Skip to main content

Mr. Short and Mr. Long.

Once upon a time, farmer couple was very old but they hadn’t given birth to a child. They used to beg God to give them a child but it seemed their begging didn’t come to God. One day, the husband came back from field and saw two strange eggs which were blue and as big as golf balls. The husband brought the eggs to home and let his wife see. Later, he planned to jettison them but the wife prevented him.
“Don’t”, she said, “I want to know what will break out from those eggs”. The she placed the eggs next to their fireplace. Few days later, something started breaking eggshells.
“Come on! Look, they started breaking out”, said the wife to her husband who was hurrying in from outside.
“Omg! Pretty”, said the wife, looking warmly on two blue baby snakes which were blinking at them.
“Disgusting!” said the husband, “Had better we kill them before they can grow up and harm us”.
“It’s so cruel husband”, said the wife, “Look! So sweet”, she looked at the snake which was rubbing its head on her finger, “They think I am their mother. We need to take care of those babies”.
“Well”, the husband said, looking at the other snake which was looking at him by its innocent enormous eyes, “You can be right”.
vietnamese fairy tales
The snakes were agile and wise they used to follow the husband to field after his plow finding things to eat. They grew up so fast that only short time they had been as big as the big toe. One day, one snake due to following the plow to close was cut into two.
“Omg! Awful”, said the wife, running toward the snake which was writhing painfully on ground. She picked it up and carefully bandaged its injury it lost a little tail. “That must be so pained, right? But now it will be oke” she said while the other snake and the husband were looking to them nervously.
From that time, the injured snake was called Short and the other Long. Though they were nurtured by human, they still kept their wildness they used to catch and kill chickens belonging to   people who lived around. Short seemed to have more wildness than its fellow since it was injured. People could easily discover the thieves so that they made their way to the couple’s house and scolded them.
“We can’t keep them anymore. We need to let them go”, said the husband and his wife agreed. They brought them to a river, let them down on ground.
“Go and live your lives our son”, said the wife.
When Short and Long vanished in water, the couple made its way to home. That night, they appeared in the couple’s dreams and informed that they were allowed to rule the river by king of sea, Long Vuong, and rivers.
From that time Short and Long was respected as like gods in that area. They built a temple to worship them and called them Mr. Short and Long. But, Mr. Short turned wilder and more amorous that it used to sink boats to get treasures or beautiful women. The couple heard about the thing so they did go to the riverside to request Mr. Short stopped but it didn’t.
One day, merchant ship went to that river. The owners of that ship were a young couple who had a job to do at there. The mistress was a beautiful woman her beauty made Mr. Short infatuated. At night, when people still awoke, two emerged from water they brought presents and placed them front the husband and said:
“Those are presents my lord, Mr. Short gift you. He has never done things like this but he want to have your wife in peace”, said the women.
He husband was so angry the shouted:
“Bring the presents back to your lord and talk him to stop his bad behaviors. I don’t scare him and I will never let him have my wife”.
When he finished his words, the women disappeared. Though assumed as if he didn’t scare Mr. Short, stories people told him about Mr.Short frightened him. He hurriedly left the ship with his wife they went deeply in village but Mr. Short didn’t let them have chance to do that it chased after them, used its power to make a rainfall and strong winds to prevent their steps. Therefore, the husband had no choice but to bring his wife went in a temple near there. They stayed in the temple waiting for the rain to stop but it didn’t the rain took place all night. Next morning, when the husband woke up he found out that his wife had gone. He followed footsteps, ran toward the riverside but what he saw was only his wife’s clothes which was left on ground.
Too sad, he decided to stay at there and found chance to revenge. He wandered around that area each day. Months had passed but he still didn’t have his chance. One day, he met a whimsical   fortune teller on street. He approached the fortune teller and asked him about his future.
“You are in trouble?” said the fortune teller.
“Can you speak more clearly?” he said.
“Your wife was kidnapped by some guy powerfull”, said the fortune teller.
“You are right.” He said, “How is she now, my wife? Can I meet her again?”
“I can let you know I am Bach Hau who was responsible for making rain at there. Mr. Short was my fellow but I can accept what he did. Though he was powerful but he can not stand against our king. So, I will help you accuse him. Firstly, we need to find out where your wife is that will be the best witness”.
“So now, you need to follow me”, added Bach Long.
Immediately, the husband kneeled he bowed his head deeply that was the best way he could to show his gratitude. Later, he followed Bach Long. When the arrived to riverside, Bach Long asked him to shut his eyes. Water parted, showed a path. They followed the path which led them to an island in middle of sea. They stayed on that island one night. The next morning, before Bach Long left
“Do you have something that made your wife realize you?” he asked.
“Yes”, said the husband, “I have a hair brooch of my wife”.
Bach Long took the brooch and hurriedly went. Two days later, he came back.
“Your wife still loves you so much. I mean she is a faithful wife. Tomorrow”, he highed his voice, “I will bring you to my king to accuse and we will request your wife to be the witness. But, the first thing you need to do was writing a letter”.
It only needed there days for the case. Mr. Short had never thought that the wife would be the witness because he and she had had a child. The king of sea was very unsatisfied about Mr. Short.
“Exile him to the most remote area. This woman is allowed to come back and live with her husband.” the king judged. “And, child will come with his father, Mr. Short”.
The day Mr. Short left, inhabitants living in the river he ruled gathered so crowded to say goodbye. Mr. Short and soldiers had gone toward the north for many days.
“Where is this?” they asked inhabitants in there.
“This is the end of this country”, they said, “If you continue going, you will go to other country.”
“Here is the place we will stay.” He said, turning to soldiers. All of them found the way to go in a river. The river that time was rule by a strong creature, Thuong Luong. Thuong Luong didn’t want to share this river with Mr. Short so that they had a fighting to find out who was the lord of the area. A dreadful fighting had happened that ruined riverside, broke people’s houses standing by riversides and also taken away people’s lives. After the fighting, many creatures in water died. Mr. Short had many injuries on body, Thuong Luong also had serious injuries and lost an ear. The news of the fighting came to king of them he sent a messenger to them and transmited his order. The king wanted them to divide the river in two and each of them ruled a part and no one was allowed to create more fighting. The king’s order was transmitted and none dared to refuse. Mr. Short placed a big rock which looked like a skull on a riverside and Thuong Luong placed a big bell on the other side and they were boundary. Though, Thuong Luong still felt unhappy that Thuong Luong didn’t like to share the area to any other. Therefore, Thuong Luong always found the way to create a fighting. Whenever people heard the bell ring that was the time a dreadful fighting started. The behavior of Thuong Luong was reported to their king so later, their king ordered underlings to go and enchain Thuong Luong. They gave Thuong Luong to a mountain-god near that to guard and Mr. Short was allowed to rule whole the river.
Now day, the river is known as the name Ki Cung. It flows through Lang Son province there still has a big rock on a side and an enchained bell hung in an ancient temple on the other side. People told that the enchained bell was the embodiment of Thuong Luong, the creature was guarded there.
THE END
"Translator: Hung Nguyen"

Book Introductions

1. Complete Collection of Vietnamese Fairy Tales - A Treasury of Legends and Folklore

Discover over 240 enchanting Vietnamese fairy tales, translated into English and beautifully illustrated. This collection is a treasure trove of legends and folklore that reflect Vietnam's rich cultural heritage. Available as an ebook on: Kobo, Apple Books

2. Vietnamese Fairy Tales - Stories in English and Vietnamese

This bilingual collection features 162 Vietnamese fairy tales in both English and Vietnamese, with stunning illustrations. Ideal for language learners and cultural enthusiasts. Available as an ebook on: Kobo, Apple Books

3. The Treasury of Fables

An enchanting collection of timeless fables, written in English and beautifully illustrated. Perfect for all ages, these stories offer valuable moral lessons. Available as an ebook on: Kobo, Apple Books

Read more: 
List of Vietnamese fairy tales
Tale 154: Wishing pearl
Tale 155:  Bride of prince
Tale 157: Nhu Mai and Xuan Huong
Tale 158: Grasshopper lawsuit
Tale 159: Bee girl
-----
Truyện cổ tích Việt nam (For people who can read Vietnamese) 
Vietnamese historical stories (For people who love history)

Essential Reads: Engaging Books You Can't Miss!

Nhãn:

Comments

Post a Comment

BÀI ĐĂNG ĐƯỢC XEM NHIỀU

List of Vietnamese fairy tales

Vietnamese  fairy tales includes many stories as Tam and Cam; So Dua; Hundred – knot- bamboo tree... which were spread in folk. Each stories has  its own meaning. I think I can not translate exactly each word into english but I will try my best to convey its meaning to you. Hope you like them!
1 comment
Read more

The liar Cuội

A boy named Cuoi had lost his parent when he was child he lived with his uncle and aunt. He was co clever but used to lie and he always had his fun whenever people had been cheated. A landlord had heard about him but he didn’t think that he could lie him so he called him came and asked. “I hear you are very well in cheat. Now I sit at here, if you can make me go to the door I will give you this pocket of coins. People here will be witnesses for my words.”, said the landlord. Cuoi expressed as if he was feeling embarrassed. “You have prepared before you sit here so I can not make you go to the door. Now if you stand at the door I can make you come in.”, said Cuoi. The landlord thought what Cuoi had said was true so he stood up and sprinted to the door. But when he came to the door he saw Cuoi was laughing and clapping his hand. “I’ve cheated you.”, said Cuoi. The landlord lost for words and was forced to give him the pocket of coins. vietnamesefairytales.blogspot.co...
Read more

Thuong Luong

Thuong Luong was common name of creatures which are in people’s imagines. They are distant relatives of dragons. While dragons are worshiped as gods, the gods ruled rivers and sea and the gods can make rains, Thuong Luong is not respected as dragons that the creatures are too amorous, combative, wild, and have bad behaviors. All most of them like to harm people.
3 comments
Read more

Thanh Giong

Once  upon a time, a woman was old but she had not given birth a child. One day, when she went to her field, she saw a stranger footsore on the ground. The big footsore made her surprise and said: “omg, this footsore is so big” the she put her foot into the footsore. More 9 months later, she gave birth to a little boy named Giong. The boy was extraordinary that he was over three years old but had not spoken. He only knew lying and smiling. vietnamesefairytales.blogspot.com That year, the enemies they were known An planed to attack the country of the boy. They were merciless. Wherever they had gone, houses were ruined, fields were fired, people were killed. The sight behind them is mess of corpse and blood and ashes.The King was worry he forced his servants to look for person who could fight against the enemies.  One day, a servent went to Giong’s village while the woman was holding the boy in her arms, she said sadly that: “Giong, I wonder that when you hav...
Read more

The Tale of the Hundred - knot Bamboo tree

Once upon a time, there had a boy who was poor, had no field. Therefore, he found the way to work for a landlord. He was healthy, worked hard and great in working so the landlord wanted him to work for him long time without any pay. One day, he called the boy to come. "You are honest and healthy. If you agree to work for me in three years without pay, I will let you marry with my only daughter after that." The boy agreed. He believed completely. He worked very hard, help the landlord turn richer that he could build more houses, buy more fields and cattles. Then, time passed. Three years nearly crossed, the boy always remembered his master's promise while his master, the landlord didn't want to do his promise. He in secret had found another boy for his daughter, a son of another landlord in that area. Therefore, what he need was a reason to refuse the boy. One day, he called the boy to come. "You have worked very hard for three years, waken early, slept late....
Read more

Idiot

Once  upon a time, there was an idiot whose name was Ngoc. Ngoc had a wife who didn’t like him to stay home and do nothing. One day, when they were sitting by the other, his wife told: “Husband you can’t continue doing nothing. You must find a job to do if you want to live with me in long time” “Do what?” said Ngoc, “I don’t know write or read and besides, not smart as others so what can I do?” “Do business”, said his wife. “Business? What?” said Ngoc. “All things which bring to you benefit”, said his wife, “Firstly, you can buy and sell chickens and ducks. Later, you can buy and sell wood”. Few days later, Ngoc brought money and set off. He remembered his wife’s saying so that he found the way to trade ducks. He didn’t need long time to find what he need. He saw ducks they were about dozen of ducks swimming in the lake which was by his way but they were wild ducks and he didn’t know that so he walked to find the owner of the ducks. He saw some children near that....
Post a Comment
Read more

Wishing pearl

De was a young boy. His parent was servants of a landlord. Every morning, De led landlord’s cattle to meadow and brought them back at nightfall. De used to be excited in playing with his fellows and when he was in his game he didn’t care anything. Many times the cattle he herded ate rice on field and the owners used to beat him pained but he still left cattle and joined in his fellows. One normal day, he and his fellows had a swimming competition. An award was given to the winner that he couldn’t refuse. Therefore, he participated in the competition and left his cattle on a wild hill. They swam and dived in water until noon and when they walked on ground, a cow had disappeared. The cow belonged to no one but his master. Children separated to find the cow but the cow seemed to vanish they couldn’t find it. Sun was going to down, children made their ways to home they left De staying at there. Day stayed at there alone crying. After that, he fell in sleep. Latter, he was woken up b...
Post a Comment
Read more

Story 12: General Thuong Kiet Ly

His birth name is Tuan Ngo, an offspring of Quyen Ngo. He was borned in 1019 at Thai Hoa ward, Thang Long (now Hanoi). When he was child, he early showed brave and martial spirit what were inherited from his family who had been generals, dedicating to Ly dynasty. His father, An Ngu Ngo was also one of them he was a great general. When he was 13 years old, he lost his father and was taken care by his aunt and her husband. Tuan Ngo was taught by Cong An Ly, a royal great teacher at that time. His teacher complimented that he had talent but he headed to be a general instead of a mandarin. Therefore, he studied literature in daytime and research art of warfare in night time. When he was enough 18 years old, he opened a martial class. People coming and studying were crowded. The news came to the recent king who summoned him to castle and conferred him to be a low martial mandarin. Two years later, he became the king’s guard staying by the king entire day. That time, the king realize...
Post a Comment
Read more

Bài 1.5: Cách sử dụng at, on, in cho thời gian, ngày, tháng, năm, mùa.

Chào các bạn! Bởi vì mình có hay dich truyện và một vài thứ linh tinh khác nên thường bắt gặp ngày, tháng năm. Thật ra khôngkhó để sử dụng đúng nhưng mỗi lần cần đến mình lại phải tra lại tra cứu. Điều đó rất mất thời gian nên hôm nay mình viết một bài liên quan đến at, on, in + thời gian để giúp bạn nào chưa biết và giúp chính mình nhớ được cách sử dụng của các giới từ at, on, in và dạng thời gian được theo sau giới từ đó.
Post a Comment
Read more