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  Söï tích traùi döa haáu hay truyeän An Tieâm
Legend Of The Watermelon
 
Long, long time ago during the Hung Vuong Dynasty, the first Kingdom of Vietnam, lived a seven years old boy named Mai An-Tiem. He was a foreigner and an orphan. He came ashore one day through a commercial trading ship. King Hung Vuong was so moved upon seeing the boy. He adopted the boy and brought the him back to the Kingdom to be one of his people. Time had gone by. The boy grew up to be a fine young man with integrity and virtue. An-Tiem was gifted with a great mind. He could remember everything he encountered and remembered them well. King Hung Vuong loved him very dearly. He appointed An-Tiem to be one his Mandarins and helped An-Tiem find and marry a beautiful wife. An-Tiem and his wife lived very happily within the Kingdom of King Hung Vuong. They both had all wealth and richness had given them. People admired and respected him for his talent and virtue. They gave him gifts of all kinds. Eventually, An-Tiem wealth grew to be so large that he had became the richest man in the Kingdom. As the result, An-Tiem became so boastful, proud and arrogant. He used to say to his wife and other people that all his wealth and fortune are from his own predecessors. He had never depended on anybody for his fortune nor had he ever asked for help from anybody. Upon hearing this these words, King Hung Vuong became very angry and sadden because An-Tiem had forgotten the King's love and support for him since he was an orphan boy. He was so upset that he said:

"A Subject who is too boastful to recognize his Lord and his helper; who is not thankful for what he have today does not deserve to live within my Kingdom."

Out of anger, the King ordered to have all of An-Tiem's wealth and fortune be taken away and banished An-Tiem and his wife to a far deserted island. However, fearing that An-Tiem and his wife will starve to death in a short period of time, the King allowed them to bring along enough foods to survive for at least three or four months. An-Tiem's wife was so afraid of the lonely and deserted island upon arriving that she cried day after day. An-Tiem, however, with his confidence said to his wife: "God had given us life, He will give us foods." Before long, during the April time frame, a white Crane flew in from the West and landed on top of a small hill. Standing on top the hill, the Crane made a few calls and several of the watermelon seeds came out of his mouth. Upon seeing this, An-Tiem's wife grew very suspicious and afraid. She thought that this was a very strange omen and peculiar. However, An-Tiem was very calm. He said to his wife:

"This is not a strange omen, but rather foods God has given to us."

Days passed by and the seeds had come out to buds. Eventually, they filled up the small hill and yielded many fruits. An-Tiem took one and cut it our to eat. It had a very pleasant smell. An-Tiem ate it and gave to his wife. It had a very sweet and refreshing taste. He didn't know the name of fruits. However, he remembered that it was the white crane which brought over from the West direction. So, He named the fruit "Taây Quaû" (Fruit from the West). It is now know as watermelon. He began to cultivate more around the little island. Eventually, they more watermelon that they could not eat them all. An-Tiem began to introduce to fishermen near by the island. They began to trade watermelons for others foods and materials. Words spread out to many people in nearby land and commercial ships that passed by. They also began to cultivate watermelons in lands. People like this fruit so much that they called An-Tiem and his wife "Taây Quaû Phuï Maãu" meaning the "Parents of Tay Qua." Meanwhile back in the Kingdom, King Hung Vuong missed An-Tiem and worried about him so much. One day, he asked his men to go out to the island to see if An-Tiem and his wife were still ok. So, they did. On their way to the island they heard so many thing about the fruit named Taây Quaû and that people began to cultivate it everywhere. When they arrived, they noticed that An-Tiem and his wife were still alive and were doing very well and that Taây Quaû was the fruit which An-Tiem introduced. They went back to the Kingdom and told everything to the King. King Hung Vuong was very pleased to hear that An-Tiem and his wife were still alive and doing well. However, he regret that he misunderstood An-Tiem and said:

"An-Tiem had never lied that everything he had was from his Predecessors. It is truly indeed."

The King then ordered his men to bring An-Tiem back home and gave back the Mandarin title back to An-Tiem. He also named the placed which An-Tiem and his wife lived as "An-Tiem Chau Sa." The King remembered what An-Tiem said and began to used the fruit known as Tay Qua during any major celebrations or feasts, especially during ceremony to remember pay homage to ones' ancestors. Thus had begun one of many Vietnamese's customs. Today, people still used watermelons in their feast to remembered and pay homage to their ancestors as well as used it during New Year celebration or any major occasions.
Sources: "Linh Nam Chich Quai" by Le Huu Muc.

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