Vietnamese Culture and Tradition Once upon a time, there was a very rich man who lived in a village. When he died, he left his two sons a huge fortune. But the two brothers were entirely different.
The elder was greedy, but the younger was very kind. So after the parents’ death, the elder claimed the fortune and left his younger brother only star fruit tree. (A very productive tree that gives sour fruit.) The younger brother took good care of his tree, watering it every day and hoping that it would give him a lot of fruit so that he could make a living by selling it. The elder brother, on the other hand, was so happy with his inheritance that he had nothing to worry about.
Chargined, the wife lamented: ” Poor us. As poor as we are, the only thing we count much on was what that star fruit tree brings us; now look, this bird ravaged it all. We will probably know starvation”. Miracle! The raven upon hearing those lamentations, perched down and replied in a human voice: ” Star fruits I eat, with gold I pay, be ready with a three-foot bag and follow me to get it”. Afraid the woman ran in the hut to look for her husband. They discussed and decided to sew the bag according to the indicated size, waiting for the return of the bird. A few days later, the bird came back, ate all the star fruits then got down from the tree to invite the husband to take a seat on its back with the bag. Then they disappeared together in the horizon.
Frightened, the younger brother closed his eyes. The bird took him very far before landing on a deserted island, full of precious stones. He was free to take whatever he could. He filled the bag and the raven took him back to his home. From then on, the couple knew opulence, lived in luxury places. They often gave help to the poor. On the occasion of the commemoration of his parents’ death, the couple invited the elder brother to come over. Full of despise of his younger brother, the elder look for a pretext to decline and aksed that the younger carpet the road with mats and adorn the gate with gold if he wanted to receive him.
Respectful of his elder brother, the younger complied with the latter’s wish. The elder brother and his wife were surprised to see the younger couple’s opulence and wealth. Curious, the elder skillfully tried to penetrate the mystery. His younger brother, honest and frank, did not hesitate to tell him the story of the giant raven that took him to look for gold.
The elder couple proposed an exchange of their fortune for only the hut and the star fruit tree. The younger agreed. One day, the raven came back to eat the star fruits and gave the same recommendation: a three-foot bag to go looking for gold. The elder greedy and curious, brought with him two big six-foot bags and when on the spot, filled them with gold. On the way back, burdened by the overweight of of the two bags, the raven who could not hold any longer, swayed and sent the elder to the sea where he drowned.
The elder was the object of much despise when people knew about his greed and stinginess. God always helps good people and always punishes naughty people
