When Tấm discovered that her basket was empty, her heart sank, and she burst into tears as she knew she could never get to wear that scarlet silk camisole. Suddenly, a soothing wind blew against her skin, and when Tấm looked up, Bụt appeared before her. Because he had seen her suffer those mean tricks several times, the god promised to look after her and asked the girl to look in the basket to find a small goby fish. He instructed Tấm to bring the fish home, take care of it and feed it well.
Following what Bụt had told her, Tấm took the fish to the well behind their house and fed it constantly with what she could save from her food. Day by day, the fish would eagerly wait for Tấm as she came to provide it. It would swim gracefully when Tấm sang, and soon, the goby fish became Tấm's only friend. From that time, Tấm did not feel lonely anymore. She had a confidant, a being to tend to and love, and she never missed going to the well and dropping into the water, grain by grain, the half bowl of rice she deducted from her poor pittance. She came furtively, taking great care that nobody would learn her secret. As soon as the spell was uttered, the little wriggling fish came up to the surface close to Tam. Cám soon noticed these comings and goings of her half-sister. She informed her mother and both decided to capture the little fish. The next day at dawn, Tấm's stepmother sent her to the fields to pasture the family buffalo, purposely pointing her to a faraway grass field, and while Tấm was away, she and Cám took the fish from the well and cooked it for dinner. They did so by pretending to be Tấm, mimicking the spell that Tấm used, which Cám had eavesdropped on a few days ago.
"Oh goby, oh goby
Go up and eat my golden and silver rice
Don't eat those spoiled rice and porridge of theirs."
***
When Tấm returned from the pasture land, she seized the first moment of respite to run to the well and see her fish. She called it as usual, but the well remained silent and the confidant of her sorrows did not appear. Leaning down to the water, Tấm perceived a tiny clot of blood floating near the block of stone, from which she used to utter her call...
When Tấm could no longer find her goby fish, she discovered the truth that they had eaten it, which broke her heart, and she could do nothing except weep. Bụt reappeared and, like the first time, inquired the reason for her sorrow, "Stop crying", he said at last, "Go back home, little girl. Go to the bamboo fence, look carefully and you will find the remains of your friend. You will pick them up and put them in an earthenware vase, that you will close carefully and bury at the foot of your bed. Later, you wneedd of this pot." Then once again Bụt disappeared as he had come.
Tấm returned home and searched in vain in the soil along the fence referred to. A cock, which was scratching for food near her, said: "Give me a handful of rice and I shall help you." Thanks to this unexpected assistant, the bones were soon discovered and Tấm enclosed them in four pots, which she buried according to Bụt's instructions.
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*artwork's copyright belongs to Lê Trọng Hoàng (Hoàng Hoàng)
