to the king. Firstly, the king ordered soldiers to take off their clothes at one. King and mandarins approached them to consider but that was not like their expectation two people liked the other as two drops of water, the red mole on their necks, the scar and including the mole on secret place. They had no difference. The king turned to mandarins and said:

“One of them is a ghost”.

“My king, I have heard that ghosts are invisible in light. It means light will went through them and they will not have shadow. So, I think we should let them stand under sun and find out who has not shadow”, said one of mandarins.

They were ordered to stand under sun at one but they both had their shadows on ground.

Later, the king started asking them about their life, their relatives, their habits and all things the king could think about but they both had same answers though there were very small things. The king and including mandarins seemed to have not more idea. They nearly gave up.

At last, the king and servants went to Phu Dong temple to ask god to help them. God showed up in a person’s body and said:

“It is a five-color-rat which has lives for long time and studied some magic. Therefore, you can not use normal ways to find out it. King of heaven had a gemstone which can make it go back his shape but the king was very busy. That means it is very difficult to borrow the gemstone. Therefore, I will try my best to help you”, two glittering papers flew down from the sky and dropped on the person hands, “bring those papers back and stick on their backs. I will come later”.

The person fainted after the words.

“God has gone”, said the king. They came back at one and stick papers on student and fake student’s back.

Suddenly, one of them quivered then dark clouds came, wind blew up, lighting thundered. That made people had to find their way avoided from the place where student and fake student were standing. The place, now, was covered by dark clouds, fog, dusts which followed wind running around the place. Later, clouds went away, winds stopped, dusts and fog disappeared. People, that time, could saw clearly the student was standing by rat, a gigantic rat which had five-color-fur; the color of hair on his mouth was white silver color that meant it had a very long life. The rat, course, had died.

The case, because of that, was clarified. The king ordered soldiers to burn the rat and threw ashes down the sea. The wife got well again half year later.

THE END

"Translated by Hung Nguyen"

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