Vietnamese Stories for Language Learners. Tri C. Tran

vuốt claw

      mũi tên arrow

      nỏ thần magic longbow

      rùa vàng golden turtle

      thần genie

      thành luỹ citadel and rampart

      tình hình situation

      vũ khí weapon

      vua cha the King Father

      yêu quái demon

       ADJECTIVES

      độc đáo unique

      khổng lồ gigantic

      kiên cố strong

      kỳ diệu marvelous

      nguy ngập perilous

      rủi ro unfortunate

      vô số innumerable

      vô tình unintentional

       VERBS

      ban lệnh to give an order

      bao vây to surround

      bảo vệ to protect

      cai trị to rule

      chém đầu to decapitate

      chống cự to resist

      đánh tráo to switch

      đinh ninh to be convinced

      dò hỏi to inquire

      đội ơn to be deeply indebted

      gởi rể to live with the family of one’s wife

      kén chồng to look for a husband

      làm hoà to make peace

      lâm nguy to be in danger

      lân la to get closer

      lập đàn to set up a place (to give offerings)

      lóng lánh to sparkle

      mách bảo to inform

      phá phách to vandalize

      quấy nhiễu to hurry

      tẩu thoát to escape

      thỏ thẻ to talk in a gentle manner

      thủ thỉ to talk in a soft and intimate manner

      tiêu diệt to wipe out

      tin tưởng to trust

      từ biệt to bid farewell

      tự vẫn to kill oneself

      tuốt gươm ra to unsheathe the sword

      vỡ lẽ to realize

      vờ to pretend

      xâm lấn to invade

       ADVERBS

      cung kính respectfully

      dễ bề easily

      hết lòng whole-heartedly

      thật bụng truthfully

      thật tình honestly

       CONJUNCTION

      song but

       IDIOMATIC EXPRESSIONS

      đầu đuôi câu chuyện the long and the short of it

      nếu có bề gì should anything happen

      như nước vỡ bờ like water from a broken dam

       Discussion Questions

      1 How can a spiral shape be good for the defense for a citadel?

      2 What do you think about arranged marriages, in ancient as well as in modern times?

      3 Do you agree with An Duong Vuong’s decision to behead his daughter for treason? Why or why not?

      The Story of Chu Dong Tu

       The Reluctant Groom

       A strong belief in something can be the reason for one to make extremely bold decisions. A princess meets a young man in an uncomfortable situation and believes that fate has arranged that unusual encounter. In deciding to marry him, she goes against the traditional customs that every woman has to obey in a feudalist and patriarchal society.

      King Hung III had a divinely beautiful daughter named Tien Dung. She liked to travel here and there, visiting natural landscapes during the four seasons. During that time, in the village of Chu Xa, there lived a widower and his son, Chu Dong Tu. They were so poor that they took turns using only one loincloth whenever they went out in public. When the father was on his deathbed, his last words were for his son to keep the loincloth for himself. Chu Dong Tu did not have the heart to bury his father naked and cold, so he buried the loincloth with his father. From that moment on, he caught fish in the river at night and immersed himself in the water to sell his catch to passing boats during the day.

      One evening, as Chu Dong Tu was swimming in the river, princess Tien Dung’s royal barge passed by. Frightened, he swam to shore and hid, using sand to cover his body. He did not realize that Tien Dung had given orders for her entourage to pull ashore and rest. She ordered her tent to be set up exactly where Chu Dong Tu was hiding so she could bathe. Her bath water splashed down, exposing his naked body. Though Chu Dong Tu was shaking and embarrassed, Tien Dung talked to him and found out about his miserable situation.

      She mused, “I’d never thought about getting married, but it’s ironic how I unexpectedly met this man. Is this our destiny or what?”

      She then boldly decided to have a wedding ceremony with this stranger. News of Tien Dung marrying a man without permission made its way to the palace.

      The king was furious and grumbled, “Tien Dung has disregarded the order of things, and has married someone of low rank. From this moment on, I forbid that disobedient child to ever come back here again!”

      From then, Tien Dung and Chu Dong Tu lived a simple life, making a living by setting up a trading post to buy and sell goods at the market. Slowly, their business became prosperous. They then opened a shop in a larger market. Day after day, customers flooded in, buying and selling. Chu Dong Tu diligently traveled to neighboring areas to start more businesses, while Tien Dung stayed to watch over their shop.

      Along his route, Chu Dong Tu happened to run into a hermit who taught him some magic. The hermit gave him a cane and a hat, saying that the two objects had supernatural powers. When Chu Dong Tu came home, he showed off these two strange objects to his wife and told the story of how he met the hermit. The couple decided to change their lives, leave their business, and travel the world to find a master to study the supernatural with these new objects.

      One day, while they were traveling, the couple stopped at a small teashop to rest. Just as Chu Dong Tu set the cane down and hung the hat on top, the couple fell asleep. Oddly, when they awoke the following morning, they found themselves not inside the shabby teashop anymore, but instead in a magnificent palace, surrounded by royal officials and servants. Folks in the area came to worship and submitted themselves to the couple as if they were king and queen. From then on, that region became like a separate country, with the people living peacefully and well taken care of.

      Not long afterwards,