The RAVEN’s Gem
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LAN BACH LE THAI 1
On the top of a tree, a raven had built his nest. There sat the sick, sheen-feathered mother-raven with her four young ones who were cold and hungry.
« Tweet! tweet! » said the young ravens, « We feel so hungry. Daddy, please get us some nice, juicy caterpillars to eat.»
And father-raven flew away to get food for the frail, shivering creatures. He flew and flew and flew until he saw a young boy lying stiff in the grass of a meadow.
« This is a dead boy », thought the raven. « I might as well peck out his eyes for my little ones.»
And he swooped down, trying to get the boy’s eyes.
But the boy was only a buffalo-herd who was lying there in utter despair because one of his master’s creditors had taken away the single buffalo he was supposed to look after. And he was afraid to encounter his master’s angry looks, therefore he lay stiff in the grass wishing that he might die to leave this world of suffering and sorrow.
As soon as he saw the raven hovering above him, the buffalo-herd seized him and said : « I’ve got you, wicked bird. You intended to peck my eyes out, didn’t you ? Now that I have caught you, I will certainly kill you.»
« Croak ! croak ! » said the frightened raven. « Please let me go, sir, for my wife is sick ahd my little ones cold and hungry. Had I not believed you were dead, I would not have come to harm you. Please, please set me free to look for food for my poor little ones. »
The buffalo-herd was moved by this and let the raven go. But the bird still hung about and said: « Croak ! croak ! You are so kind to me and to my dear family, sir. Let me offer you something in token of my gratefulness.»
And he spat a brilliant and beautiful gem, which he presented to the boy who most gladly accepted it.
« Croak! Croak! » added the raven, « This is a very precious gem, for it has the magic power to grant you whatever you wish for. »
Then the bird said good-bye, soared high into the sky and disappeared in the distance.
« I wish I had a buffalo to take back to my master.»
No sooner the wish was made than a buffalo appeared in front of the boy’s eyes. He took the animal back to his master and resigned from his work because he was tired of the master’s bad-humour and wickedness.
He went home and wished : « Would that I possessed a beautiful house surrounded by a nice garden.»
All of a sudden, a magnificent house rose among the trees.
Around it was a beautiful garden beaming with flowers and sunshine. The windows of the house were wide open, and smartly-dressed servants stood at the door to beg the boy to come in. When he was in the house, he saw a large table spread with delicious food. He sat there and enjoyed the meal, while the servants were scurrying about to see that every wish of his was fulfilled.
In a splendid bedroom, he found many beautiful dresses which just fitted him, and he put them on, feeling very rich and important.
Then the young boy wanted to possess more. He took the gem and wished: « Would that I had immense meadows and rice-fields. »
While he was wishing, the marshy fields around the house fields above which hovered the janging birds, and lovely butterflies.
The boy lived now in great wealth and he did not lack anything to be happy.
He started however to grow up and one day felt rather lonely. He wished once more: « Would that I had a fairy-like woman as a wife to keep me company and to share my wealth. »
Thereupon, the best looking-girl in the country came to him to become his bride. The girl had large jet black eyes, and a smooth satin complexion, and the young man felt very happy.
The bride found life in the beautiful mansion most pleasant and enjoyable, and as a dutiful and loving daughter, she wanted her own parents to share this wealth.
She asked her husband about the secret of his sudden wealth, and he foolishly told her all about it.
One day, when he was away, she stole the gem and ran back to her own house.
As soon as the young man realized his double loss, he was very upset and cried helplessly.
Lord Buddha appeared to him and said : « My son, here are two magic flowers, a red one and a white one. Take the white flower to your parents-in-law’s house and funny things will happen. They will appeal to you for help, and the red flower will save them from trouble. Everything will be well in the end. »
The man did as he was told.
Once he put the white flower at the gate of his parents-in-law’s house, it sent forth such a strange and sweet fragrance that everybody came to smell it. But lo ! in a wink, their noses became long, so long that they looked like elephants’trunks, and the neighbours roared with laughter when they saw this.
The young man’s father-in-law bewailed : « Good heavens, what have we done to get such a curse upon us ? »
« It is because my wife has stolen my gem », replied the man.
His parents-in-law felt extremely sorry for the theft, gave back the gem, begged for forgiveness and sought help.
The man then produced the red flower which at once reduced the noses to their normal proportions and everybody felt greatly relieved and glad.
The man took his wife back home, and they lived happily together again. Many children were bom to them and when the man now old and sick, was about to die, the raven came and sat on the top of a tree in the garden, saying : « Croak ! croak ! give me back my gem ! Give me back my gem ! ».
The old man had the gem put at the foot of the tree. The raven swallowed it and flew away into the blue sky.
SEE MORE:
◊ The BICH-CAU Predestined Meeting – Section 1.
◊ Vietnamese version (Vi-VersiGoo): BICH-CAU Hoi ngo – Phan 1.
◊ Vietnamese version (Vi-VersiGoo): BICH-CAU Hoi ngo – Phan 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