Once upon a time, there was a very beautiful girl named My Nuong, the only daughter of a powerful mandarin. Like all the maidens of her station in life, she met no-one and was kept secluded in a high tower in the palace.
She spent most of her time reading, knitting or standing by the little window in order to cast her eyes upon the Tieu Tuong River, which passed directly beneath her.
Gliding along, from time to time, was the small boat of Truong Chi, a poor angler. The man sang while he fished.
From afar she could not see his face, but could hear him singing. His singing was lovely and his voice melancholic.
No-one knew what feelings the song and voice produced in the heart of the girl.
However, one day the boat was not seen on the water and she began to wait. After waiting in vain for many moons, she fell ill.
The mandarin became very anxious. Even the most famous doctor of the time could not discover the cause of his daughter's illness.
One morning, to everyone's joy and surprise, the girl suddenly recovered her health. The little boat had returned to the river and the voice of the man again filled the sky.
The mandarin called the angler in and brought him before the daughter.
But after just one glance, she did not wish to see the man any more: he was so ugly.
Nevertheless, the meeting was a fatal one. It put an end to the love in the bosom of the girl, but gave birth to a desperate one in the heart of the poor angler.
Worn with a hopeless love, he pined away in solitude and finally drew his last breath one dark autumn evening.
He took the secret of his unrequited love with him into the next world.
Many years later, the family of the dead angler exhumed his remains in order to transfer them to the family tomb. In the coffin, they found a marvellous piece of gemstone, which they put on the prow of the boat as a decoration.
One day the old mandarin passed by the place. Taken aback by the splendour of the precious stone, he brought it and ordered a clever turner to make a beautiful teacup from it.
It was then that he made a very strange discovery. Every time the cup was filled with tea, there appeared the image of the poor angler rowing his boat around the cup.
When My Nuong was informed of the marvel and wanted to see it herself, she poured some tea into the cup. The image of the poor ugly man appeared and she immediately burst into tears. A teardrop fell into the cup and melted in the water.
She spent most of her time reading, knitting or standing by the little window in order to cast her eyes upon the Tieu Tuong River, which passed directly beneath her.
Gliding along, from time to time, was the small boat of Truong Chi, a poor angler. The man sang while he fished.
From afar she could not see his face, but could hear him singing. His singing was lovely and his voice melancholic.
No-one knew what feelings the song and voice produced in the heart of the girl.
However, one day the boat was not seen on the water and she began to wait. After waiting in vain for many moons, she fell ill.
The mandarin became very anxious. Even the most famous doctor of the time could not discover the cause of his daughter's illness.
One morning, to everyone's joy and surprise, the girl suddenly recovered her health. The little boat had returned to the river and the voice of the man again filled the sky.
The mandarin called the angler in and brought him before the daughter.
But after just one glance, she did not wish to see the man any more: he was so ugly.
Nevertheless, the meeting was a fatal one. It put an end to the love in the bosom of the girl, but gave birth to a desperate one in the heart of the poor angler.
Worn with a hopeless love, he pined away in solitude and finally drew his last breath one dark autumn evening.
He took the secret of his unrequited love with him into the next world.
Many years later, the family of the dead angler exhumed his remains in order to transfer them to the family tomb. In the coffin, they found a marvellous piece of gemstone, which they put on the prow of the boat as a decoration.
One day the old mandarin passed by the place. Taken aback by the splendour of the precious stone, he brought it and ordered a clever turner to make a beautiful teacup from it.
It was then that he made a very strange discovery. Every time the cup was filled with tea, there appeared the image of the poor angler rowing his boat around the cup.
When My Nuong was informed of the marvel and wanted to see it herself, she poured some tea into the cup. The image of the poor ugly man appeared and she immediately burst into tears. A teardrop fell into the cup and melted in the water.
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