Cuội and the Banyan Tree
Once upon a time, there was a clever boy named Cuội, who used his wits to play tricks on those around him. He lived with his uncle and aunt, who were often victims of his deceptions.
One day, Cuội went to the fields and told his uncle a lie. He said, “Your wife has fallen from a ladder and is bleeding heavily!” Shocked, the uncle ran home as fast as he could. But Cuội took a shortcut, reached the house first, and told his aunt another lie: “A buffalo has attacked your husband and is lying dying in the field!” In a panic, she rushed to the field.
On the way, the uncle and aunt met each other. Sweating and out of breath, they realised Cuội had tricked them. Furious, they decided to teach him a lesson.
They locked him in a bamboo cage and planned to let him drift down the river.
As they carried the cage to the river, Cuội apologised and asked them to go home to fetch a book hidden behind the rice basket. He claimed it was the book that had taught him how to lie. Curious, they hurried home to search for the book.
While they were away, a blind man passed by. Cuội called out to him, “If you open this cage, you will regain your sight!” Hoping to see again, the blind man freed Cuội, but instead of helping him, Cuội ran away and hid in a bamboo grove. There, he found a jar full of gold. Feeling guilty, he returned home and gave the gold to his uncle and aunt to make amends for his tricks. Meanwhile, the poor blind man was left behind, waiting for his sight to return.
Later, Cuội married and continued to play clever tricks. One day, while walking in the forest, he saw a tiger. The tigress gathered leaves from a tree and placed them on her injured cub. To Cuội’s amazement, the cub’s wound healed instantly! Cuội realised the tree was magical. He quickly dug it up and took it home to plant in his garden. He called it the Banyan Tree and took great care of it.
Cuội warned his wife, “Never pour dirty water or throw rubbish on the roots of this tree. If you do, it will fly up to the heavens!”
But one day, while Cuội was away, his wife forgot his warning. She poured dirty water on the tree’s roots. When Cuội returned, he saw the tree tremble and begin to rise into the air. He grabbed its roots and tried to stop it, but the tree rose higher and higher, taking him with it.
The tree carried Cuội to the moon. It is said that even today, if you look at the moon, you can see a man sitting under a tree. That is Cuội, still holding onto the Banyan Tree. He is lonely, playing his flute, counting the days, and dreaming of the day he can return to Earth and see his wife again.