Story of the Bird Named “Bìm Bịp”

Long ago, there was an old Buddhist monk who had long lived in a Pagoda. He never ate anything except rice and vegetables to purify himself. All his life he avoided doing evil with the hope of entering Paradise.

One night, while he was praying, Buddha appeared with a bright halo before him and said:

“I am Buddha. I have recognized your good heart. Start to go to Paradise tomorrow. Keep going westward until you reach a high mountain covered with a five-colored cloud. That is the gate where I will wait for you.”

After saying goodbye to everybody in the Pagoda, the monk went eagerly on his way the next morning. A bamboo cane, a Bible, and a wooden fish were what he brought with him on this journey.

Leaving behind mountain after mountain, the monk continued on his way. The only food and drink for him were fruit and water he got in the forest.

One day he met a wounded man, lying nearly dead by the road. Coming near the man, the monk tore off his cloak to bandage his wound and gently asked:

“Are you in pain? I am ready to help you.”

The man replied: “I am a famous outlaw in this area. I was wounded while robbing last night. My last day is coming near because I have committed many crimes of robbery and murder in my life.”

To comfort him, the old monk said:

“I would try to cure your wound, but where can I find some drugs, when we are so far from villages.”

The outlaw answered in a weak whisper:

“Thank you, venerable one. Please don’t worry about me. But why are you passing through such a desolate place?”

“I am on my way to Paradise,” replied the monk.

The outlaw smiled. His eyes glowed with hope:

“I have committed many crimes, but I am asking you a favor. Please bring my heart to Buddha as my offering. He might forgive all my sins.”

Suddenly the outlaw took out the knife from his pocket and stabbed it deeply in his chest. It was too late for the monk to stop him. The monk saw a red heart in the outlaw’s chest.

The monk was crying as he picked up the heart. He tore off his cloak to wrap the heart in it and tied it to the bamboo cane. Then he continued hurriedly on his way.

After a few days, the heart started to produce an awful odor. But thinking of the outlaw’s sincerity and repentance, the monk still kept the spoiled heart to fulfill his promises.

Seven days and then ten days passed. The monk was tired of walking. Moreover he could not stand the bad smell. So he threw the heart by the road.

A few days later, the monk reached the gate of Paradise. There were many strange and beautiful flowers on both sides of the road. Birds sang on the trees.

Buddha appeared on a yellow lotus with a bright halo around his head and fragrance in the air.

The Buddha said:

“I have been waiting for you. It is about time I lead you to Paradise, but you forgot one thing I am expecting.”

The old monk threw himself on the ground and prayed: “Oh, my Lord, what do I have besides this poor body?”

The Buddha smiled:

“Where is the heart of the outlaw? I have accepted his repentance. You cannot enter Paradise without that heart.”

The Buddha disappeared. The poor old monk hurriedly went back to the road with the hope of finding the outlaw’s heart.

Day after day he tried to look everywhere for the heart, but it was no use.

Finally the monk died of exhaustion and became a bird named “Bìm Bịp.”

These birds have brown feathers like the color of the gowns that Buddhist monks are now generally wearing. These birds usually live around bushes. Probably the spirit of the poor monk still looks for the outlaw’s heart with the hope of entering Paradise someday.

Lưu Bình – Dương Lễ

Long ago there were two very close friends. One, named Lưu Bình, came from a wealthy family; the other, named Dương Lễ, came from a poor family.

Knowing that Dương Lễ did not have enough money to study, Lưu Bình kindly invited him to come and live with him to help him. Conscious of his poverty, Dương Lễ was hardworking and industrious while Lưu Bình, satisfied with his wealth, was wasteful and lazy.

As expected, when the final examination arrived Lưu Bình failed while Dương Lễ succeeded. He then became a high-ranking official and lived comfortably in a big house in the capital.

Lưu Bình went on with his idle, wasteful and extravagant way of life. Soon he had squandered all his fortune and was still not graduated. Reduced to bare poverty, Lưu Bình then remembered his old friend, now a high ranking official. So he made the trip to the capital and called at Dương Lễ’s to ask for help.

Dương Lễ pretended to be cold and indifferent because he knew his friend too well. If he helped him at once, he would be always lazy.

“You’re not my friend. All my friends are rich and important people, not poor and ignorant like you,” he shouted at Lưu Bình contemptuously.

He then called:

“Guards! See the man out. Give him some leftover rice and salt!”

Ashamed and disappointed to see that his friend was now too proud to remember their lifelong friendship, Lưu Bình sadly returned to his village, determined to study hard so that he would one day erase this shame.

In the meantime Dương Lễ told his beautiful third wife, Châu Long, to dress as a girl selling silk, go to Lưu Bình’s village, get acquainted with Lưu Bình and then propose to stay with him. She would be selling silk and supporting him while he was studying. She also promised that they would become husband and wife once he successfully completed his studies.

Encouraged by that promise, Lưu Bình studied hard day and night. It was not long before the examination came round and Lưu Bình passed it. As soon as he heard the result he hurried home to share the good news with Châu Long only to find that she had disappeared.

Later on Lưu Bình, too, was invited to serve as a high ranking official. But he did not forget the shame Dương Lễ had caused him in the past. So he went to Dương Lễ’s to seek revenge.

Dương Lễ treated him completely differently when he arrived. This time he greeted him with open arms. He did not mind his friend’s harsh words.

Patiently waiting for his friend to calm down, Dương Lễ then called his wife Châu Long out to introduce her to his friend.

Only then did Lưu Bình realize that Dương Lễ, a true friend, had really helped him complete his studies. Both friends ran to each other and hugged each other tightly.

The Lady of Nam Xương

Under Lê Thánh Tôn’s reign there lived a young couple named Trương, with their little baby in Nam Xương village, Ha-Nam Province. When the country was at war, all the young men had to defend the country and Trương was no exception. He left his house when his son was still a little child.

Living alone with her young child, Trương’s wife had to work hard to raise her son while waiting for her husband’s return.

One stormy night, the little boy was frightened by thunder and lightning. He cried and cried, and would not stop despite his mother’s soothing words. She then lit an oil lamp, pointed to a shadow on the wall and gently said:

“Look! Daddy’s back. Don’t be afraid any longer, sleep my baby, sleep.”

The little boy believed his mother, stopped crying, and went to sleep.

After that, every time his mother lit the oil lamp he naturally pointed to her shadow on the wall and cried out:

“Look! Daddy’s back! Daddy’s back!”

When the war was over, Trương was allowed to return to his village and visit his family. When he came home, his wife was out. He only saw his son playing. Recognizing his little boy, he ran to him, hugged him in his arms and said:

“I’m your daddy.”

But the boy was startled. He pushed him away and said:

“No, you’re not my daddy. My daddy only comes home at night.”

Upon hearing these words, he began to suspect his wife’s faithfulness and loyalty to him.”

When his wife returned, she was very happy to find her husband back. She asked him all sorts of questions, but only found him cold and indifferent.

As she began to wonder why her husband had treated her this way while she still loved and respected him deeply, he suddenly cried out:

“I’m not your husband any more, am I?”

Puzzled and not knowing what was happening, she tried to explain to her husband, but without success.

In despair, she went to a stream nearby and jumped into the water. It was the only way she could prove her innocence to her husband.

After his wife’s death, Trương had to take care of his son. At nightfall, he lit the oil lamp. As soon as his shadow appeared on the wall, the little boy cried happily:

“Look! My daddy’s back! My daddy’s back!”

Only then did Trương realize his wife’s innocence. But it was too late!

When people of the village heard the story, they felt sorry for the innocent wife and set up an altar by the river where she had drowned herself. They named the altar after the wife.

A Benevolent King

Trần Nhân Tôn, a king of the Trần Dynasty, was famous for his love of his people. It was because of his kindness that people could enjoy a secure and happy life.

In the years of plentiful crops, the king ordered his soldiers to store the extra quantity of rice.

In the years of drought or flood, the king ordered his soldiers to take the supply from the storehouse for public use. It was thanks to his foresight that the nation did not suffer from want of food.

King Trần Nhân Tôn would say:

“I suffer when my people suffer. I rejoice when my people rejoice.”

Besides his administrative affairs, the king would disguise himself as a common person and get out of his imperial city to visit his people.

He said:

“I’ve got to go and visit my people in order to understand their standard of living.”

It was because of the king’s kindness and wise administration that his people could enjoy abundance and justice.

One year on a cold winter day, in a chilly north wind, King Trần Nhân Tôn went out of his palace together with his royal escort. When his two-horse chariot was about ten miles from the palace, he saw an old man lying by the roadside. He ordered his guards to stop the chariot.

He got out of the chariot and approached the old man. Watching the trembling old man with a pale complexion, the king hurriedly took off his own royal cloak and covered him with it.

He then turned to his escort, saying:

“With this cloak on my back, I still feel cold. How much more this old man with only thin and threadbare clothes! I feel guilty. I am certainly to be blamed for not doing my duty toward my people.”

Then he ordered:

“Take this old man to my palace to give him good food and warm clothes.”

The king came back to the palace and felt guilty for not fulfilling his duty toward his people. He then ordered a generous distribution of food and clothes from the storehouse to the public.

Thanks to King Trần Nhân Tôn’s benevolence and wise administration, his people did enjoy a period of peace and prosperity.

Until now, people still remember the name of Trần Nhân Tôn and call him “A Benevolent King.”

The Three Brothers of the Nguyễn Family

A long time ago, the three brothers of the Nguyễn family lived together in a village. Their parents died young leaving behind a rich inheritance. After their parents’ death, the three brothers continued living together in peace and mutual love.

Time passed so quickly. One after the other the three brothers married young girls in the village.

While living together, the wives of the two younger brothers, greedy by nature, feared the eldest one would take the whole inheritance.

They continually urged their husbands to divide the inheritance and live a separate life.

The two younger brothers were gradually convinced. They brought up the problem of dividing their inheritance before the eldest brother. The latter became very sad. He reminded them of their parents’ last words:

“Before closing their eyes, our parents advised us to love and protect one another. Our parents never wanted us to live far from one another.”

The two men followed their eldest brother’s advice. But their wives remained sad. They persistently begged their husbands to divide the inheritance. The two brothers were very sad, but they did not know which way to turn.

Finding that his two brothers were not happy, the eldest brother felt uneasy.

One day, he summoned his two younger brothers and said:

“Dear brothers, your happiness is my primary concern. Today, I decided to divide our inheritance into three equal parts.”

The division of the inheritance took up the whole day. That evening, the eldest brother saw a sycamore tree at the gate and said:

“I am going to divide this tree too. I will cut it into three sections tomorrow.”

The next morning, when the three of them came to the sycamore tree, to their surprise, they found that the tree had become withered.

The eldest brother turned to the two others, saying:

“Although the sycamore tree is an inanimate thing, it withers from sadness, knowing that we are going to cut it into pieces. What about us? We are people, and people of the same blood. Don’t you realize that today we must separate just because of the problems of the inheritance?”

Upon hearing these words, the two young couples felt guilty and never again thought of dividing the inheritance to live a separate life.

The three brothers lived in harmony again under the same roof. They loved one another more intensely than before.

And the sycamore tree at the gate turned green again as if it wished to share the warm brotherhood of the three young men of the Nguyễn family.

Like Father Like Son

Formerly in a village lived a man, very rich but known for his miserliness.

His 90-year-old father lived with him. He often complained about having to attend to his father.

During the meal, his father would break dishes. He was too old to hold his bowl of rice firmly in his shaky hands.

Suffering because of the loss, the rich man said to his father:

“You are too old, Daddy. These dishes are too heavy for you. Let me provide you with something less heavy and easier to handle.”

After that, the rich man told his servant to make a bowl out of a coconut shell for his father to eat with. After that, his old father did not break dishes any more, which made him very happy.

The rich man, however, was not completely satisfied. He thought: “Why does my old father keep on living like that?”

His miserliness made him blind to common sense. One day, he had a beautiful cart made and kindly said to his father:

“Daddy, today the weather is so fine. I would like to give you a ride to enjoy the fresh air in the jungle.”

He then put his father in the cart and pushed it into the jungle.

Reaching his destination, the rich man helped his father out of the cart and said:

“Daddy, the scene around here is so beautiful. Go wherever you want to. I’ll return to get you before dusk.”

Having said these words, he left. On the way home, he thought to himself:

“Between now and dusk, my father will surely be killed by wild beasts.”

But he did not know that his youngest son had stealthily followed him to the jungle and watched everything. No sooner had the father left than his son pushed the cart back home. Seeing his son coming, the rich man asked:

“Why did you bring the cart back?”

The boy replied:

“I will wait until you get old and with this cart I am going to do what you did.”

These words made the rich man realize what he had done. He then rushed back to the jungle to bring his old father home and take good care of him.

The Raven & the Star Fruit Tree

Once upon a time, there was a very rich man who lived in a village. When he died, he left his two sons a huge fortune.

But the two brothers were entirely different. The elder was greedy, but the younger was very kind. So after the parents’ death, the elder claimed all the fortune and left his younger brother only a star fruit tree. (A very productive tree that gives sweet fruit.) The younger brother took good care of his tree, watering it every day and hoping that it would give him a lot of fruit so that he could make a living by selling it.

The elder brother, on the other hand, was so happy with his inheritance that he had nothing to worry about.

Unfortunately for the younger brother, when the fruit was ripe, a raven flew by and stopped in the tree to eat it. He was very sad to see this happen every day, but he did not know what to do. So one day, he decided to stand beneath the tree and speak to the raven:

“Raven, please don’t eat my fruit,” he called. “This fruit tree is my only fortune. If you eat all the fruit, my family will starve.”

“Don’t worry,” the raven answered. “I’ll pay you back in gold. Go and make yourself a bag 60 centimeters long to keep the gold.”

Hearing those words, he was very excited and told his wife to make a bag of 60 centimeters. The next day, the raven came as he had promised. He landed by the gate, let the younger brother sit on his back, and took off for a place filled with gold. There the younger brother filled the bag with gold. Then he flew back home on the raven’s back.

And so he became very rich. But he still loved and respected his elder brother.

So one day he told his wife to prepare a good meal for his brother and his family. But when he invited his brother, the latter refused to come at first. The brother only accepted after he had begged him again and again. When the older brother arrived at his house, he was surprised to see it all changed. It was no longer the poor house that he had seen before. So he asked his younger brother the reason. The latter told him everything that happened. After he heard it all, he offered to trade all his fortune for the fruit-tree. The kind brother gladly accepted the offer.

The raven came as usual. The greedy brother spoke to the raven the same words as his brother, and received the same answer from the raven. But he was so greedy that he got a much larger bag instead of a 60 centimeter bag.

The next day, the raven came to take him to the place of gold. After he had filled the bag, he filled all his pockets, too, before he climbed onto the raven’s back to go home. But the load was so heavy that when they flew over the sea, the raven spread his tired wings and dropped him off into the sea.

His wife and younger brother waited and waited, but did not see him come back. So they decided to ask the raven and learn all the facts.

A Bowl of Leek Soup

Once upon a time, there was a farmer who was very good to his mother. His father died young, leaving behind three acres of land. He worked hard. And as a result, his fields yielded a good crop every year.

In the village lived a greedy rich man. He always looked around for fertile land to buy at a cheap price.

Unfortunately, the farmer’s land was discovered by the rich man. He came and threatened the farmer, trying to force him to sell the land for a very cheap price.

The farmer begged: “Sir, this is the inheritance my father left to me. I till this land to support my old mother. I’d rather stay poor than sell it.”

The rich man left with a tricky smile. He had already thought of a cunning plan to harm the sincere farmer.

That very night, the rich man told his servant to hide a bar of his gold in the poor farmer’s house. He then informed the district chief that the farmer had stolen his gold.

The proof was obvious. The farmer was arrested and put into prison.

Confined in his cell, the farmer missed his mother. He worried about her. Nobody would take care of her.

One day, as usual, a soldier brought him food. The meal consisted of three bowls of rice and a bowl of leek-soup. The farmer looked at the tray of food and burst into tears.

Surprised, the guard asked:

“Why do you cry?”

The farmer replied:

“The more I look at the bowl of leek-soup, the more I miss my mother. I remember the day I jumped down into the pond to gather the leek and prepared soup for my mother. Leek-soup is her favorite food.”

Upon hearing this, the guard thought to himself, such a good person could not be so greedy as the rich man accused.

So he went to the District Chief and asked for another hearing.

The District Chief found out the truth by means of clever questioning. He then had the rich man arrested, and cleared the farmer of the false charge.

The farmer returned home to join his mother. He lived a happy and peaceful life ever after.

A Singing Voice in the Jungle

In the old days, there lived an old woodcutter and his wife. They had two young daughters named Thảo and Hiền. They were beautiful, but both were humpbacked. For no reason the wood- cutter loved Hiền more than Thảo.

Thảo was an obedient girl. She loved her parents and did all the chores at home. Still, she was sometimes scolded by her parents. On the contrary, although ‘Hiền’ meant ‘kind,’ she was so cruel, so vain, and irritable. Everybody hated her.

One day, the woodcutter fell sick. He called Hiền and Thảo, saying:

“I am so tired. Go into the jungle and gather dry twigs for me. We can exchange firewood for rice. We are short of rice now.”

At these words, Hiền shouted:

“Is it fair that a girl as beautiful as I must gather wood in the jungle?”

Thảo said in a soft voice:

“Daddy, let her stay home and take care of you. I can go by myself.”

The old woodcutter nodded his head, saying:

“Good! You can take my place, today.”

The strong wind had blown off many dry twigs the previous night. Thảo was absorbed in picking them up. While gathering wood, she imagined her father’s happy face and felt more eager to work. She went deeper and deeper into the jungle, and forgot the time to come home.

Suddenly, she saw a flame flickering in the distance. A group of bowmen as ugly as devils were dancing and singing wildly, hand in hand, around the fire. Thảo became scared and hid herself behind a bush. But one of them saw her. He rushed to the bush and pulled her out.

The poor frightened girl begged to be released. But he said:

“If you sing to us, we will release you.”

Thảo was gifted with singing. Her pure and melodious voice echoed in the jungle, charming the brutal bowmen. They were carried away by her voice.

Keeping his promise, the bowman said:

“I will help you out of the jungle. But promise to come back to sing to us again. I must keep that hump from your back for proof.”

He then removed the hump from her back and handed it to his comrade.

The woodcutter and his wife were so happy to see their daughter coming home without a hump on her back. After hearing the story, Hiền volunteered to go into the jungle to meet the bowmen.

She wandered in the jungle until dark. The bowmen were still nowhere to be seen. But when the moon rose, the fire and music rose, also. Hiền walked toward that direction.

Mistaking Hiền for Thảo, they yelled happily:

“Let’s bring the girl here and force her to sing now.”

Hiền started singing. Her voice was so harsh, so unpleasant. The cruel bowmen yelled angrily. One of them took Thảo’s hump and put it on her back. After that, they chased her away. Hiền sadly went home with two humps on her back.

The Spirit of the Mountain & the Spirit of the Sea

Thousands of years ago, under the Dynasty of Hùng Vương XVIII, all people were living in peace and prosperity. Emperor Hùng Vương had a beautiful daughter whose name was Mỵ Nương.

The beauty of the princess became so well-known that several suitors wished to become prince consort. Among the suitors were the Spirit of the Mountain and the Spirit of the Sea.

The Spirit of the Mountain reigned over the mountains. He was handsome, very rich, very powerful, and quiet.

The Spirit of the Sea reigned over the seas. He was also handsome, very rich, very powerful, but had a hot temper.

One day, when the princess came of age, the Emperor wanted to select a good prince consort for the princess.

As soon as the news of the selection spread over the country, several suitors presented themselves to the court in the hope of being chosen.

However, there remained only two suitors who had equal talents and qualifications. They were the Spirit of the Mountain and the Spirit of the Sea.

The Emperor was so puzzled that he did not know which of them to select. After a moment of reflection, he decided:

“Early tomorrow, whoever of you comes first will be given the hand of the princess.”

Both withdrew from the court with the hope of marrying the beautiful princess.

Back at the mountain, his homeland, the Spirit of the Mountain collected all his jewelry and riches to bring back to the court to offer the Emperor a present for his marriage.

The Spirit of the Sea also collected all the precious jewelry and the riches of the sea. The Spirit of the Sea was so confident of himself that he offered a copious banquet the night before he went back to the court.

In the early morning of the following day, the Spirit of the Mountain presented himself first at the court with all his jewelry. The Emperor was very satisfied and gave consent to the Spirit of the Mountain to marry his daughter.

As soon as the Spirit of the Mountain left the court with his princess, the Spirit of the Sea arrived. He was informed that the Spirit of the Mountain, who came first, had married the princess.

At this news, the Spirit of the Sea looked sad and became very angry.

He decided to make war and take the princess for himself.

The Spirit of the Sea mobilized all the forces of the sea and started a war against the Spirit of the Mountain. He raised the level of the sea, and caused storms and thunder with the aim of destroying the Spirit of the Mountain’s land.

On the other hand, to save the princess’ life, the Spirit of the Mountain also raised the mountain level as high as he could. The war between the two spirits lasted for days and there was not a winner on either side. Tired of the war, the Spirit of the Sea had to withdraw temporarily, but decided not to give up. So every year, he started the war again against the Spirit of the Mountain.

Every time the war came, people suffered from the loss of lives and the ruin of property and crops.

Since then, the Vietnamese have believed that the storms and floods that happen every year in the months of July and August are the result of the battle between the two spirits.

Story of the Heron & the Night Bird

Long, long ago, the Heron, the Night Bird, and the Pelican were sons of the same father.

Much property including gold, silver, and many pieces of land were left for them after their father’s death. The Pelican was skillful in trading. He asked the other two to give him his share in gold and silver to go away for his business. The Heron and the Night Bird stayed home to farm, continuing their father’s career.

The families of the Heron and the Night Bird grew bigger and bigger. The Heron worked hard. Every day he got up early and went to the flooded rice field to catch fish and shrimp. He tried to save something for a rainy day. Soon his family became more and more prosperous.

On the contrary, the Night Bird was very lazy. He never worried about the future. All day long he traveled around. So his family was soon in a bad way.

One day, the Night Bird and his wife came to see the Heron to sell some pieces of land. The Night Bird held out a map of his land and said:

“Brother, will you buy some pieces of my land? I lost my crop this year and need money to feed my children. I think it is much better to sell my land to you than anyone else.”

“If your are in need,” the Heron happily replied;

“I am ready to lend you some things. You need not sell your land, since that is the property our father has owned for years.”

The Night Bird was lazy by nature. He was tired even at the thought of having to catch fish and shrimp in the rice fields day by day. He preferred enjoying nature to doing farming. So he insisted that the Heron buy all his land. To please his brother, the Heron finally bought the land.

The Night Bird had to sell all his property one piece after another, and soon they all belonged to the Heron. Every title of their real estate was sent to the gods for registration.

Since he was very careful and afraid that trouble would come between him and the Night Bird, the Heron always carried the title with him.

After many generations, the Heron with feathers as white as snow still has a small, square, yellow spot under his wings. It is told that the yellow spot in the Heron’s feathers is the title between him and the Night Bird.

And the Night Bird has to fly to the Heron’s fields secretly to look for food at night. He never catches prey in the day to avoid being caught violating the contract with the Heron.

Watermelon

Once upon a time, the sixth son of King Hùng Vương named An-Tiêm disobeyed the King’s order and was exiled to a deserted island.

The Prince had to build his own shelter, dig a well for water, and fish and hunt animals for food.

One day, he found a green fruit as big and round as a ball. He split the fruit into halves and found the inside of the fruit red.

He dared not eat it because he was afraid it was poisonous. Days passed and the dry and sunny season came. It was so hot that all the plants were dry and the well had no water left. One day, An-Tiêm was so tired and thirsty that he tasted the fruit.

He found out that it tasted delicious and quenched his thirst. He tried to grow the plant around his house then. Soon the whole island was covered with the green fruit.

An-Tiêm carved the island’s name and his own on some of the fruit and threw them into the sea. Later, seamen found the strange fruit with An-Tiêm’s name floating in the sea.

Soon, words about the fruit reached the continent and many merchants tried to find the way to the island. This then turned the deserted island into a busy island.

The island was now crowded. Many boats came and went. An-Tiêm helped anyone who wanted to settle on the island. Soon, news about that reached the King.

King Hùng Vương was very proud of having a son who was brave and strong enough to overcome difficulties without anyone’s help. An-Tiêm was immediately summoned back to the court. He brought his fruit with him to offer the King, his father.

The King gave him his crown and An-Tiêm became King Hùng Vương VI.

Since then, the fruit which was called “water melon” has become the symbol of luck, and people often offer it to relatives and friends as a New Year present.