DO QUYEN – The Tale of Friendship
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LAN BACH LE THAI 1
When summer comes with the warm air waving the rice , ears which grow more and more golden, and when the heat of the sunbeams ripens the fruits that hang on the heavily-laden fruit-trees, you often hear the sorrowful monosyllabic twitter of a little bird : «Quoc! Quoc!». It is the call of the bird Do-Quyen that carries eternally his sorrow with him and searches everywhere for the dear friend that he lost. If you wish to hear this tale of friendship, it runs as follows :
Once upon a time, there were two friends who loved each other as much as if they had been brothers2.
One day, one of them got married, and insisted that his friend should come and stay with him in his new house, for he did not want to be separated from the latter. But his bride did not like this, and she did everything to show the guest that he was not welcome in her house. At the beginning, she started to suggest that the friend should get himself a wife and set up another household, for, she argued, «it was only good that one should have children to perpetuate the family and to fulfill one’s duty to one’s ancestors». But when she realized that the friend had no “intention of getting married, she changed her tactics. She gave her husband and his friend no rest, for she would scold and beat the servants all day long, declaring they were good for nothing and that it was mean and shameful that «young and healthy people should live on others like parasites». Often, she would make a scene for a trifle, and declare that she was the most miserable creature in the world, having to work like a slave to feed so many «idle mouths». It was obvious that the guest was one of the «idle mouths». At first, the latter kept quiet and suffered everything to stay near the dear friend whom he loved more than anybody in the world. But in the end, things grew worse, and life in the house was simply unbearable.
He decided to run away. But knowing that the married man would look everywhere for him, he hung his coat on a branch in the forest to make believe he was dead to stop the eventual search.
As soon as he knew the dear guest was gone, the married man rushed out in search of him. He ran and ran and ran until he came to the forest and saw the coat hanging on the tree. He wept bitterly for a long time, and asked everyone he met where his friend could be. No one knew. The wood-cutters said he must have been carried away by a fierce tiger which lived in a cave deep in the forest. An old woman passing by, said he must have been drowned in the river that flowed in the valley yonder. Many more tears were shed.
«Alas! my beloved friend is dead and gone», said the married man.
«We don’t believe it», said the murmuring bamboo-trees.
«He is dead and gone», he said to the birds.,
«We don’t think so», they twittered.
And at last, new hope sprang from his heart.
He set off again and crossed mountains and valleys until his feet were sore and bled, but he would not stop walking. And he kept on calling all the time : «Quoc! Quoc! where are you? Where are you?» — Quoc was the name of his friend.
Finally, overcome with fatigue, he leaned his head against a rock and slept. He dreamed of his friend and while he was dreaming, his life slipped away quietly. And his spirit, still restless, was turned into a bird which repeated the call «Quoc! Quoc!» day and night.
At home, his bride wept and worried about his absence. After a few days, seeing that he did not come back, she could not wait any longer, stole away and wandered about for a long time till She came to a big forest. She knew not where to go, was very sad and frightened. Suddenly she heard her husband’s voice calling : «Quoc! Quoc!». Her heart leaped, and she ran to look for him, but only heard the rustling of wings and saw a bird flying away with its desolate monosyllabic twitter : «Quoc! Quoc!».
She searched and searched in vain, and in the end, was physically and morally exhausted. Her heart was so full of sadness and’regret that it broke, while the bird Do-Quyen still flew about everywhere, carrying with him his eternal sorrow.
SEE ALSO:
◊ Vietnamese version (Vi-VersiGoo): DO QUYEN – Cau chuyen ve tinh ban.
◊ The BICH-CAU Predestined Meeting – Section 1.
◊ The BICH-CAU Predestined Meeting – Section 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.”
2 : One is called Nhan and the other is Quoc.
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
06 /2020