Lạc Long Quân and Âu Cơ - Vietnamese

My name is Âu Cơ, and I am a fairy who lives high in the mountains where the clouds feel like soft blankets. My home is a magical place, full of sweet-smelling flowers and tall, green trees that touch the sky. I have always loved the land, but one day, a feeling of curiosity, like a little butterfly in my heart, guided me down from my misty peaks to the edge of the world, where the land meets the sparkling sea. The air tasted salty and the water shimmered like a thousand diamonds. It was there I met a magnificent being, Lạc Long Quân, the Dragon King of the Sea. He was strong and kind, with eyes as deep as the ocean itself. We felt an instant connection, as if the mountains and the sea were greeting each other for the first time. We fell in love and were married, a grand celebration of our two worlds coming together. This is our story, the myth of Lạc Long Quân and Âu Cơ, and how a great nation began.

Soon after our wedding, a wonderful and mysterious thing happened. I did not have one baby, or even two, but instead, I laid a large, smooth sac that held one hundred precious eggs inside. Lạc Long Quân and I were filled with a happiness so big it felt like it could fill the whole sky. We watched over our eggs day and night, keeping them warm and safe. We wondered what kind of children could come from a mountain fairy and a sea dragon. After seven long days and seven quiet nights of waiting, we heard a tiny crack. Then another, and another. One by one, the eggs hatched, and out came one hundred beautiful children. There were fifty strong boys and fifty bright girls, all healthy and full of life. They were the first children of our land, the Bách Việt. For a time, our family was whole and our hearts were full. We taught our children all the secrets of the mountains and all the wisdom of the sea, and they grew up knowing the magic of both worlds.

As our children grew, my dear husband Lạc Long Quân spoke to me with love in his eyes, but also a little sadness. He explained, “My dearest Âu Cơ, I am a dragon. My spirit belongs to the water, and I must return to my home in the sea to protect it.” I understood, because my heart belonged to the green mountains and the solid earth. We were from two different worlds, and we realized we could not stay together in one place forever. We had to make a very difficult choice for our children. It was a loving decision to part so that our children could learn to thrive everywhere. So, Lạc Long Quân took fifty of our children with him to the coast. He taught them how to build boats, how to catch fish, and how to read the stars to cross the ocean. I took the other fifty children high into the mountains. I taught them how to plant rice, how to build warm houses from bamboo, and how to find healing plants in the forest. We promised each other that even though we were apart, we would always be one family. This story explains why the people of Vietnam are known as the “Children of the Dragon and Grandchildren of the Fairy.” It is a story that reminds everyone that people from different places can unite to build something beautiful and strong.