The Clever Boy Fairy Tale

In the past, although the country was at peace, the northern king always had the intention of looking at Dai Viet. The northern king always sent envoys to Dai Viet to investigate. The Dai Viet king knew about the intention from the north, so he tried his best to seek talent and held exams. Moreover, the king also sent a talented official to scout around the country to find talented people. The official listened to many places, went to many places, and wherever he went, he gave out tricky riddles and paid generous rewards to attract people. However, after much effort, he still could not find anyone truly talented and outstanding.

Although he was very discouraged, because he wanted to find talented people for the country, he still devoted himself to searching. One day, the mandarin passed by a field and suddenly saw a father and son working on the field by the roadside. The father was plowing with a buffalo, the son was pounding the ground. Seeing the father and son happily singing while working on the field, he stopped his horse and asked:

Hey old man! How many miles can your buffalo plow a day?

The father stood there, not knowing how to answer, when his son, about seven or eight years old, quickly asked the official:

Sir, can I answer your question on behalf of my father? The mandarin nodded in agreement, and the boy replied: If you can answer how many steps your horse can take in a day, I will tell you how many miles my father’s buffalo can plow in a day.

The mandarin was stunned when he heard this question, not knowing how to respond. He thought to himself that although the boy was young, he was quick-witted and very confident, he was definitely a talented person. The mandarin asked the father and son for their names, villages and hometowns, then rode straight back to the king to report.

Hearing this, the king was very pleased. But to be sure that this was an outstanding talent, the king wanted to test the boy further. The king then ordered that the village be given three baskets of sticky rice and a few male buffaloes, and ordered that the three buffaloes be raised so that they give birth to nine calves, and promised to return the full amount the following year, otherwise the whole village would be punished.

When the villagers heard about the king’s decree, they were not only happy but also extremely worried. Although the villagers were happy because the king paid attention to them and gave them the things he gave them, how could three male buffaloes give birth to nine female buffaloes?

No matter how many village meetings were held, no matter how many opinions were given, the problem that the king had given could not be solved. Never before had the village been so hurried and bustling, everyone thought that it was an impending disaster. The news reached the ears of the clever boy, the son of a farmer. He immediately told his father:

– Father, it is rare for our village to receive a gift from the king. Please tell the village that the king will slaughter two buffaloes and give two baskets of sticky rice as a gift from the king to the whole village. I will ask the village to sell the remaining buffalo and basket of rice as fees for the two of us to travel to the capital to inform the king.

The father was shocked when he heard that: “If you dare to eat the buffalo given by the king, not only will the whole village suffer the consequences in a year, but tomorrow, my son. Even though you are famous for your intelligence, this is a matter of life and death. Don’t be foolish.”

The boy smiled and said firmly:

Dad, just trust me, I can take care of myself, everything will be fine.

The father listened to his son and went to the village elders to explain the story. When hearing what the father said, the whole village was still very skeptical. But there was no solution, so they forced the father and son to sign a paper of guarantee, a commitment to the whole village. If the father and son took responsibility, the whole village would dare to slaughter a buffalo to celebrate the whole village.

A few days later, the father and son packed their belongings and found their way to the capital. When they arrived at the palace, the boy learned that the King often went on a tour of the people, so he discussed with his father that on the day the King went on a tour, he would let the boy go out and tell the King, while his father would avoid him and wait for news from him. The clever boy took advantage of the time when the King went on a tour to pretend to have something wrong, cry loudly and block the King’s path.

Hearing the child’s miserable cries, the king ordered his soldiers to bring the child in to question him. The king asked:

– Hey boy, what happened to you that you are blocking my way and crying so loudly?

The smart boy replied:

– Your Majesty, my mother passed away early, and there are only me and my father in the family. But my father refuses to give birth to a baby so that I have someone to play with, that is why I cry. I hope Your Majesty will order my father to give birth to a baby so that I can be happy.

Hearing the boy say that, the king and the soldiers all held their stomachs and laughed. The king continued:

– If you want to have a baby to play with, you have to tell your father to marry another woman. Your father is a man, how can he give birth?

The boy suddenly brightened and said:

– So why did the king order the village to raise three male buffaloes and make them give birth to nine calves to give to him? Male buffaloes are male, so how can they give birth?

The king smiled and said:

– I was just testing your intelligence. But the whole village didn’t know to butcher those three buffaloes and celebrate together?

The boy said:

Your Majesty, after receiving the buffalo and sticky rice, our village knew that this was a gift from the king, so the whole village prepared a feast to celebrate together.

The king had to admit that the official who was sent to find the talented person was right, this boy was very intelligent, quick to adapt, a rare talent. But the king still wanted to test the boy one more time. The king sent someone to let the father and son stay in the palace and had someone serve them wholeheartedly. The next day, when the father and son were eating at the palace, suddenly a messenger from the king brought a sparrow and said:

The king ordered you and your father to kill this sparrow to prepare three tables of food.

The quick-witted boy told his father to take out a sewing needle and said to the messenger:

– Take this needle and tell the king that my father and I have thought of three feasts. But at the moment there is no knife sharp enough, so please take this needle and ask the king to forge three sets of knives so that my father and I can prepare the feast.

After the messenger returned to report to the king, the king was completely impressed by the boy’s intelligence. Immediately, the king summoned the father and son to the palace and rewarded them very generously.

That year, the neighboring country, after years of eyeing and invading our country, finally took its first steps. To investigate whether Dai Viet had any talented people, they sent a learned envoy to Dai Viet.

After meeting the King of Dai Viet, the envoy asked a very tricky riddle: “How can you thread a thin thread through a spiral snail that is hollow at both ends?”

After hearing the envoy’s purpose of this visit, all the kings and mandarins looked at each other. The king and his subjects of Dai Viet knew that if they could not answer that riddle, they would appear inferior and overshadowed by their neighboring country, further proving that their country had no talented people. This could make their neighboring country look down on them.

The ministers scratched their heads in thought. Some tried using their mouths to suck the thread through, some applied wax to the thread to make it stiffer so it would be easier to thread, and some blew on it… The king invited the most skilled embroiderers to thread the thread, but all of these methods were useless.

All the mandarins were helpless. Finally, to have more time to send someone to ask the intelligent boy, the king thought of a way to invite the envoy to rest at the palace for a day to ease the fatigue of the long journey.

An official rode on horseback carrying the king’s edict to the clever boy’s house. At that moment, he and his friends were playing behind the house. After listening to the official explain the riddle of the neighboring country’s envoy, the boy did not give an answer but only sang a song:

Tinh Tang tang! Tinh Tang tang!

Catch the ant and tie a thread across its waist.

The other side took the paper and held it,

In the time of grease, ants rejoice and prosper.

Tang tinh tang…

Knowing that his young age would make the ambassador of the neighboring country look down on him, the boy told him, then the boy said:

We don’t have to return to the court with you. Just follow my song and the thread will pass through the screw!

The mandarin happily rode back to the court to report to the king. The king and his courtiers felt as if they had been saved from a losing move. Indeed, the ant had successfully threaded the thread through the snail’s intestines before the astonished eyes of the neighboring country’s envoy. The neighboring country’s envoy opened his eyes wide in praise and admiration, making the king and his subjects happy. The envoy praised Dai Viet for having many talented people and was very impressed with the talent of the king and his subjects. After returning to his country, he reported to the neighboring king that Dai Viet still had many outstanding talents and could not be attacked rashly. Thanks to that, Dai Viet was at peace during that time.

Since then, the king appointed the boy as the top scholar and ordered someone to build a separate mansion for him near the palace so that he could ask questions when needed.