Skip to main content

The tale of "Banh Chung" and "Banh Day"

Once upon a time, that had a king who was so old so he wanted to abdicate. He had had few wives who had given bird twelve sons. All of his sons had grown up and also were great people. The King was confused about choosing.
“All of them are talent people. It is so difficult that I can choose a person and nobody can be jealous” said the King.
vietnamese fairy tales
vietnamesefairytales.blogspot.com
“My Lord the king, we can have a contest” said a servant.
“Oh, it is a good idea but what is subject of the contest?” said the king
 “Meaning dishes, which we can put on ancestral altar” said the servant.
“Great, let’s doing” said the king.
The king called his son to come on and said: 
“My sons, I don’t have many time and I want one of you to become the king. Now, anybody who can find dishes which not only are delicious but still have great meaning to put on ancestral altar will become the king.” 

After hearing, princes raced to find. They went to all directions, collected all extraordinary and rare dishes. Whatever dishes they heard they also tried to find.
Lang Lieu who was 8th prince lost his mother when he was a child. Therefore, he had lived alone and now he had no helping. When rest of the princes forced their servant raced to find, Lang Lieu was lying on his bed thinking. He had thought about dishes he had eaten in his life for few hours until he fell in sleep. He dreamt. In his dream, he saw himself and other princes were in the contest. When rest of princes had started cooking he, in other hand, still didn’t know how to do. Suddenly, an angle flew from sky down front him. 
“Lang Lieu, I come here to help you” said the angle.
“How should I do?, ” said Lang Lieu
“Nothing was bigger than the sun and the earth; nothing was more precious than rice”, she added, “come here and give me a hand”.
She asked him to clean glutinous rice and she went to collect mug beans. While she was making cakes she also explaining.
“Those cakes, we will call “Banh Chung”, symbolize the earth so they have to be square. Mug beans and meat are filled into the cakes to symbolize plants and animals which are living in the earth. The earth are covered by trees and field so you must cover the cakes by green leaves.” Then she tied cakes.
“So, it has done. Now we will make cakes symbolize the sun, we will call “Banh Day”. The cakes will be round and white” she said. Then she ground glutinous rice and molded.Then she put all cakes into two big pots then poured water and cooked.
Lang Lieu had woken up as that time cakes were being cooked. He started making cakes like the cakes in his dream.
The contest was coming. While others brought luxurious dishes, rare dishes or extraordinary dishes Lang Lieu, in other hand, brought simple cakes which were not attracted. Everyone also mowed and shook their heads as they saw the cake but when they ate them all of them couldn’t prevent themselves to talk a praise.
“Wow, it is so delicious”, said a noble, “extraordinary flavor was from simple things”.
Hung Vuong also surprised as he had eaten a piece. He flipped it down and up to observe but he didn’t find out anything. He asked Lang Lieu how to make the cakes. Lang Lieu talked him recipes and also the strange dream.
Over afternoon, Hung Vuong announced the winner.
“The 8th will be come the next king” said the king, then he took up “Banh Chung” and “Banh Day” over his head and added: “They were not only delicious but also take great meanings. They symbolize the earth and the sun and also field where we spend time and effort. It is so simple and also extraordinary, easy making. Only Lang Lieu who is talent person could imagine”.
Lang Lieu, after being the king, had still made the cakes to put on ancestral altar on Tet holiday which tradition was maintained to now day.  
THE END
"Translated by 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

Ebook Banner

Essential Reads: Engaging Books You Can't Miss!

Read more:
-----

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!

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...

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...

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.

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....

So dua - Coconut boy

Once upon a time, there in a village had a couple who worked as servants for a landlord. Although they were over fifty years old, they had ever not had a child. They were sad about that, but they had never given up to dream about a child. One day, it's a very hot day, when the wife was working in the field and felt very thirsty. She seeked for water, but she didn't see any but a little water in a skull which was in a hole beside an ancient tree. She had no choice but to drink it. Right the moment she drank, the feeling of cold water running from her throat to her stomach made her felt very comfortable. As a magic, she was pregnant after that short time. Then, the husband died before he got the happiness looking his child be born. After nine months and ten days, the wife gave birth a son but he didn't look like any child on the world. He had no feet, no leg, and even no body. He just had a head with full of eyes, nose, ear, hair and mouth on it. He didn't ugly but was ...

The tale of apricot blossom

Once  upon a time, in a village nearby forest where a little girl living with her family, father, mother and sister. Though she was only little girl, she had a big heart. She was very kind loving everyone. Even three stone statues of Kitchen God she also spent them her kindness. The stone statues were set in kitchen next to fireplace and always were heated by fire that made her felt pity. One day, that was the hottest day in summer, she that time was a five-year-old girl taking a jug of water and poured on the statues. Steam rose and the God of kitchen appeared. “Oh my little girl! I know you love me and don’t want I am heated. Yes, I know but the more I am heated the more I feel satisfied”, said the God of kitchen. Since that time she hadn't poured water on the statues but God of kitchen sometime appeared to converse with her and her old sister. “Do you like anything else but fire?”, she asked in a time they met. “Of course, I want a carp. Tet holiday is going to com...

Reluctant doctor

Once  upon a time, there was where a farmer whose name’s Tan lived. He was clever and timid man but with his wife he seemed not to treat her well that made her hate him and always found the chance to let him know the feeling when some body was beaten. That’s the feeling she used to get. One day when the wife was on the way to market, she heard some body, exactly that’s king's messenger, finding a doctor to cure princess.  A fish bone was stuck in princess’ throat and couldn’t take it out. It hurt the princess very much. So, her father, the king, who loved her much sent messengers to whole of the country to find doctors to help his daughter take the fish bone out. Anyone who could do the thing would have a worthy award money and name. The wife made her way to the messenger. “Dear sir,” she said, “I know a person. Best of best doctors. He can cure even people who nearly die”. “Really? What you just said”, said the messenger. “Yeah. That’s right but his behavior i...