Once upon a time, a girl was a servant to a rich man. Despite working exhaustedly morning, noon, and night, she was always treated very poorly by her master. Not only did she lack food to eat or clothes to wear, but she also got beaten up sometimes. Therefore, even though she was in her early twenties, her body kept shrinking, looking extremely ugly and disheveled.
One day, there was a death anniversary in a wealthy family [1]. The feast was set lavishly, and the house was crowded with their relatives gathering to eat and drink. It was so unjust for the girl that she had to carry water on her shoulders non-stop.
It was not until the tenth time carrying water that she was so tired and had to rest by sitting beside the well. Suddenly she felt sorry for herself and burst into tears. At that time, Buddha suddenly appeared in the form of an old man. The old man seemed to have come from afar, with a tired appearance, asking for a sip of water. She put aside her work, then quickly got the water from the well and gave it to the old man. No sooner had the old man finished drinking than he asked for food. The girl remembered her uneaten portion of rice and then told the old man to sit and wait before carrying the water back home.
When she returned to the well, she took out the rice in her basket, gave it to the old man, and said:
- They only gave me burnt rice, it might not be the best but it could relieve your hunger.
- After finishing eating, he asked the girl: Why did you cry?
She bowed her head, being hesitant to answer his question.
- I am Buddha. I see your warm heart and kindness. If you let me know your wishes, I will make your dreams come true.
The girl was both surprised and happy, then she told Buddha about her sad story. Her only longing was to reduce her ugliness, so the old man told her to step into the well. Whenever you see a beautiful flower, let sip its nectar, and then your wishes will come true. When she stepped into the water, the girl only sucked on a few white flowers. As she came out of the water, she became fair and beautiful, and her clothes transformed into something better, making her feel less ugly.
After listening to the girl tell the story, everyone wanted to pray for a little luck. They immediately rushed to the well, hoping to see the Buddha again and regain their youth and beauty. When they saw that the old man was still sitting in the same place, they felt as happy as people who had gained something. They offered sticky rice and meat to the old man.
- Hey, eat! Eat it! Then please do us a favor!
Buddha also told them to wade into the well and said the same thing as the girl last time.
The well was filled with red and white flowers at that time. Everyone thinks red is beautiful, so when wading into the well, they look for red flowers to suck on. But unexpectedly, when they climbed up the well, they were not younger as they expected, but older: their faces were wrinkled, their bodies looked shriveled, they had very hairy arms and legs, and behind their backs was a tail. The people carrying the water burden saw this and were startled and frightened: “Look at the demon, it’s biting people!”. But there were other voices: - “Beat them to death! Don’t be afraid!”. Upon hearing that, everyone took up the yoke and turned back to beat them. The entire wealthy family ran right through the forest. From then on, the girl, along with the poor who served the rich, enjoyed the wealth they left behind.
Talking about the rich and their relatives they had to hide in the deep forest, looking for fruit every day to feed themselves. They walked hunched over, their clothes were torn, and they looked very miserable. But they still regret it. So sometimes, they come back at night, knock on the door, or sit in front of the house and cry all night long before returning to the forest in the morning.
Seeing that, the girl and everyone else were so scared that they closed the door very tightly at night. They discussed how to get rid of them. They smeared shrimp paste on the doors, heated many plowshares, and scattered them at the gates of the houses.
Obviously, one night, they came back again. It was the same as usual, they swung against the door bars and screeched. No sooner had they swung the door than they were thrown shrimp paste all over their hands, and then from their hands all over their bodies, their body odor was terrible. They were scared and led each other to sit in front of the gate as usual. But as soon as they put their butts down on the plowshares, they cried loudly, then ran away into the forest. From then on, they did not dare to return any more.
People sometimes encountered then when going to the forest to collect firewood. Seeing their shadow from afar, the animals immediately followed the tree branches and quickly escaped. People call them monkeys. Today, many people still consider monkeys to be bourgeois. As for the monkeys, the reason why their butts are red is because they have inherited the burn marks from their ancestors [2].
Translations
- Vietnamese: Sự tích con khỉ