Bu and Ngoc

Bu and Ngoc were idiots but Bu always thought that he was smarter than Ngoc so he always acted as big brother of Ngoc.

One day, Bu found Ngoc and asked him to go with him and found honey but they both didn’t know where they could find honey. Thought for a while, Bu pretended as if he knew everything.

“Hey boy! Honey is liquid so we will not find it in forest. We must go sea. It must be there”, said Bu.

Ngoc nodded his head he did never protest Bu’s words. Then they found a boat and began rowing toward the sea. Two days had passed but they didn’t find any hive. They were on the third day and it’s getting dark. They were forced to get in river and find a place to rest. They rested on shore for that night. They woke up in next morning and happily as they saw shape of a huge hive on water surface.

“See. I did say we only found hives in water”, said Bu, “We will get much honey to eat and sell with this hive. Go Ngoc! You are great in diving. Go and get the hive.”

Ngoc obeyed he took off his clothes and then jumped into water. But, he couldn’t found that hive though his eyes turned red because he stayed in water too long.

“You don’t find it though it that big.” said Bu, “Try again.”

Ngoc dived again but again he emerged from water with nothing. Bu thought for a while then he yelled.

“Yes, I know it. Because you are too hurry to get up so you could not find the hive. You need to dive more deeply”, he said while he used the paddle pushed Ngoc down in water. It’s about half of daytime Bu kept Ngoc staying in water. When Bu rose the paddle up Ngoc had died. His body floated on water but Bu didn’t know Ngoc had died. He thought that Ngoc was smiling with the bared teeth. He scolded.

“Greedy of you. You filled full of your stomach then you show me that your smile.”

Bu didn’t know Ngoc had died until people on a boat which moved crossed said to him.

“Hey you! Why don’t you bury that dead. It will be stinky if you leave it there”, said the people.

Bu knew Ngoc had died so he brought Ngoc to go to the shore and dug a hole. He buried Ngoc in that hole. Later, he came back his boat and at there he farted. It’s stinky and it made him remembered what people on boat did talk to him.

“Gosh! Stinky! That means I also died. I have to bury myself, too”, he said to himself then he went on the shore and dug another hole. Later, he laid down in the hole and then covered his body, his face by sands but only few seconds later, he couldn’t breath and so he emerged from sands. As soon as, he saw boats which were going toward where he was.

“Go! Away!” He shouted, “Don’t go near me. I’m stinky”.

Children who were standing near that couldn’t stop themselves not to laugh one they heard him said that. They took a stick and started beating on whole of his body.

“Die or alive you are”, yelled the children.

That’s so pained as he was beaten. He hurriedly got out from the hole and started running he didn’t want to be beating more. He ran far away but in a sudden he thought. Exactly, he got an idea.

“I had been died but the stick saved my life. It must be magical stick. I have to go back and ask them to get that stick”, thought him then he turned back.

Firstly, the children didn’t give him that stick but he’s headstrong insisting them in long time. At last, the children threw him that stick. Happily he took the stick, brought it around. He planned to save dead. So he made his way to funerals. At last he found a funeral. He went in that funeral pretending as if he was holy mage. He asked people to meet relatives of the dead and people led him to them.

“This is resurrecting stick”, he said, “It can save people’s lives. And I bring it to here to do a favor for you all. Open the coffin and I will save the person in it.”

People at one stopped crying as they heard him say that. They as soon as kneeled as if the person who was front of their faces now was a god.

“Please! Sir! Save him. We will never forget you for whole of our lives”, said the relatives of the dead.

The carriers were ordered to put the coffin down and then they could open it. The dead was undressed and laid on coffin cap. All people was ordered to get away letting Bu and the dead have space. Bu approached where the dead was laid and started he beat the dead.

“Bump! Bump! Bump!” he shot into the dead so pained that made flesh threw out everywhere. That hurt people who were there. They couldn’t stand that. Therefore, they hurriedly rounded him and started beating him. They punched, kicked and beat him by rods for a long time. Later, they stopped and scattered. That time, Bu lay motionlessly on ground he had died.

THE END

"Translator: Hung Nguyen"

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Tale 184: The tale of apricot blossom

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