Once upon a time, there had a couple who lived in a small village. The wife was not a faithful woman she had a lover not her husband. The woman and her lover wanted to come to the other without any balk that the more early the husband died the more they felt happy. Though, they didn’t dare to kill him. Every day, the woman brought small feast to a temple near that and begged the God to make her husband die.
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At last, the bad behavior of the woman came to her husband. He followed his wife few times but still didn’t catch them in time but the habit of her going to temple whenever she went back from market made him doubt. One day, he made the way in temple, hid himself after a statue and waited.
As normal his wife went in and as usual she begged God to bring his wife away. The husband seemed not disappointed much he smiled because he got an idea.
“Come home”, the husband change his voice, “kill a hen and cook soup. Your husband eat, he will die”.
The holy voice spreading out from the statue in the temple made the wife think that God had accept her wish. She came home and did what she head heard. That afternoon, she slaughtered a hen and cooked a delicious soup for her husband. The husband finished the soup then he went to bed and started pretending he felt pained, very pained. The wife made her way staying by and caring him though she was the person who felt happy most. Later, her husband seemed exhausted he moveless, she immediately pulled blanket over him and then ran to find her lover, informed him. Her lover went back home with her he came to help her manage all things after her husband died. But the husband started changing his plan he sat up and requested his wife to boiled a big pot of water.
“Why’d you need a boiled water pot husband?” said his wife.
“I feel so bad”, he said, “I’m about to go to death. I think so. So, I wanna clean before I die”.
The wife believed and so that she went out to boiled a pot of water while the lover hid himself in a big terracotta jar. Of course, they couldn’t cover the husband’s eyes.
The water was boiled and the wife now was on the way getting cool water to mix with hot water for her husband to bath. While the husband was staying at home, he brought the pot of hot water and then poured over whole the jar where the lover was in. And so the lover died without any saying. When his wife came home all things had finished.
“No. I don’t need to bath. Now I feel unpleasant and just want to go somewhere”, said the husband.
Then he left. The wife was concerning because her lover was in house she turned relieved as her husband wanted to go out. She waited for her husband’s back vanished, hurriedly she sprinted to the jar, opened it.
“Hurry up! Go! Go!” she said, “Go out before my husband back”.
But her lover didn’t move. Of course a dead couldn’t.
“Why’d you smile?” said her as she caught him baring teeth at sight but she didn’t need long time to discover her lover had died. She turned anxious.
“Alas! What should do now? If anyone find out, my can’t keep my head on neck”, she muttered.
Suddenly, she caught an idea. People lived next to there were alcohol makers. They cooked rice-alcohol and stuff after cooking rice-alcohol was poured into jars which were same as the jar there.
“Right! I only need to bring this jar and place it in crowd of the same jars”, she thought.
That night, she found the way to her neighbor’s house. It’s not difficult because the fence between their house had broken. All things happened fastly and in silent no one caught her.
Next morning, as usual Hoa, her neighbor, brought the stuff, poured into a jar but when she opened one, she nearly fainted a corpses by someway sat neatly in one of her jars. She nearly screamed but she stopped.
“Gosh! Someone wants to harm me”, she said, “If anyone find out, I’m sure that all things I have now will vanish.”
Then she made the way finding her daughter. He daughter was known as a clever girl. They both went in bedroom and started whispering. Short time later, what people saw were nice clothes, jewelries and others like that placed on whole of their front yard.
The things immediately attracted two thieves who lived in that village. The thieves crossed their house when they were on the way to pub.
“Valuable all of them”, said one, “I have never thought she has that richness”. Then they left.
That night, the thieves visited to the house and they didn’t need long time to find a coffer which used to be to contain valuable things was standing in middle of living room. They didn’t think to much, brought the coffer away.
When the coffer was brought to house of one, they unlocked it. And they both startled as what they saw under lamplight was a corpses.
“That’s why the coffer’s so heavy”, said one.
“Right! I have ever thought there are many jewelries in this coffer”, said the other.
“We had been fooled”, said one again.
“We must reply”, said the other again.
“Course! But we need to handle this corpses”, said one again.
At last, they brought the corpses away and secretly buried it.
A week later, when the daughter of Hoa, the alcohol maker, was on the way to market. When she crossed a wild place, the thieves in somewhere appeared.
“You and your mother fooled us. Well, very well”, said one.
“You think you will be safe in the rest of you lives”, said the other.
“Money, jewelries and all things valuable on you. Give us now”, said one again.
“Please! Don’t harm me”, said the girl. She feared but in a sudden she caught a plan.
“If you want much money, bring me to port and sell me to traders”, said the girl, “The money I bring is not enough for you to drink few times”.
The thieves turned to the other.
“She’s right”, said one.
“Yes, she’s right”, said the other.
“You will not run”, said one again.
“If you run, you will die”, said the other.
They went and when they nearly arrived to the port, she asked them to stop.
“Merchant ships are in front. I will go and negotiate. Men are not good in this.” said the girl, “When I beckon you both come and get your money”.
The thieves agreed and then she left, went toward a merchant ship. She found the owner of the merchant ship.
“Hey boss”, she said, “I have two slaves, strong and hard word. They are very obedient but I’m in some case needing money so I will sell in very cheap price. Ten silver coins”.
The owner of merchant ship was very pleasant because the price she gave him was too low. He hurry her to bright them to come on his ship. She didn’t, just stood there and pointed at them. She explained:
“They are people who lived in highland, very afraid of water so I don’t dare to bring them to there because they will run if they see water. If you want them, give me money and then find some people who can catch and bring them to here with tied arms and feet. Remember, don’t untie them after your ship left”, said the girl.
The ship owner agreed he gave her money. And then he asked some people to leave and catch the thieves.
The girl beckoned and the thieves followed her hint going to the ship to get money as what they had said before but they still didn’t landed on the ship, they had caught by some strangers who tied and put rags into their mouths. They were brought to the ship and threw into deck while the girl made her way vanishing.
When the ship left, the owner asked people to untie them and the first thing they did was jumping out of the ship they swam back shore. The owner asked people to chased after them but the people were not familiar with the place while the thieves knew exactly each road in there. So, they could not catch them.
The thieves escaped but it’s too late to back their homes now. They found the way to an ancient tree and planned to rest at there. One climbed up first and he didn’t think that he could meet the girl here. The girl because of dark also hid herself there.
“Yes. I think that you will escape from the people and so that one day we can meet again and get married”, said the girl in happy voice.
“Really! You think that”, said one.
“Yes, I do”, said the girl, “but you have to keep of your fellow. I don’t want you to do with him and work as a thief more”.
“Swear!” said the one.
“It’s too normal. I want you and me to lick the other’s tongue”, said the girl.
I have to say that licking the others’ tongue is hideous act ancient people do when they want the others not to betray their words. Of course, they do.
The thief stuck his tongue and as fast as she could, the girl bit it, his tongue. The top of his tongue was bitten off, very pained he could controlled himself and then he fell down. The other under the tree was frightened as he saw his fellow fall down and bleeding. He immediately ran, ran away from the terrible place.
THE END
"Translator: Hung Nguyen"
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