118. Transform into cricket

In Le dynasty, almost people liked a game that was cricket-fighting. People wasted much money to have strong crickets brought to cricket arena and let them fight. Owner of winning cricket would have award and besides, fighting also started betting games that made many people lose entire their asset. Though, the recent king was also a person who liked cricket-fighting. Mandarins and generals also followed the king’s hobby fed crickets, participated in cricket fighting. Every year, the king held cricket matches in the castle with participation of mandarins and generals. Course, the king always wanted him to be the winner so he forced headers of districts around the castle to give him strong crickets. The owner of the cricket winning in matches would have an award and the owners of crickets losing would had nothing and besides they were punished.
The header of northern area of capital had a great cricket which had won all crickets in that area. The header liked his cricket very much he treated his cricket well and waited to the day he brought his cricket to the king.
“If the cricket wins, people will have low tax this year”, he thought.
The date went nearly. One day, he had to go out left his son alone at home. His son because of feeling bored called children coming and had cricket fightings. Though he knew his father’s cricket was valuable and he was not allowed to reach on it, he opened cage brought the cricket and made it fight with other crickets of children. Later, the cricket died because children held it too many times and, that made the son very scared. He seemed to drop his soul as he thought about being beaten by his father. Therefore, he escaped. He ran without thinking about where he would go.
The header came back home. As usual he went to cricket’s cage. Course, the cricket had died and was lying on cage. He roared and when he knew his son was the person who made his crick died, he asked servants to find and beat him. But, they couldn’t find him though they had found anywhere he could come. Two days his son had not come back, the header felt worry. He notified to local mandarins requested them to find his son but they also couldn’t find him. At last, he and his wife believed that their son because of scare had harmed himself. They turned heartbroken.
“The cricket had died we will be punished. Besides, the only son also had died. What do we live for?” said one of them. They planned to end their life that night.
After left his home the son ran straight to a forest. He stopped because he felt hungry and tired. He lied on a flat rock and cried. Suddenly, a mage appeared from the back of the rock he was lying on. The mage approached and asked:
“Why do you cry?”
He said the mage his story in tears. At last, he said:
“Now, my father has no cricket to give the king he will be punished”.
“Don’t worry. I will help you and also help your parent”, appeased the mage.
Later, the mage led him to his cave gave him food and prepared a bed for him. The next morning, the mage woke him up and said:
“I will help you change into a cricket and you will come back home to help your parent. After that, you must find the way to here. I will help you change again”.
He nodded. The mage did magic. He turned smaller smaller then transformed into a cricket. The mage waved his hand.
“Go, and save your parent”, shouted the mage.
He followed the way which had led him to the mage back his home. When he came home, his parent was in garden tied a rope through a branch and was ready to end their lives. He approached them and made chirping sounds. The header brought a torch to see and turned happy as he saw a cricket. He immediately forgot what he planned to do. He took the cricket put into his cage and brought it to the castle in next morning.
People had never seen any cricket which was small but very strong as the cricket of the header. The king asked people to bring his crickets to fight against it but they all lost. The king felt satisfied and immediately decreed that people in the area the header managed would had low tax that year. Then he turned to a servant asked him to bring a golden cage coming put the cricket into it and ordered the servant to take care off it. Few days later, the king ordered the servant to bring the cricket out to fight with another cricket which belonged to a powerful mandarin. Three matches passed, the cricket of the king had made claws of the other cricket broken. The king had never felt satisfied like that but when the servant took the cricket to put into cage, it spread wings and flew up. The king and others could only saw it flew away.
The cricket found the way to the cave of the mage. When the cricket saw the mage, it landed on his collar. The mage knew immediately the cricket was the son. He handed the cricket and đi magic. Suddenly, the cricket turned bigger and transformed into the son. The mage clapped on his shoulder.
“Go! find the way to your home and see your parent”, said the mage.
The son found the way and went ahead his home.
The end.🎭🎭🎭
"Translator: Hung Nguyen"
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List of Vietnamese fairy tales

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