Short Horror Stories

Tam Cam (Part 1)

I FOUND THIS IN THE INTERNET. THIS IS LIKE A VIETNAMESE CINDERELLA.
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A man married again, and his second wife gave birth to a child as dark as rice bran, so the baby was named Cám. He also has a very beautiful baby daughter named Tấm, which means broken rice, from his first wife. When Tấm's father's affection for his first daughter diminished soon after (due to the influence of his second wife) and the stepmother began to abuse Tấm and forced her to do all the housework, while Cám lived in luxury. Her hatred for Tấm intensified by the fact that Tấm was much more beautiful than her own daughter Cám, even though Tấm was forced to do all the laboring under the sun.

One day, the stepmother sent Tấm and Cám fishing, promising to reward the girl who caught the most fish with a new yếm. Cám knew her mother would never punish her, therefore instead of trying to catch fish, she bathed carelessly in the river while Tấm was working hard. When Cám noticed all the fish Tấm had caught, Cám advised Tấm to wash the mud out of her hair or else she would be scolded by their mother. As Tấm went out to the river to wash her hair, Cám poured all the fish Tấm had caught into her own basket and ran home.

Upon discovering she had been tricked, Tấm sobbed until Buddha appeared to her and comforted her. He told Tấm to look into her basket to discover the one remaining little goby. He then told Tấm to take the fish home and put it into the well at the back of the house, reciting a special poem/greeting whenever she came to feed it, which meant:

"Goby, goby! Come eat the golden rice, the silver rice of mine. Don't eat stale rice, old porridge that are not mine."

Everyday, Tấm would come out to the well a few times to feed the goby, always reciting the greeting beforehand so that the goby would come up from the water. The fish grew fatter everyday and the stepmother began to suspect Tấm's behavior. One day, the stepmother snuck out close to where Tấm was feeding the fish. She waited until Tấm was gone, and went over to the well, finding nothing. She then repeated the greeting she had heard Tấm reciting, and to her delight, saw the goby come up from the water. The stepmother then caught and killed it and put it in her rice porridge.

When Tấm discovered this, she broke into sobs. Buddha again appeared to Tấm and consoled her, and instructed her to salvage the bones of the carp and bury them in four separate jars underneath each corner of her bed.

A short while later, the king proclaimed a festival. The stepmother and Cám went, but Tấm was left to sort a huge basket of green and black beans. The fairy guardian appeared again and transformed a handful of dust into sparrows, then instructed Tấm to dig out her four jars. From the first jar, Tấm got a beautiful blue and silver gown, a silk yem and a silk scarf; from the second, a pair of golden slippers; from the third, a richly ornamented saddle and bridle; and from the fourth, a fine horse. Tấm dressed herself and hastened to the feast, arousing the curiosity and admiration of everyone present, but the envy and jealousy of her own sister and stepmother. She left at once, but while crossing a stream she dropped one slipper.

The slipper flowed along the river until it reached the king's garden, and was picked up by one of the king's attendants. The king proclaimed that any maiden whose foot fit the slipper would be made his queen. Every eligible lady who had gone to the festival tried the slipper, including Cám, but all to no avail. Suddenly, a very beautiful stranger appeared whose foot fit perfectly into the slipper (not to mention on her other foot was adorned the corresponding slipper of the same make). Her stepmother and Cám were shocked to discover the mysterious lady was no other than Tấm. Tấm was immediately brought on the royal palanquin to the imperial palace for a grand wedding celebration, right in front of her seething stepmother and stepsister.