Vietnamese Most Interesting Fairy Tales – A collection

Lạc Long Quân, Âu Cơ & The Legend of the Hung Kings

e story begins with Lạc Long Quân, a dragon lord, and Âu Cơ, a mountain fairy. Their union symbolizes the harmony between the mountains and the sea. Together, they bore a hundred sons, said to be the ancestors of the Vietnamese people. However, due to their differing origins, Lạc Long Quân and Âu Cơ agreed to separate—half of their children followed their father to the coastal regions, while the other half went with their mother to the mountains. This is an animated short film on these figures (The substitle is also available in English. So, don’t forget to turn on the captions!):

The eldest son of this union became the first Hung King, marking the start of Vietnam’s first dynasty. The Hung Kings ruled over Văn Lang, a realm characterized by its fertile rice fields, communal harmony, and spiritual practices. This dynasty is credited with laying the foundations of Vietnamese culture, governance, and agricultural innovation.

The Story of Thach Sanh

Once upon a time, there was an elderly woodcutter and his wife who had no children. They were deeply saddened by this and dedicated themselves to doing good deeds, such as digging canals, building roads, cleaning wells, and offering water to travelers, hoping that heaven would bless them with a child. Eventually, the wife conceived, but she remained pregnant for three years without giving birth. During this time, her husband passed away. Soon after, she gave birth to a handsome son and named him Thach Sanh. A few years later, she also passed away, leaving Thach Sanh an orphan. He lived alone in a small hut under a banyan tree, with only a loincloth and an axe for cutting wood.

When Thach Sanh was thirteen years old, the Jade Emperor (Emperor of Heaven) sent an immortal to teach him martial arts and magical skills.

One day, a wine merchant named Ly Thong passed by and stopped to rest. Seeing that Thach Sanh was strong but orphaned, Ly Thong thought he could take advantage of him. He befriended Thach Sanh and invited him to live with him as his sworn brother.

At that time, there was an evil serpent demon that devoured humans. The king had sent many soldiers to kill it, but the creature possessed great magic, making it impossible to defeat. In the end, the king had to build a shrine for it and offer a human sacrifice every year. That year, it was Ly Thong’s turn to be sacrificed. Upon hearing this, Ly Thong and his mother devised a plan to trick Thach Sanh into going instead. That evening, when Thach Sanh returned from chopping wood, Ly Thong treated him to a feast and said,
“Tonight, I must stand guard at the shrine as ordered by the king, but I have a batch of wine brewing at home. Could you take my place just for one night?”

Thach Sanh, unsuspecting, agreed.

At midnight, a cold wind blew through the shrine, and suddenly, the serpent demon appeared, baring its fangs and breathing fire, ready to devour Thach Sanh. However, Thach Sanh remained calm, fought the monster fiercely, and eventually slew it. The creature transformed back into a giant snake. Thach Sanh took its head and returned home before dawn.

When he knocked on the door, Ly Thong and his mother, thinking it was Thach Sanh’s ghost seeking revenge, knelt in fear and prayed for forgiveness. Thach Sanh told them about the serpent’s defeat. Ly Thong, seeing an opportunity, cunningly told Thach Sanh that the serpent had been the king’s pet and that killing it was a crime punishable by death. He advised Thach Sanh to flee, while he himself hurried to the capital to take credit for slaying the monster. As a reward, the king appointed Ly Thong as Grand Commander.

Meanwhile, the king’s daughter was searching for a husband. Royal decrees were sent throughout the kingdom and neighboring lands, but she found no one to her liking. One day, while strolling in the palace garden, a giant eagle demon swooped down and carried her away.

Coincidentally, as the eagle flew over the banyan tree where Thach Sanh was resting, he saw it and shot an arrow into its wing. The injured eagle continued flying, leaving behind a trail of blood. Thach Sanh tracked it to a hidden cave and marked the entrance before returning.

Upon hearing that the princess had vanished, the king was devastated and ordered Ly Thong to find her, promising that whoever rescued her would marry her and inherit the throne. Ly Thong, desperate, devised a plan to host a grand festival, hoping to gather clues. For nine days, he listened, but no one mentioned the eagle demon.

News of the festival reached Thach Sanh, who came to watch. Upon meeting him, Ly Thong expressed his frustration about failing to find the princess. Naively, Thach Sanh recounted his encounter with the eagle demon. Ly Thong, overjoyed, asked Thach Sanh to lead him and his soldiers to the cave.

Thach Sanh bravely volunteered to descend into the cave alone. There, he found the princess imprisoned. He gave her a sleeping potion and instructed her to trick the eagle into drinking it. Once the beast was unconscious, Thach Sanh tied the princess to a rope, signaling Ly Thong to pull her up. However, as Thach Sanh prepared to climb out, Ly Thong ordered the cave entrance to be sealed, abandoning him inside.

The eagle soon awakened, furious to find the princess gone. It roared, shaking the cave walls. Thach Sanh fought it fiercely and ultimately slew the beast.

While exploring the cave, Thach Sanh discovered a golden cage containing a young man—the son of the Dragon King of the sea, who had been imprisoned by the eagle for a year. Thach Sanh broke the cage with a golden bow and freed the prince. In gratitude, the Dragon King invited Thach Sanh to his underwater palace and offered him treasures. However, Thach Sanh only asked for a magical lute as a keepsake before returning to the surface.

After slaying the serpent and the eagle demon, Thach Sanh returned to find that Ly Thong had claimed credit for the princess’s rescue and was preparing to marry her. The princess, traumatized by her ordeal, had not spoken a word since her return.

One day, Thach Sanh played the magic lute, and upon hearing it, the princess miraculously regained her speech. She revealed the truth, exposing Ly Thong’s betrayal. The furious king sentenced Ly Thong and his mother to death, but Thach Sanh, merciful as ever, pleaded for their lives. Instead, the king banished them from the kingdom. However, on their journey home, they were struck by lightning and turned into ashes.

The king then honored Thach Sanh by marrying him to the princess, and their wedding was the grandest the kingdom had ever seen.

Hearing of the wedding, eighteen vassal states, whose princes had been rejected by the princess, became enraged and declared war. The king prepared for battle, but Thach Sanh requested to face them alone. He took his magical lute and played a melody so enchanting that the enemy soldiers lost all will to fight and surrendered.

Thach Sanh then set up a feast for the defeated soldiers. However, he served them only a tiny pot of rice. The soldiers mocked him, but Thach Sanh challenged them to eat until the pot was empty. To their amazement, no matter how much they ate, the pot kept refilling. Overwhelmed, they acknowledged Thach Sanh’s power, bowed in submission, and peacefully returned to their homelands.

The tale of betel: Why do Vietnamese always have areca, betel leaves, and lime for weddings?

Once upon a time, in a certain household, there were two brothers. The elder was named Tân, and the younger was Lang. What was remarkable about them was that Tân and Lang had identical faces and builds, to the point that even their family members often confused them for one another. Their father, the tallest and strongest man in the region, was once summoned by King Hùng to Phong Châu to be rewarded, and the king gave him the name “Cao.” From that day forward, everyone in the family took “Cao” as their surname.

When the two brothers grew up, both their parents passed away, one after the other. As a result, the brothers became extremely close and couldn’t bear to be apart. Before their father passed, he entrusted Tân to a local sage from the Lưu family. However, when Tân went to study, Lang couldn’t stand being home alone, so he begged the sage to allow him to study with his elder brother. In the sage’s household, there was a daughter, around the same age as the brothers.

This daughter from the Lưu family wanted to figure out which of the two was the elder and which was the younger. One day, she came up with a small trick to test them. When both brothers were hungry, she brought out food but only served one bowl of porridge with a single pair of chopsticks. She then hid behind a wall and watched closely. She saw one of them offer the bowl of porridge to the other. She whispered to herself:

– Ah, so the elder brother is the kind and cheerful one!

From that day on, Tân and the Lưu family’s daughter had more and more meetings, and gradually, love blossomed between them, growing stronger over time.

Seeing this, the sage was pleased and happily gave his daughter’s hand in marriage to Tân. Afterward, the couple moved into a new home, and naturally, Lang lived with them as well.

From the day he married, although Tân still treated his younger brother kindly, he was no longer as affectionate. Before, Lang had always received Tân’s careful attention and care, but now, many days passed where Lang felt lonely and abandoned. Moreover, Lang began to realize that sometimes Tân seemed to avoid him, filling him with frustration and sadness:

– It’s understandable, he thought. He’s so infatuated with his wife now that he’s forgotten about me!

One day, Tân and Lang went to work in the fields and returned home late in the evening. Lang arrived home first. As soon as he stepped through the doorway, Tân’s wife, mistaking him for her husband, rushed out from the bedroom and hugged him without a word. Startled, Lang cried out. This confusion embarrassed them both deeply. Just then, Tân entered the house.

From that moment, Lang noticed a new side to his brother’s character. Tân became jealous of his younger brother. This jealousy only intensified Tân’s coldness towards Lang, which left Lang feeling both angry and ashamed. He began to consider leaving home to ease his resentment.

One morning at dawn, Lang decided to set out on a journey. He followed a winding path, feeling deeply frustrated and resentful that the brother who had once loved him so dearly could change so much.

Lang walked for days, eventually stopping at the bank of a vast river. The river’s strong current made him hesitant. The area around was so remote that not even the sounds of dogs barking or roosters crowing could be heard. Still, Lang was determined not to return home. Heartbroken, he sat by the riverbank and wept. He cried so long and so bitterly that even the birds foraging late into the night could hear his sobs. By morning, Lang had become lifeless. He had turned into stone.

Back at home, Tân initially didn’t notice his brother’s absence. But as time passed and Lang still didn’t return, Tân began to worry. He searched every home they knew, but there was no sign of Lang. Tân realized that his brother had left out of anger, and he was filled with regret.

The next day, with Lang still missing, Tân was overcome with panic. Leaving his wife behind, he set off to find his brother. After days of walking, Tân reached the banks of the great river.

Unable to find a way to cross the river, Tân walked along its edge until he came upon the stone that had once been his brother. Standing silently beside the stone, Tân wept bitterly until the only sound left was that of the rushing river. Tân then passed away and transformed into a tall tree that stood next to the stone.

Back at home, Tân’s wife waited endlessly for her husband to return. Unable to bear it any longer, she set out to find him. Eventually, she too was stopped by the great river. She sat by the tall tree and cried until she had no tears left. She died and transformed into a vine that wound itself around the tall tree.

After a long time without hearing from either brother, the sage and his wife asked the villagers for help in searching for them. When they reached the riverbank and saw the stone and the two strange plants, they could only build a shrine to honor the three of them. The villagers named the shrine “Harmonious Brothers, Loyal Wife.”

Years later, a severe drought hit the region, causing all the plants to wither. However, the two trees by the stone in front of the shrine remained lush and green. Everyone believed this to be a divine sign.

One day, King Hùng passed through the area. Surprised by the unusual trees and scenery near the shrine, he asked:

– What deity is worshiped at this shrine? I’ve never seen trees like these before.

The local official summoned the village elders, who recounted the ancient story. The more King Hùng listened, the more touched he became.

The king climbed the tree to survey the surroundings and then ordered a guard to pick the fruit for him to taste. He found it bitter at first, but when he chewed it along with the vine’s leaves, a strange yet delightful flavor filled his mouth—spicy, fragrant, and sweet.

Suddenly, a courtier cried out:

– My goodness! There’s blood!

Everyone was astonished. The pulp of the fruit mixed with the leaves had turned red, like blood, when spat onto the stone.

The king then instructed his men to chew the fruit, vine, and lime together. He felt a warm sensation spreading through his body, his lips turning bright red, and his face glowing with vitality. He exclaimed:

– Truly miraculous! Their love is deep and vibrant, like the red of this mixture.

From that day on, King Hùng ordered the widespread cultivation of these two plants. He also decreed that when men and women marry, they must bring together three things—areca, betel leaves, and lime—as a symbol of love that would never fade.

And thus, the Vietnamese custom of chewing betel was born.