On the way to hunting one day, Dã Tràng heard a great noise coming from the shrine, so he came close to see. Witnessing a furious struggle between the two spotted serpents and a huge deadly snake, he quickly took his bow and arrow and fired at the unfamiliar fiery creature, cutting through its neck while it quickly slithered off into the forest. One of the spotted snakes set out in pursuit of the wounded attacker while the other laid lifeless on the ground. Full of pity, Dã Tràng buried it before the shrine.
During his sleep that night, Dã Tràng dreamt about receiving a strange
visit from the surviving serpent. It thanked him for saving them from
danger and for giving its mate an honorable burial. As a token of
gratitude, the serpent dropped a shiny white pearl from its mouth and
said, “Place this pearl beneath your tongue as this will help you
understand the language of animals. This will greatly help you as you
hunt."
Having understood the crow’s language, he realized that what the serpent said about the pearl was indeed true. So he followed the crow’s advice and easily brought down his prey. Again, the crow spoke to Dã Tràng asking for its reward. In return, the hunter gave the bird all the deer’s parts which served him no use. Since then, Dã Tràng and the crow agreed to hunt together. As the bird leads him to the prey, the hunter would have to leave the entrails on the ground for the crow to feed on.
Quickly, it flew to the hunter’s house and protested. Dã Tràng insisted that he left the entrails as promised. But the bird did not believe him and accused him of being a liar. The young man became angry by this. He fired an arrow at the crow, but missed. The crow seized the arrow with its claws, furiously screaming its revenge, and flew off. Several days later, Dã Tràng was arrested. A poisoned arrow bearing his name had been discovered in the body of a drowned man. In spite of his protests of innocence, he was thrown to jail.
On one beautiful spring morning, as Dã Tràng went sailing with the king, he heard strange voices beneath the waves. Looking over the side, he saw a cuttlefish swimming alongside the royal barge, singing a joyous tune. The sight of the cuttlefish singing and rolling along with the waves amused the young man greatly. Dã Tràng began to laugh, and soon he was laughing uncontrollably. As he did, the pearl slipped from his mouth and fell into the water.
Appalled, Dã Tràng leaped from the boat and began desperately searching the waters. He quickly called out to the king and told him of his precious pearl and that his men should help him find it. So the king ordered dozens of his men to wade out into the shallows and churn the waters in search of the pearl, but their efforts were fruitless.
The following day, Dã Tràng continued his search. Still, he found nothing. Day after day, week after week, he never stopped searching. Months and years passed, Dã Tràng stayed by the seashore, still searching and sifting through handfuls of sand, but he never found the pearl again. He wept endlessly over his irretrievable loss. He retreated to misery, and soon, Dã Tràng died an unhappy and discontented man.
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