Long time ago, in a village on the
highland region, lived two orphans, one was a young man about twenty years old,
the other was his seven years old sister. Because they were alone in this
world, they were all one for the other. On a beautiful day,
On a beautiful morning, he found his
wife sitting in the back yard drying her long black hair under the sunshine. At
the time when she glided the comb on her hair that she lifted with her other
hand, he discovered a long scar above the back of her neck. Surprised, he asked
her for its cause. Hesitating, she began to tell the story crying:
I am only the adoptive daughter of the
merchant. Orphaned, I lived with my brother who, fifteen years ago for unknown
reasons, injured me with a blow of an ax and abandoned me in the forest. I was
rescued by the robbers who sold me to this merchant who had just lost his
daughter and who was sorry for my situation. I don't know what happened to my
brother and it is hard for me to explain his insensitive act. However we love
each other so much.
The husband overcame his emotion and
asked his wife for information concerning her father's and brother's names and
her native village. Taken by remorse while keeping for himself the frightening
secret, he was ashamed and horrified himself. He tries to stay away from his
wife and his son by taking advantage of the military draft to enroll in the
army and hoping to find the delivery on the battleground.
From the day of his departure, in
ignorance of the truth, his wife waited for him with patience and resignation.
Every evening, she took her son in her arms and climbed up the mountain looking
out for the return of her husband. She made the same gesture for entire years.
On a beautiful day, reaching the top of the mountain, exhausted and stayed
standing, her eyes fixed to the horizon, she was changed into rock and immobile
in her eternal wait.
This mountain, known as "Núi Vọng
Phu" (or The Mountain of the Woman who is waiting for her husband ) is
located not far from Lạng Sơn, quite close to the Sino-Vietnamese border. At
the top of the mountain is a rock bearing the shape of a standing woman holding
her child in her arms. This resemblance is striking when the sun sets on the
horizon. The tale of this mountain is so touching it becomes thus one of the
legends preferred by Vietnamese and gives so much inspiration to Vietnamese
poet
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