Once upon a time, on the outskirts of the capital, Thăng Long there was once a family of middle peasants who had a comfortable income and lived in perfect harmony. The bird of a little daughter came, bringing brighter color into the fabric of this peaceful and laborious life. The baby was called Tấm, who became a beautiful girl.
Alas! This happiness was short-lived. The mother died when Tấm was only three years old. The father, overwhelmed with sorrow, was all the more afflicted because this marriage had given him no son who would continue the cult of ancestors. So, three years after, he married a second wife, who proved to be kind to Tấm. Despite her mother's absence, Tấm was a delightful girl since her father, who loved her dearly, devoted his days to raising her and looking after her. But things changed when the lady that Tấm's father fell in love with gave birth to a little daughter named Cám, whose birth greatly disappointed him.
Sometime after, the father fell ill and died. From that time onwards, Tấm suffered cruelty from loneliness, because, after the birth of Cám, her stepmother began completely to change her attitude towards her. The stepmother devoted herself entirely to her daughter, and gradually, in the very house of her father, Tấm became a sort of unpaid, ill-fed, and tattered servant: in a word, the family drudge. Her half-sister, on the other hand, was exceedingly pampered.
Years passed. The two children grew up and Tấm blossomed into a young girl whose beauty could not be lessened by her hard conditions of life. She was kind and hardworking, respectful to her stepmother who treated her so badly, and showed no ill-feeling towards Cám. On the contrary, Cám's education, her habitual laziness, and the fact that she was accustomed to having all her whims satisfied, only served to further accentuate her violent, cantankerous, and jealous character.
Tấm was made to wear rags and then forced to cook, scrub the floors, work around the house and fetch water every day and night. But day by day, no matter how hard Tấm worked, she remained beautiful. With her hair as gentle as the wind, skin as fair as the clouds and her voice as sweet as that of the golden orioles, their jealousy towards Tấm grew even worse as the days passed. Attempting to get rid of her, her stepmother started sending her out on dangerous errands in hopes that harm might befall her. But every time Tấm came home safe, which angered her even more.
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*artwork's copyright belongs to Hye Chan (on Behance)
