After her husband passed away, the woman gave birth to a child. Strangely, the child had no arms or legs and was round like a coconut. Saddened by this, she considered abandoning the baby, but the child spoke up:
"Mother, I am human! Please don't abandon me."
Out of compassion, she decided to keep him and named him Sọ Dừa (Coconut Shell). As time passed, Sọ Dừa grew up, but his body remained round and unable to do any work. His mother became increasingly troubled and sorrowful. Knowing that his mother was unhappy, Sọ Dừa asked her for permission to herd cattle for the wealthy landowner in the village.
The wealthy landowner had heard that Sọ Dừa had no arms or legs and doubted whether he could actually herd cattle. However, thinking that Sọ Dừa wouldn’t eat much and that his wages would be minimal, he agreed to let him try. To his surprise, Sọ Dừa was an excellent cattle herder. Every day, he led the herd to graze in the fields, and by evening, he brought them back home. All the cattle were well-fed and plump. The wealthy landowner was very pleased.
When harvest season arrived, all the household servants were sent to work in the fields, so the wealthy landowner instructed his daughters to take turns bringing Sọ Dừa his meals. Each time they delivered the food, the two older sisters acted with disdain, showing their contempt for Sọ Dừa. Only the youngest daughter, who was kind-hearted and compassionate, treated Sọ Dừa with kindness.
One day, while bringing Sọ Dừa his meal, the youngest daughter suddenly heard the sound of a flute coming from the foot of the mountain. Curious, she went to see and discovered a handsome young man. But in the blink of an eye, all she saw was Sọ Dừa rolling around as usual. After observing this several times, she realized that the young man was actually Sọ Dừa, and from then on, she grew fond of him.
After the work season ended, Sọ Dừa returned home and asked his mother to go to the wealthy landowner’s house to ask for his daughter’s hand in marriage. His mother was shocked at the request, but after much pleading, she eventually agreed.
When Sọ Dừa and his mother arrived to propose, the wealthy landowner sneered, saying, "If you want to marry my daughter, go and bring me a jar of gold, ten pieces of peach-colored silk, ten fat pigs, and ten jars of rice wine."
Reluctantly, the old woman returned home, thinking that she would have to abandon the idea of finding a wife for her son. However, on the appointed day, she was surprised to see that their house was filled with all the necessary bridal gifts, along with servants carrying offerings to the wealthy landowner's home. The wealthy landowner was taken aback and awkwardly called his three daughters to come and see.
While the two older sisters scoffed at Sọ Dừa's appearance and walked away, the youngest daughter bowed her head, signaling her acceptance.
On the wedding day, Sọ Dừa prepared a lavish feast, and the servants were bustling about. When it came time to carry the bride away, no one saw the ugly Sọ Dừa; instead, they only saw a handsome young man standing beside the youngest daughter. Everyone was astonished and overjoyed, except for the two older sisters, who felt both regret and jealousy.
After their marriage, Sọ Dừa and his wife lived together very happily. Sọ Dừa also proved to be a highly intelligent person, dedicating his days and nights to studying and practicing his writing. That year, he achieved the highest honor in the imperial examination.
Not long after, Sọ Dừa was sent by the king on a diplomatic mission. Before leaving, he gave his wife a flint stone, a knife, and two chicken eggs, saying they were for her protection.
The two older sisters, filled with jealousy, conspired to harm their younger sister in order to take her place as the scholar's wife. Taking advantage of Sọ Dừa's absence, they invited the youngest sister to go boating and then deceitfully pushed her into the sea. She was swallowed by a giant fish, but fortunately, she had the knife with her and was able to cut her way out of the fish's belly. After escaping, she drifted to an island.
To survive, she used the flint to start a fire to roast fish. The two chicken eggs she had brought along hatched into a hen and a rooster, providing her with companions.
One day, a boat passed by the island, and the rooster saw it and crowed loudly:
Oo... oo... oo...
It must be the scholar's boat coming to take my mistress home!
Sọ Dừa approached and recognized that it was indeed his wife. The couple joyfully reunited, filled with happiness. Once home, Sọ Dừa hosted a feast, inviting relatives to celebrate but keeping his wife's return a secret. Seeing this, the two older sisters felt secretly pleased and eagerly took the opportunity to recount the story of their younger sister’s unfortunate accident, pretending to be deeply sympathetic. Sọ Dừa said nothing; after the feast, he called for his wife to come forward. When the two sisters saw their younger sister, they were so embarrassed that they left the area and never returned.
No comments:
Post a Comment