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19. Donkey vegetable

There's a very long path which led through a vast ancient forest. The forest with giant trees was the place many wild beasts lived. From distances, a man was approaching. He's a hunter who was tall, young and handsome with nice eyes. With leaf on his mouth, the hunter was playing music happily. The music spread out, coming to animals which were around. A stag stopped eating, raised its head to listen. For awhile, the music disappeared, he stopped. The young hunter met a woman on his way. That's a great old, ugly woman who was wearing shabby clothes.
"Boy," she said by weak voice, heading her bony hand toward him, "You look happy while I'm hungry and thirsty. Will you feel pleased to do me a favour boy?"
"Poor you!"
donkey vegetable, rau lừa
The hunter felt pity her, he groped in his pocket and took some money and gave her. Then, he planned to left but the woman prevented him.
"You are good guy, boy." She said, "You are very kind to share me this money. You are worthy to have reward. Keep going boy. You will meet nine birds which were struggling for a coat. Use your hunting gun, shoot at them. They will scatter but one bird will be hit and fall down with the coat."
"It's a magical coat which will bring you to everywhere you want." she asked, "what you need are to put in it and to think about the place. Take out the bird's heart and swallow it boy, you will get a golden coin under your pillow everyday you wake up."
The young hunter said thank you then left.
"I'm must be the luckiest person if what she said are true." he thought.
He kept going. It's about five hundreds steps till he heard crowd of birds crying. He looked up and there nine strange birds were struggling a coat. All of them wanted to have it for each oneself. The young hunter raised his gun and with a loud ban, birds scattered to every directions, left colorful feathers after them. A bird dropped down with a thump while the coat was still in midair, sluggishly fell down. There's a strange bird lying on ground. It have size of an sparrow with colorful feathers, a great long tail which looked so beautiful, a red crest and golden feet. The hunter took his knife and did exactly what the woman had said. He slashed on bird's stomach and took its heart which was still beating. He swallowed it after that. Afternoon, he came back home with nothing but the very little bird and the coat. He had dinner and then slept as usual.
He woke up early the next morning and because of the curious, he lift his pillow up and found out there a golden coin glittering. The next morning he saw another. Days after that he always found one golden coin under his pillow after he woke up. He had a pile of golden coins after days. In the days, he still went to the familiar forest to hunt but he didn't hunt anything. Honestly, he didn't need because he could buy everything by the coins. The life turned bored and he wanted to travel.
"I have to go." he thought, "If I only stay here, I will never have chance to use this gold."
Then he stacked, said goodbye his father and mother, brought hunting gun and bag with him. He set off. He went on the endless path in the forest which had never got pass. He arrived to the other side after few days. He went in cities and came to villages, stayed at there places for few days then left. He didn't stay at any place too long. One day, he went to a vast forest. The other side of it was a wide field and stood on it a beautiful palace.
He emerged from the forest when the owner of the palace and her daughter, a young beautiful were standing by window.
"See him, the hunter." Said the woman who was also a witch, pointing at the him, "He have a mavellous heart inside which should belong to us. Every person who have the heart will get one golden coin after he or she wake up. We have to have it my daughter."
Then she directed her daughter how to get the heart.
"If you don't obey me, I will punish you." the witch gazed at her daughter.
From the hunter's place, he had seen the owners of castle. They were a woman and besides her, a young girl. At the first sight, he saw her, the daughter, he couldn't look to anything but her. She was so charming. Of course, he's not wrong. The more he came near, the more he saw more her beauty and that's the reason he decided to stay there.
"I have gone for long time. Now, I should stop for awhile. This palace is so beautiful. I will stay here." he thought.
Course it's not the reason. He wanted to stay at the palace because he wanted to see the girl every day. He went in the palace and was treated well. It didn't take much time he was charmed and what he thought was nothing but how to satisfy the daughter. He would do whatever she wanted.
"It's time to take the bird heart, daughter." said the witch, "We will take it without his notice."
The witch boiled some green liquid in a caudron. It had disgusting smell. She stirred it few time then put in it some white powder. Later, she poured it in a glass. The green liquid turned into something which looked like milk after few seconds. It was brought to the hunter's room with some toast and a handkerchief.
"Honey!" the daughter went to the hunter's bed, "I bring you your breakfast. Please, drink it because of me." said her sweety, giving him the glass.
He received the glass from her and as a way to show his love, he drank a great gulp. The liquid made him feel sick, he grabbed the hankerchief and vomited the bird's heart.
The bird heart secretly was brought to the witch after that and the daughter had to swallow it. From the time, young hunter didn't see any golden coin after he woke up. However, he seemed not to care whole his mind was full of the daughter's image. The daughter, on other sider, always had one golden coin under her pillow after she woke up from that time. Every day her mother came and took it away.
"We have had the bird heart. Now, we have to take his remaining thing, the magical coat." said the witch. The bird heart seemed not to satisfy her.
"Leave it with him, mom." said the daughter, "He lost his wealth."
"I have to have it." grunted the witch, "There had only one coat like it on the world."
Then, as the first time, she said her the plan which attached the same threat.
"If you don't do, I will punish you."
It's a day, the daughter stood by window, looked to distance with a depressed face.
"Why you look so sad honey?" asked the hunter who was approached her.
"Oh honey, do you see the mountain? It's front of our castle." she said, "It have many gems there. I love gems." she looked at him by her enermous eyes. "How can we come there, honey. Only birds can do that - they can fly."
"If you want to come there honey. I can bring you to there in seconds."
"Come on!" He wrapped himself and her in magical coat. "Thach Luu mountain." he said.
They disappeared and a blink later, they appeared on Thach Luu mountain. It's looked like a field of gems, pearls, diamonds and others surround them at the moment. All of them were glittering. It's magnificent. They stood still seconds because of the sight.
"Look!" the daughter rushed into a big gem near that but later, she dropped it and ran toward another bigger and more beautiful. It took hours for them to choose.
"I feel tired honey. We need to have a rest." said the hunter while the daugter was still collecting. Then, he fell in sleep. The daughter put in magical coat, brought gems then transferred back the palace, left he stayed alone there. When he woke up, the daughter had gone, his coat had vanished. All surround him were wild sight with glittering gems which, the moment, were useless with him. He had found but he didn't see her and besides, he couldn't find the way to leave. There was not place for people to go and leave. It didn't doubt that his lover betrayed him. He sank into very bad mood. He sat down and then fell himself lying on ground, just lying not to do anything more.
There was the place in which giants lived. Afternoon, three giants came back. They wore in suits of armours, brought axes. They were hairy and bearded. They went toward where the hunter was lying.
"Why does this worm lie here?" said a giant, touching the hunter by his foot.
"Kill it!" said the second giant.
"Let it alive. It's harmless with us. It will not able to leave here unless, it climb on the top where clouds will bring it away."
The giants strode away after that. The hunter waited for them to vanish, he woke up, climbed up the top. He waited for clouds. Later, a white cloud moved toward him. He caught the chance, mounted on that soft cloud. He and the cloud flew on sky for long time till it landed on a garden in which vegatable was. He looked around to seek some fruit but there had nothing but vegetable. He picked up a vegetable plant and ate because he was too hungry. Suddenly, his body swelled. He floated in midair.
"Pop! Pop!..." One, two donkey ears emerged from his body and then four donkey feet appeared. At last, it was the donkey tail. He burst into a donkey. The vegetable the time was suitable with his new state. He felt it cool and delicious. It meant he continued eating in order to satisfy his hunger. Suddenly, his body shriveled up. He couldn't move and with a pop he changed into human appearance. He had eaten other vegetable without notice.
He fell in sleep after long journey. He woke up at the next morning and the first thing he did was picked two plants of the vegetable, one was donkey vegetable and the other was human vegetable. He left, found the way to back the castle. It took him few days to came it. He spread dirt on face and made sure that others couldn't realize him before he went in castle.
"I feel tired and can not move anymore." he said, "Can you let me stay here a night."
"Where are you from boy? What do you do?" asked the witch.
"I am a servant of king. I am sent in order to find the rarest vegetable on the world." he said, "I'm so lucky as I have found out it and bring it here but it's fading. Duno whether I can bring it to my king before it completely spoiled.
"Oh my friend! Can I taste a little." said the witch who's too greedy.
"Of course, you can. You are too kind because of letting me stay here. I have two plants and I'm pleased to give you one." he said, giving her donkey vegetable.
The witch didn't doubt. She brought it to kitchen and cooked. She even didn't bring it to others to eat. She tasted it right in kitchen. Immediately, she burst into a donkey.
"What's going in me?" roared the witch, bolting but there only had donkey's hoarsed voice. She rush into yard, continued roaring but no one heard or noticed her, the donkey.
The maid who serving the witch and the daughter who used to tasted food of them on sly. That time, she also behaved like that. She looked around and when she's sure that nobody saw her, she took a little then swallowed it. Immediately, she brust into a young donkey. She bolted, kicked the dish of vegetable down. She roared, rushed into the yard in which her mistress was. They both continued roaring but no one noticed them.
Meanwhile, the hunter was beside the daughter.
"What are they doing? Why do they make it so long?" said the daughter who was impatient wanting to taste the vegetable.
"I'll go take a look." said the hunter. He knew that the vegetable had had effect. Two donkeys were roaring out the yard while vegetable scattered on ground as he came.
"Alright! You both had yours." he said.
He picked up the vegetable, put neatly on dish then brought it to the daughter.
"I myself bring this delicious vegetable to you. Think you are very impatient to taste it." he said, giving her the dish. She ate and immedately burst into a young donkey. He ran out, gathered the others. The hunter washed her face.
"See! Do you realize me?" said the hunter, "That's prize you have to pay because you betrayed me."
Then he chained the donkeys and pulled them to a mill. He knocked on door. The miller appeared after the door.
"What do you want boy?" he said.
"They are too headstrong", the hunter looked at the miller then hinted to the donkeys, "I want you to train them. I will pay."
"Right-but how?" asked the miller.
"The old beat three times, feed one time a day. The young beat one time and feed three time and the youngest feed enough three times but don't beat it." said the hunter. He wanted to punish the witch but didn't want his lover hurted.
Short time later, the miller found the way to him, informed that the old dinkey had died. She was forced to work hard, beat painfully and was not fed enough. The others were still alive but they both were depressed and might follow the old.
The hunter had forgiven. He felt pity them so he asked the miller to bring them back. The donkeys hoarsed again as they see him but no one understood them. He took the other vegetable plant and asked them to eat.
The donkeys shriveled up, transformed into human appearance.
"I'm so sorry." cried the daughter, weeping tears on her cheek, "I don't want to lie you, betray you but my mother force me. She will punish me if I don't obey. I love you honey. I will return all things belonging to you. Your coat is in wardrobe and the bird heart a will drink to vomit it."
"You don't need to do that." he changed his attention, "Keep the bird heart inside you. I want it belong to you, my wife. Will you marry with me?" he asked.
Nothing could expressed how much the daughter felt happy. After all the hunter still love her, forgave her and believed her.
A wedding was held after that. They were happy.
The end, 🎍🎍🎍

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1. Complete Collection of Vietnamese Fairy Tales - A Treasury of Legends and Folklore

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