Thánh Gióng - Vietnamese

In a cozy little village lived a boy named Gióng. Gióng was very quiet and for a long time, he did not talk or even giggle, which made his mommy and daddy a little sad. This is the story of how that quiet boy became the hero known as Thánh Gióng. One day, a loud, scary sound came from far away. Bad guys were coming to their peaceful land, and the king needed a brave hero to help. When the king's messenger called for someone brave and strong, something amazing happened. For the very first time, Gióng spoke.

"I will help the king!" Gióng said to his mommy. He asked for a giant iron horse, a shiny iron suit, and a long iron staff. Wow! His mommy and all the villagers were so surprised. They worked together to make everything he asked for. As the villagers brought him yummy food, Gióng began to grow. He grew bigger and bigger and bigger until he was as tall as a house. He put on his shiny iron armor, climbed on his amazing iron horse, and waved goodbye. The horse was magical—it could even breathe fire. Whoosh!

Thánh Gióng rode his horse as fast as the wind. He used his long iron staff to chase all the bad guys away, protecting every little house and every family. Swish, swish went his staff. When his staff broke, he just pulled up big bamboo trees from the ground and kept going. After he made sure his home was safe and sound, he rode his horse up a tall, tall mountain. He took off his armor and looked down at the beautiful, peaceful land one last time. Then, he and his horse flew up, up, up into the sky, just like a big bird. Even a little boy can do big, brave things.