The legend of the mosquito

For this first article, dive into this tender romance which aims to explain and rationalize the appearance of the mosquito. Great enemy of man, this fable will perhaps reconcile you with him. There are other legend explaining the creation of the mosquito. We will study and compare in another article.

“Once upon a time, there was a young peasant named Ngoc Tam.

This man, brave and generous, had a wife named Nhan Diep. She was graceful and charming. But, unlike her husband, who was thrifty and industrious, she was lazy and loved luxury. Despite this, Ngoc Tam loved his wife and forgave her all her whims.

Unfortunately, shortly after their marriage his wife died suddenly.

Ngoc Tam then sank into distress. He refused to part with the body of the deceased and opposed her burial.

After selling his possessions, he embarked on a sampan with the coffin and wandered with the winds and currents.

One day the sampan took him to the foot of a hill. He then decided to explore this land of unknown and bewitching landscape.

Suddenly, he came face to face with an old man with long hair and a white goatee. The old man exuded great serenity and infinite kindness.

Meet the genius

Ngoc Tam understood that he had in front of him the genius of the place. He threw himself at her feet, implored her to restore life to his beloved. Taken with pity for him, the genie said to him: “I will grant your wish because your love and your pain are sincere. But I wish you never to regret this request!” . Then he asked the peasant to open the coffin, cut his finger and drop three drops of blood on Nhan Diep’s body. Immediately, she opened her eyes as if emerging from a long nap. His strength returned. Before the sampan left the shore, the genie spoke to the peasant’s wife: “Don’t forget your duties as a wife. Think of your husband’s love for you and his devotion. And above all, be happy both of you” .

The curve of the love story

In a hurry to return to his home, Ngoc Tam was rowing, day and night. After a few days at this intensive, exhausted pace, he had to land one evening to rest. During his sleep, the boat of a wealthy merchant came to moor beside his. Struck by the beauty of Nhan Diep, the wealthy merchant entered into conversation with her. Quickly, he seduced her and took her with him. When he woke up, Ngoc Tam, furious, set off in pursuit of the couple. After long months of searching, He managed to find them. He then proposed to his wife to go home. Accustomed to the easy life, she refused.

Terribly disappointed by her reaction, the peasant was suddenly cured of his love. He then said to his wife: “You are free to leave me. But you have to give me back the three drops of blood I shed on your body to bring you back to life” . Happy to get rid of her husband so cheaply, Nhan Diep hastened to prick her finger. When the blood began to flow, she collapsed, as if dead. The story could end there, but that would be without counting on the tenacity of this woman who is determined to cling to life…

And the legend of the mosquito appears !

Nhan Diep could never resign herself to definitively leaving the world of the living. She remained there, in the form of a tiny insect relentlessly pursuing Ngoc Tâm to steal those three drops of blood which, she thought, would allow her to regain human life again. From now on, we call it … mosquito .”

This lovely legend of the mosquito is only one on thousands of legends in Vietnam.