SmileFlower: 2016

CUOI AND THE BANYAN TREE

_Mid-Autunm coming_

Once upon a time, far away, there lived a woodsman named Cuoi .Everyday, Cuoi took his axe deep into the forest to cut trees .When he neared a small stream, Cuoi was surprised to see a tiger cave. Seeing four tiger cubs, he rushed towards them and killed them with his axe. Just at that moment, the mother tiger returned. Terrified, Cuoi climbed a tall tree. He watched as the mother tiger approached a small banyan tree and tore off some leaves. She chewed the leaves into a pulp and placed it in her babies’ mouths. Cuoi watched in astonishment as the cubs began to move. The leaves had revived them!

After the tigers had left, Cuoi crept over to that strange tree, dug it up and carried it homeward. On the way home he found a dead beggar. He took some leaves, chewed them up and places them in the old man’s mouth. Instantly, the man revived: “What happened?” he asked. Cuoi told him the full story.

“This magic tree can revive the dead!” cried the old man. “God gave it to you to help people! You must take good care of this tree. Be sure to water it with clean water, or it will fly into the sky!”

Leaning on his cane, the old man walked away. Cuoi took the tree home and planted it in the eastern corner of his garden. He always remembered the old man’s words and watered it with pure well water.

Cuoi helped many people with the tree’s medicinal leaves. If anyone in the area died, he used those leaves to revive them. Word of Cuoi and his magic tree spread far and wide. One day, Cuoi found a drowned dog in the river. He revived the dog, which became his loyal companion. Another, Cuoi revived a wealthy man’s daughter, who had fallen into a pond and drowned. This girl became Cuoi’s wife. The couple lived peacefully and happily.

One day, when Cuoi was away from home, bandits invaded his village. They murdered his wife, threw her entrails into the river, and ran away. Upon finding her body, Cuoi tried desperately to revive her, but she could not live without her internal organs. Seeing his master crying, Cuoi’s dog offered to sacrifice himself so that Cuoi could use his entrails to replace his wife’s. Cuoi was so desperate that he agreed. Incredibly, his wife revived, and was as lovely and vibrant as ever. While Cuoi was overjoyed by this wife’s recovery, he was sad about his faithful dog, and managed to fashion new entrails out of clay. Amazingly, they worked, and the dog was revived too. Cuoi, his wife and the dog were closer and happier than ever.

Unfortunately, Cuoi’s wife grew increasingly forgetful. Cuoi was constantly reminding her to relieve herself in the western corner of their yard, but she often forgot. One afternoon when Cuoi was out collecting fire wood , his wife peed next to the precious medicinal tree. Suddenly, the ground shook. The tree’s branches flailed and the wind roared.

Cuoi watched in astonishment as the banyan tree rose slowly into the sky. He dropped his fire wood and raced after it. He grabbed hold of its roots and tried to pull it back down to earth, but the tree – with Cuoi hanging on – flew higher and higher.

It landed on the moon and took root. Cuoi and his tree are still up there. Look at the moon and you will see them: the black shape of a tree and a man sitting under it:

An old verse describes Cuoi’s fate as follows:

“Cuoi is sitting under a banyan tree

Letting buffalos eat the rice will calling to his father

Father is cutting grass in the sky

Mother is riding a horse to invite the officials

Grandfather is holding a pen and an ink-slab

Grandmother is talking money to buy banyan leaves”