Today, I want to tell the children a very interesting and wise story called ‘The Nine-Colored Deer’. This story takes place in a forest a long time ago and tells of how a magical deer helps others and of a man who is punished for his greed. We can learn many important lessons from this story.
Once upon a time, there was a beautiful forest where a special deer lived. Its name was the Nine-Colored Deer. Why was it called the Nine-Colored Deer? Because it had nine different colored patterns on its body, as beautiful as a rainbow! And there was also a shining halo above its head, which looked just like a heavenly fairy. The Nine-Colored Deer was not only beautiful on the outside, but also kind at heart. It often helped other animals and humans solve their problems, so everyone affectionately called it the “protective god”.
One day, cries for help came from a river next to the forest. It turned out that a man had accidentally fallen into the river. The current was strong, and he was struggling desperately, about to drown. At this critical moment, the nine-colored deer heard the cries for help and without hesitation jumped into the river and rescued the man.
The man’s name was A Da. After being saved, he was full of gratitude towards the nine-colored deer, saying over and over, “Thank you so much! You are truly my rescuer!” The nine-colored deer waved his hand and said, ‘You don’t need to thank me, as long as you promise me one thing—don’t tell anyone where I live, that would be the best repayment for me.’ A-da immediately nodded and promised, saying with conviction, ”Don’t worry, I will definitely not reveal your secret!”
However, things did not end so simply.
The queen’s dream and the king’s reward
Meanwhile, in the distant palace, the queen had a strange dream. She dreamed of a deer with a colorful coat running across the grassland. The sight was truly beautiful. After waking up, the queen thought about the deer more and more, and so she ran to tease the king, saying, “My dear, I want to make a shawl from the Nine-Colored Deer’s fur and a necklace from its antlers, so that I can be happy! If I don’t get it, I will really be heartbroken!”
The king listened, and although he felt a bit troubled, in order to please the queen, he could only do as she said. So he ordered a notice to be posted throughout the country: whoever catches the nine-colored deer or provides its whereabouts will be rewarded with half the kingdom!
The news quickly spread throughout the country, and everyone was talking about it. At that moment, Ada heard the news. He began to calculate in his heart: “Wow, this is a great opportunity! As long as I tell the king where the nine-colored deer is, I can gain great wealth! Anyway, it saved me once, so it shouldn’t mind, right?” So, he completely forgot his promise to the nine-colored deer and decided to go and inform on it to the king.
The wisdom of the nine-colored deer and what happened to Ada
Ada led the king and his soldiers to the river, where they found the nine-colored deer resting. As soon as the soldiers saw the deer, they raised their bows and arrows and prepared to shoot it.
At that critical moment, the nine-colored deer suddenly spoke: “Please wait! Before you hurt me, can you tell me who told you I was here?”
The king hesitated for a moment, then pointed to Ada, who was hiding behind him, and said, ”He told us.”
The nine-colored deer looked at Ada and then at the king, and said calmly, “Your Majesty, please don’t be in a hurry to act. Let me tell you something. This person is the drowning man I once rescued from the river, and he personally promised me that he would never reveal my whereabouts. But now, he betrayed me for a reward.”
The king was furious when he heard this: “There is such a scoundrel in our country, so ungrateful!” He immediately ordered the soldiers to arrest A Da and disqualify him from receiving the reward.
Then the king walked up to the nine-colored deer, bowed deeply, and said, “I’m sorry, it was our mistake that almost harmed you. From now on, I promise that the whole country will not hunt you anymore, and will not harm any kind lives like you.”
The nine-colored deer gave a small smile and said, “Thank you for your kindness. I hope everyone will remember the lesson today.” After saying this, it turned around and ran back into the depths of the forest to continue protecting those in need.
What can we learn from this?
Dear children, what are your thoughts after listening to this story? Ada had clearly promised the nine-colored deer to keep the secret, but when he saw the king’s reward, he immediately forgot his promise and chose to betray. This kind of behavior not only made him lose the trust of others, but also made him punished. The nine-colored deer used his wisdom to expose Ada’s lies and ultimately won respect and protection.
So, this story teaches us two important lessons:
- Always keep your word: You must keep your promises to others, and you should never break your promises for the sake of a little gain.
- Good and evil will eventually be rewarded: If you do something bad, you will be punished sooner or later; if you remain kind and honest, you will always be rewarded.
I hope everyone can be a kind, smart and trustworthy person like the nine-colored deer!
