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2. Birth and death

Sun was going downing. Birds turned back their nests. A woodcutter was heading his home on the winding road. Dark started covering the place. It got more and more silently. Bell tones echoing from distance seemed hurry people to get the scary forest. Howls coming out from deep forest frightened people who were in there. Night was the time monsters moved out from their hiding. An old monk was on his way from his place, the temple at the foot of mountain, to the edge where a couple lived. The people were the followers of the monk. The monk arrived to the tent when dark just covered whole the place.
vietnamese fairy tales
“Knock! Knock! Knock”, the monk knocked the door. The couple appeared. After greeting, the couple invited the monk in. The monk sat on a round carpet while others surrounded him. They all were enjoying tea.
“From the time you were followers”, said the monk, “I used to come here and directed you. I am very happy as I see you both progress every day. We meet and then we part that is the life. Tonight, I come to goodbye. I have come to other place ang help other people. I don’t know it will take me how much time so I don’t daresay whether we can meet again or not. So before I leave, I have some advices for you”, the monk stopped a while. “Don’t forget to recite the Buddhist scriptures. Live and work followed Buddaha’s direction. You both will meet things you don’t like but you have keep yourself calm, not being impatient. One of us will die early but the other doesn’t hurt too much. Have to help the dead recite the Buddhist scriptures. Only if you do that, the soul of the dead can reincarnate early. It’s difficult to do what I say. Many people also can’t do that. But, you have to remember the words and follow them”.
The monk left in the next morning.
Time passed. The monk had left the place for two years. The couple always followed the monk’s words. They recited the Buddhist scriptures everyday. They used to help others. They love people and was loved by people. Their family life was happy and peaceful. The days like that continued passed but,
One day, the husband got sick. The sick made him stay on bed whole day and seemed not to relieve. The wife had found all the ways to doctors around the place they lived but no one could cure. At last, a relative helped her invite famous doctor to come. The doctor examined and said:
“He won’t pass”, said the doctor, “His pulse’s very weak. You had better prepare for the thing’s going to come”.
The wife fell in hopelessness. Her mind turned confused. She forgot all the words. She bent her head down on her husband and cried. The last seconds the husband opened his eyes, looked at her, she cried more violently.
“Don’t leave me alone”, she scream, “Why can I live without you?” The wife cried loudly.
The husband listened mournful words, the feeling of sorry his wife made him could not be peaceful. He looked her awhile, tears dropped from his eyes then he died. His soul left out from eyes but she still bent down and cried on his face so the soul went in her nostril and changed into a worm.
   She did her duty after that. She held a funeral. People came and helped her very much. After her husband was buried, people found the ways to their home, left her alone in the empty house. The house now became too big with her. It’s so cold and quiet. Besides, the worm in her nostril got bigger each day, made her get more and pained. She felt unhappy and so that she cried. She cried whole day, daytime and including nighttime. The mournful cry came out from the house made people who lived surrounding felt sorry for her but they couldn’t do anything.
Then, the monk came back. The first thing he did was visited to her home. She burst into him as she just saw him. She started lamenting.
“Stop do the thing”, said the monk, “You’re one follower must know that birth and death are obvious. We are born and we all will die. With followers, death is a good thing that they are recused from blood and flesh. You should feel happy for him because of that. Why’d you still cry? You cry it mean you still don’t understand the dogma. Hear me. Stop crying and focus on practicing. You have to let the dead leave in peace”.
After heard monk’s words, she seemed to understand. She helped herself redress her clothes, comb her hair. Then, in the accident, she sneezed. The worm was pushed out.
The monk laughed. He said:
“There had very few people in the world who because of mercy husband, getting a worm in nostril”.
The wife felt ashamed, she planned to kill the worm. But, the monk prevented her.
“Stop”, said the monk, “Don’t do that. It’s your husband changing in”.
That seemed surprised her.
“Master”, said her, “My husband had done good deeds for all his life. Why’ d he change into a worm when he died? That’s nonsense”.
“You forgot my direction”, said the monk, “When your husband died, you forgot to recite the Buddhist scriptures, leading him to the right way. Instead of that you fell in sadness, you burst in tears. So, when he died, his soul couldn’t go, it was bounded by emotions. He changed into worm and lived as a worm in your nostril. His life was wasted. A follower want rescue but to be bound by emotions that like a bird want to fly up to escape from trap but it don’t know its legs are tied by a rope. It’s so pitiful”.
The monk approached the worm. He said gently:
“When you lived, you followed me doing good deeds but when you died, you were bounded by emotions so you couldn’t go on the right way. So that, you was changed in a worm. It’s so pitiful.
The worm lied still on ground. It heard and understood what the monk said. It felt ashamed. Later, the worm died. The monk helped him recite the Buddhist scriptures, telling all the good deeds it had done when it’s human. Its soul was led on the right way, another time going to the gate to become a human.

THE END

Book Introductions

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List of Vietnamese fairy tales

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