2. Creation Myth
• Lac Long Quan, the Dragon Prince, falls in
love and marries Au Co, a fairy spirit.
• 100 sons are born to the dragon lord and
his fairy wife.
• The family splits up. 50 sons go with their
father to the sea. 50 sons go with their
mother to the mountains.
3. • The 50 sons who left with Lac Long Quan
learned to fish and plant rice.
• The 50 sons who left with Au Co raised
animals, grew fruit trees and built homes on
stilts.
4. • The oldest son, named Hung, founded the
first Vietnamese kingdom.
• There have been 18 monarchs
with the name “King Hung.”
• Lac Long Quan and Au Co continue to
watch over their children, the Vietnamese
people
5. Variations
The Story of One Hundred Eggs—the
sons of the dragon prince and the fairy are
eggs from a sac that bursts after seven
days.
Children of the Dragon—the sons of the
dragon prince and the fairy woman are the
people of Vietnam.
6. Origin Tales
• Many stories are simple legends about the
origins of plants, animals, customs or
natural phenomena, such as the man in
the moon or the monsoon rains.
7. Examples:
• How the Tiger Got Its Stripes
• The Legend of Chu Cuoi—The Man in
the Moon (Also called “The Buffalo Boy
and the Banyan Tree, )
• The Legend of the Monsoon Rains
8. Moral Tales
• The Boatman’s Flute
True Love
• The Raven and the Star Fruit
Filial Piety
Greed
• The Bowman and the Sisters
Hardwork
9. Fairies
• Fairies are known as the protectors of the
Vietnamese world.
• Frequently come in dreams to help
mankind.
• “Cake of Heaven, Cake of Earth”—origin
of offerings given to worship ancestors
10. Vietnamese Cinderella
• Tam Cam: The Vietnamese Cinderella by The
Gioi
• The Golden Slipper: A Vietnamese Legend by
Darrell H. Y. Lum
• “The Story of Tam and Cam”
• Found on Amazon.com
• Found in Asiakids.com
• http://www.pitt.edu/~dash/tam.html
11. Recommendations
• Children of the Dragon: Selected Tales
from Vietnam by Sherry Garland,
Illustrated by Trina Schart Hyman
12. Use the following
keywords:
Vietnam and folktales
Tam and Cam
Dragons and Fairies
