BLOOD is THICKER than WATER – The Devotion of a Brother
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LAN BACH LE THAI 1
Once there was a man who died without making a will, and his elder son, HAI, took the whole property for himself and gave a miserable hut and a piece of dry land to BA, his younger brother.
BA spent most of his time ploughing and working hard for his elder brother, and in return, the latter lent him his buffaloes and plough once in a while to plough the piece of dry land. So, the fields of the elder brother grew greener and more flourishing day by day, and the younger brother lived near starvation because he got practically nothing out of his dry land.
If the elder brother was unfair and hard toward his younger brother, he was, on the contrary, extremely kind and generous to his own friends. He even went out of his way to meet their desires and wishes.
Now, it happened that HAI had a good-hearted and sensible wife who did not approve of his behaviour.
« My dear husband », she would say, « why is that you are kinder to your friends than to your own brother ? Does he not deserve more help and support? »
« He is old enough to look after himself », her husband would answer. «If you help him, he will not know how to stand on his own and will keep on relying on you. Let him manage for himself. »
« Moreover », he added, « my friends are excellent people who are entirely devoted to me, and I like to pay back the civility and generosity they have bestowed on me. »
« Yet, brothers are of the same blood », answered the wife mildly, « and blood is always thicker than water. I am quite convinced that in an emergency, you will find in your own brother love, devotion and help, whereas your friends will rim away from, or even betray, you. »
But HAI did not lend an ear to her arguments, which he dismissed as completely erroneous.
One day, HAI came home after work and found his wife in tears.
« What is wrong? » he asked.
« Alas! a great misfortune has fallen on us » she sobbed. « While you were away, a beggar come and stole some clothes. I ran after him with a bamboo-stick and struck him. He fell down, knocking his head against a hard rock and died immediately. I have wrapped him up with a mat over there, and I don’t know what to do now. »
HAI was very frightened and his wife added : « Isn’t it true that the magistrate is a dear friend of yours? Would he believe that it was a mere accident? If he would not, then we would be thrown into prison, and ruined. As nobody knows about this, could you ask one of your friends to come and help bury him in great secrecy? You have been so generous to your friends, and certainly they won’t betray you.»
Reassured, HAI set out quickly for help. He went to the house of a very dear friend, knocked at the door and was welcome in the warmest way. But when he gave an account of the accident and asked for help, the friend told him to ask somebody else. He was sorry he could not manage it, because his wife was away and he had to stay home to look after the house and the children.
HAI went to another friend of his. The man received him kindly, covered the table with a cloth and offered him a warm cup of tea, showing in every way that he was the most welcome guest in the house. HAI’s heart was filled with hope and he started to relate his misfortune. The friend grew very embarrassed and said he was himself old and sick and could not really carry a heavy load. Could another friend of theirs help instead?
HAI ran to another friend of his and found the latter extremely happy to see him.
« What can I do for you, dear brother? » said the friend. « You look very upset, and I shall do anything to relieve you from worries. Tell me to jump into the fire for your sake, and I shall do it without any hesitation, because you know very well that my life is yours.»
HAI heaved a sigh of relief, thinking that his misfortune would end here, and that he found at last the true and devoted friend he was looking for. But after he finished the story and asked for help, the friend suddenly remembered that his old mother had a strange sickness, and therefore he could not leave her in such a state. But he so fully sympathized with HAI, and wished, at the bottom of his heart, that he could go to help him.
HAI knocked in vain at the other doors. In the end, completely exhausted, he dragged himself home, half dead with fear and despair. But his wife gave him a drug to drink to recover some strength, and said: « It is getting late. You must go and ask your own brother BA to come. Please hurry up, for there is no time to lose.»
BA showed himself a most loving and devoted brother. He went at once to help HAI bury the man, and did all he could to comfort his elder brother.
But when they came back home at dawn, what should they see? The house was full of HAI’s friends who had asked the magistrate to come there to punish him. Each one pointed an accusing finger at the latter and gave their threatening proofs. The magistrate said in a solemn voice: «You have committed a murder, and moreover, have attempted to ask these men to be your accomplices. Fortunately they are honest citizens who only obey the voice of their conscience. It is useless to deny. Take us at once to , the place where you buried the man, and let justice be done. »
This was carried out without delay, but the surprise was great when, instead of a beggar, a corpse of a big dog was found.
Then HAI’s wife prostrated in front of the magistrate and said: «I knew that my husband loved his friends more than his own brother, and I have long thought of a way of making him see reason. Yesterday, my dog died, and I soon made up the whole story to help my husband find out who are his true friends. And this is the result, O most righteous magistrate.»
One could not describe the joy of HAI who fell sobbing in the arms of his younger brother, while his friends stood there, dumbfounded and crestfallen. How could they look HAI in the face again, nobody could imagine.
SEE MORE:
◊ The BICH-CAU Predestined Meeting – Section 1.
◊ The BICH-CAU Predestined Meeting – Section 2.
◊ CINDERELLA – The Story of TAM and CAM – Section 1.
◊ CINDERELLA – The Story of TAM and CAM – Section 2.
◊ The RAVEN’s Gem.
◊ The Story of TU THUC – The Land of BLISS – Section 1.
◊ The Story of TU THUC – The Land of BLISS – Section 2.
◊ Vietnamese version (Vi-VersiGoo) with WEB-Hybrid: BICH-CAU Hoi ngo – Phan 1.
◊ Vietnamese version (Vi-VersiGoo) with WEB-Hybrid: BICH-CAU Hoi ngo – Phan 2.
◊ Vietnamese version (Vi-VersiGoo) with WEB-Hybrid: Viên ĐÁ QUÝ của QUẠ.
◊ Vietnamese version (Vi-VersiGoo) with WEB-Hybrid: Câu chuyện TẤM CAM – Phân 1.
◊ Vietnamese version (Vi-VersiGoo) with WEB-Hybrid: Câu chuyện TẤM CAM – Phân 2.
NOTES:
1 : R.W. PARKES’ Foreword introduces LE THAI BACH LAN and her short-stories books: “Mrs. Bach Lan has assembled an interesting selection of Vietnamese legends for which I am glad to write a brief foreword. These tales, well and simply translated by the author, have considerable charm, derived in no small part from the sense they convey of familiar human situations clothed in exotic dress. Here, in tropical settings, we have faithful lovers, jealous wives, unkind stepmothers, the stuff of which so many Western folk stories are made. One story indeed is Cinderella over again. I trust that this little book will find many readers and stimulate friendly interest in a country whose present-day problems are regrettably better known than her past culture. Saigon, 26th February 1958.”
3 : … updating …
NOTES:
◊ Contents and images – Source: Vietnamese Legends – Mrs. LT. BACH LAN. Kim Lai An Quan Publishers, Saigon 1958.
◊ Featured sepiaized images has been set by Ban Tu Thu – thanhdiavietnamhoc.com.
BAN TU THU
07 /2020