The Legend of Saint Gióng

Once upon a time, during the reign of the sixth Hùng King, there was an elderly couple in the village of Gióng. They were known for their hard work and kindness. Despite their old age, they were childless and yearned for a child to bring comfort in their later years. One day, the wife went to the field and saw a giant footprint. Out of curiosity, she placed her foot in the footprint to compare. Unexpectedly, when she returned home, she became pregnant. Twelve months later, she gave birth to a handsome, bright-eyed baby boy. The couple was overjoyed, but strangely, by the time the boy was three, he still couldn’t walk, talk, or smile, and lay wherever he was placed.

At that time, the Ân invaders came to conquer the land, and their forces were incredibly strong. The king was deeply troubled and frightened, so he sent out envoys across the country to find talented individuals who could help save the nation. When the call of the royal proclamation echoed, the boy suddenly spoke for the first time. He told his mother to invite the royal envoy to their home, and when the envoy arrived, the boy requested that he report to the king, asking for an iron horse, an iron whip, and an iron suit of armor. The envoy was astonished and quickly rushed back to inform the king. The king immediately ordered the blacksmiths to work day and night to craft the items the boy had requested.

From the moment the envoy visited, the boy began to grow at an incredible rate. No matter how much food he ate, he was never full, and the clothes he wore would tear at the seams as soon as they were put on. The couple could no longer afford to feed him, so they had to seek help from their neighbors. Everyone was eager to assist, contributing rice to feed the boy, as they all hoped he would defeat the invaders and save the country.

The nation was in grave danger, and the enemy had already reached the foot of Mount Trâu, causing widespread panic. At that critical moment, the envoy arrived with the iron horse, the iron whip, and the iron armor. As soon as the boy saw these items, he stretched and instantly transformed into a towering, majestic figure. Clad in iron armor, wielding the iron whip, and mounted on the iron horse, he struck the whip against the horse’s flank. The horse neighed thunderously and breathed fierce red flames, galloping straight toward the enemy. The flames scorched the invaders, and the iron whip struck them down. Suddenly, the iron whip broke. Without hesitation, he uprooted clusters of bamboo along the roadside and used them to strike the enemy. The invaders were thrown into chaos, scattering in fear, as he pursued them to the foot of Mount Sóc Sơn. Upon reaching the mountain, he ascended to its peak, removed his iron armor, mounted his horse, and slowly ascended into the sky.

In gratitude for saving the country, the king bestowed upon the boy from Gióng village the title of "Phù Đổng Thiên Vương" and ordered a temple to be built in his honor in his hometown. To this day, the Phù Đổng Thiên Vương temple still stands. Every year in April, the village holds the Gióng Festival. It is said that the bamboo clusters, scorched by the horse's fiery breath, turned a brilliant yellow in Gia Bình district. The horse's footprints have now become a series of ponds, and the village that was burned by the horse's flames is now called "Làng Cháy" (the Burned Village).