The swindler

Once upon a time, a couple lived in the country worked business people. The husband used to have travels on ship to sell or buy goods.

One day, when goods had been stacked on the ship the husband said goodbye the wife and went. He went to Ha chau where he had never come but people talked that the place gave people chances to get more money.

They were on the sea five days before came a port city. The husband asked sailors to anchor. They planned to find an inn but as they just stepped on the ground a woman had approached.

“We hear that a merchant ship has come so we want to have a relationship with you. If you don’t belittle our inn”, the woman turned his face to a massive building standing nearly, “I invite you to come and stay in few days.”, said the woman.

The husband had a little doubt but the woman didn’t let him more time to think. Waiters and waitresses went out to welcome them from the building all of them were in uniform clothes. The husband thought: “This is the first time I come here and known very little about here but they were friendly people. It may be a good thing”.

Then the husband agreed and pretended as if he was not a new person who was here in the first time. Waiters and waitresses managed a feast to welcome the husband. The husband was very pleasant he had never been treated as that. Then the woman led him to go around the building. She pointed him golden oil lamps and antique valuable vases and other luxurious funiture. The husband felt interested a golden turtle he reached his hand to the golden turtle. The woman immediately intruduced about the golden turtle. She said him that was the thing she had inherited from her family.

That night, they organized a great feast. The woman was in attractive clothes served wine to them, him and sailors. Then they were led to rooms to sleep. The husband and sailors had no doubt so they had deeply sleeps.

The next morning, they woke up the woman was happy to serve them with great feast as the before night. The husband couldn’t refuse but when they asked the woman to go and nearly reached their ship the woman, waiters and waitresses sprinted after and called them stopped.

“Sir, we has lost our golden turtle”, “I think one of you has a mistake”, said the woman.

It was so serious but the husband trusted his fellows he knew that all of them were honest people. But, he had never thought that the woman was a swindler with many followers and always made others in guilty case to take their assets. Many people had been swindled and lost their assets in her hand. Because of that the woman was wealthy person with many valuable things.

The day, she was reported that a ship stacking full of goods would come and the master was a person who went here in the first time. Therefore, she planned to cheat the husband. The night, as the husband and sailors was enjoying the feast the woman pretended as if she came to check the goods then they brought the golden turtle and set it on the ship.

Then, now, she convicted them and asked to search on their ship but the husband didn’t allow them to do that because they had to unstack for searching and that was the worst thing for a business as they had to unstack their goods.

“Madam, I agree the thing only if a mandarin come and ask us to unstack our goods”, said the husband.

The woman asked his servants to invite a mandrin to come. As the mandarin came she reported him about the thievery and the husband was the thief. The husband explained to the mandarin that he and his sailors were honest people.

“What will you do if you can not find the thing on my ship?”, said the husband.

“I will lose my building and all things are in it for you. How if I find the golden turtle on your ship?”, asked the woman.

“I will lose my ship and goods for you”, the husband roared.

Then they made a commitment front the mandarin’s face. Course, soldiers found the golden turtle. The husband and saidors didn’t believe their eyes but that was real they couldn’t explain any more. Therefore, the woman got the ship with full of goods. The husband and saidors had to be the woman’s servant because of their guilty. They had to work hard and stay in their workplace.

The husband worked as a herdsman. Though that was hard work but the thing which made him felt sad was he and saidors were separated and none stayed with other one. Three years passed, he found out how the woman swindled others.

One day, he rode horses along a river he meet a man who sat on road. The mad set grapefruit front his face. Be curious the husband asked the man to buy the grapefruit but the man shook his head, he said:

“The grapefruit is not used to eat.”

“What is it used for?”, said the husband.

“To send a letter for anyone in any where.”, said the man.

The husband missed his wife who had waited him for three years with no letter. Then he asked the man:

“It can crossed sea and mountain to send letter to others.”

“Course, it can.”, said the man.

Then the husband wrote a letter then cut the grapefruit and put the letter in it.

“Take the grapefruit to the sea then shouted name and address of receiver, it will cross all things to come to the receiver.”, said the man.

Though the husband didn’t pay much his belief he did that, he had written a long letter to talk his wife all things he had found out.

Three year had passed the wife still waited for her husband. She was worry that she couldn’t explain how her husband and sailors had not come back after great time and besides, they had never send any letter. She had thought many cases that they had met a storm, pirates. Though, she still waited. Every day, she went to the sea to see ships and hoped one of them would bring her husband back.

One day, she went to the beach and saw a grapefruit which was against waves and went to her hand. She took the grapefruit and realized that which brought her husband’s letter. She felt angry when she had known every thing and planned to rescue her husband. The next morning she gave her house and her children to her parents. She brought a ship with full of luxurios cloth and found the way to the port city. He brought a smith and two mice to go with. They had a short time to go the place where her husband had anchored three years ago.

Course, the swindler would not ignore a prey. As she had treated others the woman came and invited them to go and enjoyed a great feast. Then the golden turtle was brought to set on the ship. But the smith who was on the ship waited for them away and did his work made the golden turtle to become golden bars and stacked them into a coffer. The mandarin was invited to come as other times but though they had searched for many times they couldn’t find out the golden turtle.

The swindle knew that she had met a wise woman but she didn’t want to stop. She asked the wife:

“We lose the time but I want to have betting with you. That I can made two cat carry lamps on their head in a night”, said the woman.

The wife pretended that she was surprised but she had known the thing which was written in her husband’s letter.

“How can it be?”, she asked.

“Do you want to play a game, if I can do that you have to return my building and if I can not I will give you another building. Do you dare?”, said the woman.

The wife agreed. Course the woman had two cats which were trained to do the thing but the wife had brought two mice with her as she stepped on the room. Four hours passed and the cats still keep themselves stand still. Then the wife put the mice out and the cats saw them. They immediately chased the mice and made lamp fall down. Course, the woman lost.

But she didn’t want to accept the failure. She wanted to get again what she had lost.

“I still have many field, many beasts and manay ships on the sea. Do you dare to have a betting one more time. I will plant a dead tree and it will relive. If I can do that you have to return all things and ifi can not I will lose all things I have”, said the woman.

The wife, course, knew the magic of ground so that night as she and others was playing card his sevants went to the place diggedand replace the ground. Therefore, another time the woman lost. And that time she not only lost all assets but also became servants for the wife.

The husband was met his wife. They were happy and went to the ship to come back his house brought many assets and new servants. He now was few times richer. The woman didn’t want to be a servant so she jumped out of the ship when they were in midsea. She died and was transformed into a fish.

THE END

"Translated by Hung Nguyen"

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