*** Pongsorn ***

Chapter I : The Birth of Yod.

One starry night, in the year of snake, 2364 B.E. (Buddhist Era[1]), or the 13th year of King Rama II’s rule, there was a sound of happiness cried loudly along both sides of Sam Preum canal. Many neighborhoods and streetwalkers turn their face up to the sound’s origin that came from at the end of the canal, the house of Li family. Li Yi, the father, was a famous merchant who had migrated from China to Thailand for fortune seeking. His pawnshop opened near the gambling den had gained him a considerable amount of money that he could establish in only 4 years. Now, Li Yi was happy and worried. One of the servant told him that his newborn child’s is safe but he, liked most Chinese parents, was still worrying about one of the most important problem.

Then the door was opened, a midwife step out with a child in her arm. Li Yi excitingly came to look at the baby closer. “Is this a boy or a girl?” he asked without hesitation.

The midwife smiled, “A strong boy sir,” she replied. Li Yi’s heart was full of happiness; he laughed aloud, “I know it. I know it. Eventually, my first wife bears me the rightful heir.” He received the new-born child from the midwife and held the boy tightly. “He has eyes of his mother and a mouth of me, oh… how handsome.” Li Yi laughed.

At that time, Chao Yun, who was a scholar, had calculated for the fortune of the child. “He was born in the year of snake, in Tuesday, and in 8 PM. In this auspicious occasion, Thai ambassador used to bring the jewel to the emperor of China” Li Peng said. “The emperor then order to put the precious jewel on the top of the Pagoda, so we can name the boy as ‘Yod’ regarded to this event.” (“Yod” means “Top” in Thai language.)

“What a great name!” Li Yi cried, “And what about the Chinese name master Chao, can you give it?”

“The Chinese name must be ‘Ping’ as the auspicious time is derived from peaceful diplomatic event” Chao Yun answered. (“Ping” means “Peaceful” in Chinese langugae.)

“Alright this child will be called as Yod and Ping from now on, so the line of Li family is secured.” Li Yi laughed. The enjoyment of the family leader made other members felt happy too except the two now sitting in the dark corner.

Those two people were a woman and a boy. Wad, a woman, was a minor wife of Li Yi. Her father had sold her to the gambling den as the payment of his dept fourteen years ago. She might turn to be a prostitute by force if Li Yi had not helped by buying her from that den. Since then she had been the servant wife of the merchant. Ward knew that Li Yi had been so good to her. She had actually hoped that her husband would upper her status because she bore him a son, Ton, in the first year of the marriage. However, her wish had been diminished by the moment the son of Nuan, the lawful wife, was born.

Ton, sitting in the other corner, understood his mother’s emotion clearly. For him, he never wished to become something like, “the rightful heir of Chinese family,” but he knew very well that now nothing could fulfill his mother’s inferiority. More or less, Nuan, like other Thai virtuous woman, was kind and humble and consider him as her own son. He believed that she would remain this way whether she had a son or not, so he had no reason to envy anyone.

Ton noticed the hatred in his mother’s eye. He told Ward, “Mother, I understand your feeling. The destiny may mistreat us but that is not the reason to lower ourselves. Nuan and her son have more opportunities than us so we should please by them. Let’s join the father in praying for my new brother.”

Ward remained silence for a little while. She then shed her tear and stands up strongly.

“Alright my son. May Lord Buddha bless your little pure heart,” so the two came to join Li Yi.






[1]Buddhist Era = Buddhist Era started from the time lord Buddha passing away. It is 543 years more than Christian Era.

*** Pongsorn ***

Hi everybody,

I am Pongsorn and you can call me Pup.

Lately, I have a project to write a historic novel. So, This is a story about
the life of a boy who lived in Thailand about 200 years ago. (His time shares
the same period with the Victorian Era in England.)

I hope to share many exotic factors of my country with you.

This is my first novel written in english and since I am not familiar with writing
long story in the language, please feel free to correct it if I can use more
proper word in any place.

Sincerely,

Pup

*** Pongsorn ***

Chapter II : Chicken and Crocodile.

A week after Yod’s birth, Nuan had a dream. In the dream, she walked in the street in front of her house. She heard the crowing sound “Cock-a-doodle-doo.” Turning her head, she saw a white rooster standing in the rooftop of her house.

Nuan had no idea how the chicken jumping to the rooftop. “Go away!” She shouted “You are dirtying my house!” The chicken seemed to understand her. It flied out upon the canal beside the house.

Suddenly, there was a crocodile emerging from the canal. It swallowed the chicken in one bite. Nuan was shocking by witnessing that event. She felt sorry for the chicken, so she asked the crocodile, “Oh lord Khumpie[1], that rooster was my lovely pet can you return him to me.”

The crocodile looked at her . It remained silence for a while. Then it roared “Kuk Kuk Gazzzzzzzz!!!”

The frightened Nuan awoke in the middle night. Li Yi, who slept beside, was also awaked by his wife. “Bad dream huh?” he asked.

“Strange dream, my love,” Nuan panted. She then told him about it.

“Sure it is a strange dream,” Li Yi said as the story end, “May be it is a sign, tomorrow we will asks the fortune teller for the meaning.”

The next morning the Li Yi and Nuan went to the house of a famous brahmin who specialized in dream prediction. However, at the time the couple reached their destination, the brahmin was not at home. The brahmin’s wife or brahmani, feared to lost the customers, told that her husband’s manuscript was still at home and she could use it to predict for them instead.

“The chicken means courage, mastery, and awakening; you find the chicken in your house means someone in the family may meat this lucky fortune,” the brahmani said as she read the manuscript.

Li Yi smiled, “Actually we just have a son last week, my lady.” Li Yi said.

“Oh, so this means your son may be a chicken in the previous life.” the bramani shouted.

“Chicken?” Li Yi turned his head o Nuan, “Is this considered good? I think a previous life of a green dragon or a white tiger are more preferable.”

“Beside, the chicken is eaten by the crocodile in the end.” Nuan replied worriedly.

The brahmani felt that the customers would be unsatisfied if she didn’t do something rapidly. She turned over the manuscript and said, “There! I find something. It says the crocodile means power and water.”

“So what...?” Li Yi raised his eye brows.

“So what? Do you know that the green dragon is the cross breed between the chicken and the crocodile,” The bramani said confidently.

“Huh...!?” Li Yi cried astonishingly. He then realized that the Chinese dragon’s legs he had seen in the picture were resembled with the chicken’s legs. Moreover, he had been thought for a long time that the dragon’s physical appearance was more like a crocodile than a snake.

As Li Yi priory thought that his wife’s dream must be a special sign for Yod’s luck, he therefore believed the brahmani’s word without hesitation. “Ha ha, so you mean my son has the soul of the green dragon and he will grow up to be a great leader.”

“That’s right!” the brahmani’s said without hesitation too.

“So, my son has the same luck with the Chinese emperor such as Liu Yuan and Li Shi Min?”

“Absolutely yes!” the brahmani answered even she didn’t know who is Liu Yuan and Li Shi Min.

While her husband was happy, Nuan’s face started turning serious, “I don’t know about prediction, but I think this sound fishy. If the green dragon is the cross breed between a chicken and a crocodile, why he has two deer horns on his head?”

“No need to question it,” the bramani said, “This because your husband migrated to Thailand and Thai dragons have no horns.”

“There is no dragon in this country.” Nuan argued.

Li Yi feared that his wife may showed a wrong manner in front of the brahmani, so he said, “Sorry my respectable lady, my wife doesn’t know that the dragon is a form of an angel. He surely locates in everywhere include Thailand.” He turned to Nuan, “My love you can easily see a Thai dragon in front of every temple.”

Nuan knew that her husband talked about a naga which is an Indian mystical creature. It was not a dragon and even had no legs. Nevertheless, she doesn’t want to argue with her husband so she decided to remain silence.

In this way, everybody gained benefits. The brahmani got her money, Li Yi went back to home with a new preferable discourse about his son, and Nuan increased her boons by stopping a vera[2] with the brahmani before it occurred.




















[1]Khumpi = Crocodile in the Sanskrit language. Thai people tend to use Sanskrit name when they talk about something respectable.

[2] Boon and Vera = these are Buddhist term. Boon means merit and Vera means retribution.

*** Pongsorn ***

Chapter III: “Kuk Kuk Gazzzzzzzz!!!”

Yod grew up to be 3 years old child as the time passed by. At first, he chose to play with horse toys, or buffalo toys liked other boys. However, when he came to play with the neighborhood children, they seemed to ignore him. Yod did not understand the reason at that time. He had figured it many years after that it was only because the neighbor parents told their young not to play with the boy from Chinese family.

Actually, many people who leaved along Sam Preum canal had debts with Li Yi’s pawn shop. No one liked their creditor; some Thai accused that Chinese people rob the wealth of the native. They just ignored the fact that the Chinese are more industrious and diligent than Thai.

As a result, Yod had no one to play with. Ton had jobs in the shop, Nuan, Wad, Li Yi and the servants were not in the position to play with him. Boringly, He started wandering around the house, opened every cupboard and looked at every chest. Then he found a very big bookcase stood behind the bedroom of Li Yi. There were books in Thai, Chinese or event English language.

Yod opened each books, he found some pictures but mostly alphabets. He thought that every book must have their story and very doubted about them. So, he sat there and looked at the books for a very long time. At dawn, the family members were shocked when they stared realized that Yod disappeared. Li Yi and everybody searched the house worriedly.

Then they herd the shouted, “Kuk Kuk Gazzzzzzzz!!!”

The origin of the voice was in the bedroom, so everyone ran to it. At their destination, They found Yod still looking at the books in deep concentration.

Li Yi was quite amazed. He came to sit near Yod and asked, “How did you find this place?” It was quite strange. That the boys didn’t know how to read but can concentrate on these books very long.

“Father, I think that I just started understanding the structure of the books.” Yod said.

Li Yi did not believe his ears at first, “Sorry, what did you say? You mean you understand the structure of the alphabets.”

“Yes, this is amazing, every book must contain interesting stories, and I can’t wait to learn about it.”

Li Yi looked at Wad and other family members. Everyone seemed doubted as much as him. How 3 years old boy, who never studied the alphabets, could figure its system?

Each one stared thinking in the different ways.

“He had a soul of the green dragon.” Li Yi thought. “He is special gift, he must grown up to be a famous scholar.”

“This is ridiculous.” Nuan thought. “It is only a imagination of the young.”

“I only doubted about the ‘Kuk Kuk Gazzzzzzzz!!!’” Wad thought.

Ton looked at other family members and sighed. “Well,” he said to Yod, “If you interest in the books, I can read it for you but only after the dinner.”

“Oh, are you serious?” Yod cried happily.

“Yes,” Ton smiled kindly. Yod then hugged his brother, “Thank you, thank you, you are so kind to me.”

Ton laughed, “So… we can start with Ramayana,” He picked the oldest books in the corner of the book case.

In this way, Ton read books to Yod everyday after the dinner.
The family members were continuously heard the strange sound, “Kuk Kuk Gazzzzzzzz!!!” “Kuk Kuk Gazzzzzzzz!!!” and, “Kuk Kuk Gazzzzzzzz!!!”

Most of them thought that it’s only a child strange habit with no specific meaning.
Only Wad suspected that this must have something connected with the chicken and the crocodile in her old dream. However, it remained mystery for her till the end of her life.

Idec Sdawkminn

Well, first of all, the font is kind of big. I don't know if that's a problem or not. The story was enjoyable but simple. I'm not the best to give grammatical corrections, so I'll leave that up to someone else. It wasn't hard to read despite them, though.

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