161. Ông Vua mê ngựa

Theo sử, nước Tầu, thời Chiến quốc, Sở Trang vương là ông vua rất thích ngựa. Ông cho một con ngựa ông quí nhất mặc áo thêu hoa, ở phòng đẹp, nằm giường có nệm êm, thức ăn tòan là táo khô, thứ ngựa rất thích ăn.

Được ít năm, con ngựa bị bệnh rồi lăn ra chết. Ngự y khám nghiệm thấy ngựa quá béo, bèn làm tờ trình cho nhà vua hay.
Sở Trang vương buồn rầu khôn xiết vì mất con ngựa quí, ra lệnh cho quần thần làm tang lễ long trọng cho ngựa, bắt các quan chuẩn bị dùng quan quách (trong quan ngòai quách) chôn theo nghi thức chôn cất quan đại phu.
Tả hữu nghe vậy đều can. Sở Trang vương chẳng những không chịu, còn ra lệnh cho bá quan:”Ai còn dám đem chuyện an táng ngựa quí của ta ra khuyên, ta sẽ không dung và định tội chết.” Các quan nghe xong nín lặng, không ai dám nói một câu.
Duy có một anh kép hài ở trong cung tên Ưu Mạnh, chuyên chọc cười để giải trí nhà vua vá các cung phi. Ưu Mạnh nghe được lệnh cấm can vua về việc an táng ngựa bèn từ sân rồng bước lên điện ngửa mặt khóc rống.
Nhà vua ngạc nhiên, hỏi vì sao? Ưu Mạnh lấy tay áo chùi nước mắt mà rằng:
“Ngựa này là vật đại vương yêu quí. Đại vương đang đường đường là ông vua nước Sở thì Đại vương làm gì mà chẳng được. Chôn cất ngựa quí mà chỉ dùng nghi lễ cho một quan đại phu thì nhỏ bé, đơn sơ quá. Xin hãy dùng nghi lễ như quân vương mới xứng đáng!”
Sở Trang vương rất đẹp dạ, hỏi tiếp:
“Thế phép chôn cất ra sao?”
Ưu Mạnh đáp:
“Nên dùng ngọc trạm làm áo quan, gỗ tế tâm làm quách, cho tòan bộ dũng sĩ mặc áo giáp đội mũ sắt đào mộ, mời thượng khách các nước Tề, Triệu đến làm bồi tế bên quan chủ tế, cho khách khanh các nước Hàn, Ngụy đứng tế phía sau. Khi tế thì phải theo nghi thức như ở nhà Thái miếu tức cũng dùng tam sinh là bò, dê, lợn làm tế phẩm, sau đó lại phong cho huyện vạn hộ để trông coi mồ mả của ngựa, cho con ngựa quanh năm được hưởng hương khói tế lễ!”
Nghe xong, Sở Trang vuơng có vẻ ngượng ngùng, bèn hỏi:
“Lỗi của ta nghiêm trọng đến thế ư? Làm thế nào đây?”
Ưu Mạnh đáp:
“Theo thần thì đại vương cứ theo cách đối xử với súc vật mà làm nghĩa là giao ngựa cho nhà bếp. Nhà bếp sẽ xả nó ra như con lợn, con dê, phân phát thịt cho các cung, viện và các quan. Nội trong nửa ngày ngựa sẽ được an táng trong con tì con vị của nhiều người. Cách đó là hay nhất.”
Sở Trang vương y lời, giao con ngựa cho nhà bếp giải quyết.

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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!

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 third wife of Cai Vang.

Once upon a time, Hoang Van area was managed by a mandarin. People called him Cai Vang. When he was child, he picked up a pearl. That was a magical pearl. It helped him not to be harm by any arrow. All arrows turned to other direction when they flew nearly him. Cai Vang had brought the pearl with him every time since he got it. While the time he was mandarin, he used taxes for himself. Therefore, he was imprisoned and tortured. One day, soldiers escorted him cross a forest. When they spent very litte noticing on him, he ran. Soldiers chased after him and shot arrows toward him. Because of magical pearl, he could escape safely. From that time, Cai Vang grouped people and trained them. He planned to fight against the king. He called himself Thuong Cong. vietnamesefairytales.blogspot.com Cai Vang had three wifes. His third wife was great in martial arts though she was only 20 years old. Before he started to fight he called three wifes to come and ask: “I am now sitting ...

The tale of waiting - husband stone

Once upon a time, a couple had born two children one boy and one girl. The boy was 11 years old and his sister was 6 years old. Everyday when the couple went to farm to work they always asked the boy to take care of his sister. His mother usually added: “Don’t make your sister cry. Your father will punish you if you do.” vietnamesefairytales.blogspot.com Everyday, the boy and the girl played in their garden together or play with your friend around their house. Until they were bored they stopped playing to eat some sugar canes. The boy used to take a knife to cut sugar canes. One day, when the boy took the knife cut a sugar cane but the blade flew toward his sister’s head although the hilt was in his hand. The girl was fainting immediately, blood poured from her head. The boy was very scared he thought he had made a very serious mistake. He believed that his father would kill him. Therefore, he left his home and went away. He went to hide himself fr...

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 ...

Tam and Cam

Once upon a time, there had a little girl named Tam. Her mother died early so her father decided to remarry on purpose the stepmother would take care of his little daughter. The stepmother gave birth to a girl, named Cam after that. Then, her father died after few years. Tam had to live with her stepmother and her sister, Cam. Since the time, she was forced to work hard, all housework, while Cam had to do nothing. One day, the stepmother gave Tam and Cam each one a corf to caught fish. She promised that who caught full her corf would receive a piece of red silk. Tam and Cam went to field together. She was hard to catch fish while Cam only wondered around till afternoon and had nothing in her coft. Cam pointed at Tam’s coft and realised it is full, thinking seconds, she said gently: “sister Tam, your head is mud, you should wash it or mother will punish you” Belive Cam, Tam went to river nearly. She left her corf on the shore, waded into water to wash. Cam, meanwhile, stayed on t...

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...

The tale of watermelon

Once upon a time, a young man whose name was Mai An Tiem was a slave. He was sold to a King named Hung Vuong . Mai An Tiem was clever, he learned vietnamese language very fast. Futher , he knew so many stories, places and could do everything so good so he was liked by Hung Vuong very much that wherever Hung Vuong had come he also came with him. Three years later, he was Hung Vuong let to become a noble and was stayed in a building near the castle. Besides, Hung Vuong made his daughter become his wife. Mai An Tiem now had wife, a five-year-old son, servants and assets. He seemed to lack nothing. Although he had never been arrogant people still were jealous with his his luck. vietnamesefairytales.blogspot.com One day, people who were participating in a party complimented as much as they could but he only said: “That because of ...

Clever wife has idiot husband

Long time ago, that had a woman working as a weaver. She was clever woman but had an idiot husband. One day, she gave rolls of cloth to his husband and said: “Sell them only if people pay two hundreds and forty coins a roll.” vietnamesefairytales.blogspot.com The husband went to market to sell he spent much time staying at market, inviting people to take a look his cloth but he didn’t sell any roll. Till an old man came and bought two rolls but he didn’t bring money. Therefore, the old man said to him: “Come to my home to get your money after you finish. My home is also in this village.” “Where is your home?”, asked the husband. “I live in a place which has a crowded market without sellers, has flutes spread tunable noise by themselves and has one-knot bamboo tress.”, said the old man then he went. Late afternoon the husband pucked up his cloth and went to find the old man. He asked people about the place the old man had described but none knew the place ha...

Vietnamese fairy tales

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