Vietnamese Stories for Language Learners. Tri C. Tran

Society often condemns a woman’s unfaithfulness more harshly than that of a man. Because of this, women are left to choose between their attractions and adultery or their reputations. Although there are several ways for a woman to prove her fidelity, nevertheless, the accusation or suspicion of unfaithfulness would make her feel that her integrity was seriously disgraced. Once the accusations triggered judgment (just or unjust), any woman might react in an indescribably tragic manner.

      Long, long ago, in the district of Nam Xuong, part of the Ha Nam province, there was a young woman who was beautiful inside and out. She was married to a man named Truong. Young Truong loved his wife wholeheartedly, but was often jealous for no reason. She always had to show her husband that she was decent and faithful.

      Their home country was at war with Champa, so Truong received the king’s order to go to war. On the day of his departure, the couple was extremely reluctant to part from each other. A short time after Truong was conscripted, the young woman found out she was pregnant, and after nine months she gave birth to an adorable baby boy. The boy grew fast, and in no time, he was learning to walk and talk. The older he got, the more he looked exactly like his father.

      After they finished dinner, the mother and child would always sit next to each other on their wooden bed and look at the gloomy light from their oil lamp.

      Every now and then, the boy would ask, “Mommy, where is Father? Huh, Mommy?”

      The young woman would sadly point at her shadow on the wall. “That’s your father!”

      The boy saw the shadow on the wall and thought it was real, believing it to be his father. Every time night fell, he anxiously waited for his father to come home so that he could play with him.

      The following year, there was a truce in the war with Champa, and young Truong happily returned to his village, counting each minute and each second until he was able to see his lovely wife. Their reunion was so moving that words could not describe it. Truong’s happiness was multiplied manifold when he found out he had a son to continue his lineage. By this time, the boy spoke fluently, but he looked at Truong like a stranger because they had never met.

      Truong picked him up and lovingly asked, “Do you know who I am? I am your father!”

      The boy unexpectedly wrestled out of his father’s arms and responded, “No! No! You are not my father! My father only visits me at night!”

      Truong was enormously shocked when he heard this coming from his son. The young woman was no less astonished, not expecting her son to say such nonsense. She was still choked up with tears and didn’t know how to begin to explain herself when Truong became violently angry.

      “I wasn’t even gone for long, and you were already unfaithful to me. I really didn’t expect you to be so two-faced. Women like you turn out to be just promiscuous!”

      Even though the young woman pleaded with him to let her tell him the whole story, Truong stubbornly did not want to listen.

      He nagged and said, “Don’t waste your effort justifying it. I won’t believe anything you say anyway. If you want the truth, ask a child. Children won’t know how to make up stories.”

      The young woman was extremely heartbroken, knowing that even if she tried to explain, she wouldn’t be able to convince her overly jealous husband. She left home, but didn’t know where to go. She wandered aimlessly around the neighborhood, like a person in shock. She kept walking for a long time, finally reaching the port of Ha Giang at the end of the village. In a fit of extreme hopelessness, she crept slowly into the river and committed suicide by drowning herself.

      At home, Truong momentarily calmed down from his rage and began to worry about the whereabouts of his wife. He carried his son around the village while asking everyone, but no one knew. Three days later, someone was fishing and happened to see the corpse of a young woman floating along the river. Truong heard the news and rushed to the area. He recognized his ill-fated wife. He cried his heart out, then buried her.

      That evening was the first time he lit the oil lamp as it got dark. When the shadow of him and his son glimmered on the wall, the boy quickly pointed at the “father shadow” and cried, “There it is, my father has come home!”

      Truong was stunned as the situation became clear to him. He finally understood the whole story and the unjust situation that his wife had to bear. The villagers, knowing what happened, built a shrine for the young woman and called it the “Shrine for Truong’s Wife.”

Thiếu Phụ Nam Xương

      Oan Tình Biết Tỏ Cùng Ai

      Dường như người đời thường lên án sự thiếu chung thuỷ của người phụ nữ khắt khe hơn là đối với nam giới. Có lẽ vì thế mà rất nhiều người đàn bà phải chọn lựa giữa sự phụ bạc và danh dự của mình. Có nhiều cách để một người đàn bà chứng minh sự trinh bạch của mình. Tuy thế, lắm khi chỉ vì bị nghi ngờ là phụ bạc thôi mà người ấy đã cảm thấy danh dự bị xúc phạm nặng nề. Một khi người đàn bà đã cảm thấy như thế, phản ứng của nàng có thể vô cùng thảm khốc.

      Lâu, lâu lắm rồi, ở huyện Nam Xương thuộc tỉnh Hà Nam có người thiếu phụ đẹp cả người lẫn nết, kết nghĩa vợ chồng với chàng Trương. Trương sinh một lòng yêu vợ, nhưng phải tính hay ghen bóng ghen gió. Thiếu phụ lúc nào cũng phải tỏ ra cho chồng thấy mình là đoan trang, chung thuỷ.

      Nhân nước nhà có chiến tranh với nước Chiêm Thành, chàng Trương được lệnh vua phải ra đi đánh giặc. Hai vợ chồng vô cùng bịn rịn buổi chia tay. Ít lâu sau, thiếu phụ mới biết mình đã có thai, rồi qua chín tháng mười ngày, sinh được một thằng bé trai kháu khỉnh. Thằng bé mau ăn, chóng lớn, chẳng mấy chốc đã bắt đầu tập đi, tập nói. Thằng bé càng lớn càng trông giống cha như tạc. Đêm đêm, khi cơm nước xong xuôi, hai mẹ con thường ngồi bên nhau trên phản, trong ánh đèn dầu ảm đạm. Thằng bé thỉnh thoảng lại hỏi mẹ:

       –Mẹ ơi, cha đâu rồi, hở mẹ?

      Thiếu phụ buồn rầu, chỉ vào bóng mình in trên vách:

       –Cha con đó!

      Thằng bé tưởng thật, nhìn cái bóng trên tường mà ngỡ đó là cha mình. Rồi cứ mỗi lần đêm xuống, nó lại háo hức đợi cha về để cùng đùa giỡn. Năm sau, giặc Chiêm Thành đã tạm thời được dẹp yên, Trương sinh vui sướng trở về làng, mong từng giờ từng phút được gặp lại vợ hiền. Cảnh trùng phùng của đôi vợ chồng vô cùng cảm động, không bút mực nào tả xiết. Niềm vui của chàng Trương lại còn nhân lên bội phần khi biết rằng mình đã có một đứa con trai để sau này nối dõi tông đường. Thằng bé bây giờ đã nói sõi, song nó nhìn chàng Trương như một người xa lạ vì chưa một lần gần gũi. Chàng Trương bế nó lên, âu yếm hỏi:

       –Con có biết ta là ai không? Ta là cha của con đó!

      Chẳng ngờ thằng bé vùng ra khỏi vòng tay cha, đáp lại:

       –Không! Không! Ông không phải là cha tôi! Cha tôi đêm tối mới về chơi với