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Story 117: Tsodrup Tenchung Folktales

Tsodrup Tenchung

Author: Anonymous

Tsodrup Tenchung is an innocent and lively girl. She is as beautiful as Luoyu’s jade bamboo, as pure as transparent crystal. She lives in the green Linka, weaving snow-white Pulu every day.

One day, a devil was passing by the green little Linka. He heard an old woman in the house shouting: “Daughter Tsodrup Tenchung, come downstairs for dinner.” He hurried to the window with flowers to take a peek, and saw A girl wearing a golden flower Tibetan robe walked down the stairs step by step.

The devil had evil thoughts, turned into a gust of evil wind and came through the crack of the door. He picked up a stone and turned it into a gold nugget, and proposed to Tsodrup Tenchung’s mother. Grandma said: “My daughter is still young and doesn’t plan to get married.” The devil said: “If you don’t agree, I will cry.” After saying that, he opened his eyes as big as wooden bowls and started crying.

It flowed and flowed, filling the whole room. The old lady had no choice but to reluctantly agree. The devil put away his tears and said, “That’s right! One day today, two days tomorrow, and when the sun rises the day after tomorrow, I will come to pick you up.”

Three days later, the devil came. The old woman couldn’t bear to part with her daughter and begged her repeatedly, “I only have this little piece of flesh and blood, please keep her!” The devil said, “If you don’t agree, I will laugh.

“After that, he opened his mouth as big as an iron pot and laughed. The laughter shook the house, and the rafters fell off one by one. The old woman was afraid, so she had to agree again. The devil stopped laughing and said, “That’s right. One day today, two days tomorrow, and the day after tomorrow when the east turns white, I will come again to pick up the bride.”

Three more days later, the devil came early. The old lady begged with tears: “Please spare my daughter, I am willing to give up all my property as collateral.” The devil said: “If you don’t agree, I will dance!” After that, he stretched out his two long legs. The legs were jumping all over the room, the walls were cracked, and the stove and tea cans were flying everywhere. The old lady was even more frightened and had no choice but to marry her daughter to him.

Tsodrup Tenchung is getting married, and Tsodrup Tenchung is leaving his hometown. Tsodrup Tenchung was a pure and kind-hearted girl. When she left, her male and female companions came to see her off, and all the villagers came to say goodbye.

When they arrived at the cowhide boat ferry, the devil said to the villagers: “Go back quickly! Tsodrup Tenchung will marry me, and you can rest assured!” The old people had no choice but to leave a few pieces of “hempsong” for the girl. (Food made from milk residue, ghee, and brown sugar), and left reluctantly.

Walking to the foot of the snow-capped mountains, the devil said to the boy and girl: “Go back quickly. Tsodrub Tenqiong will marry me, and you can rest assured!” The companions had no choice but to leave the girl with a lot of fried highland barley, and she burst into tears. gone.

The little girl Tsodrup Damchung followed the devil over the snow-capped mountains that no one had ever been to. As she walked, she sang sadly:

People who have known each other since childhood,
Everyone returns to their hometown;
Poor Tsodrup Tenchung,
The further I walked, the sadder I felt.

After crossing the snow-capped mountains, the devil pointed at the scenery on both sides and boasted: “Look, the white houses, red roads, and golden spiers are much more beautiful than your hometown!” Tsodrup Tenchung took a look and found that the house was made of bones.

Yes, the roads are paved with blood and the spires are wrapped in human skin! Oh my god, isn’t this where the devil lives? The girl was very frightened, but she did not dare to cry because if she cried, the devil would eat her.

They walked into a very large house. Two yak-sized dogs squatted at the door, snatching and eating human bones. The girl gave each dog a piece of “pine pine”.

Under the stairs, there was an old woman with a rotten eye sitting, with many keys hanging on her waist, and she was weaving a blanket with human hair. The girl gave her a handful of fried highland barley.

From then on, Tsodrup Tenchung became the devil’s wife. The devil goes out early every day and comes back late every day. Tsodrup Tenchung walked around the house all day long, looking here and there. Sometimes he helped the old woman weave blankets and sang her some beautiful songs.

The terrible days passed day by day, and Tsodrup Tenchung had stayed here for twenty-nine days. On this day, the old woman was dozing off, and the girl secretly took off the key from her waist and opened the locked iron doors one after another. She was frightened and quickly covered her eyes with her hands. Because these rooms are filled with human blood, human flesh, and human bones.

Tsodrup Tenchung opened the last room. Inside, there were many women of different ages lying in random directions. Their faces were like dead leaves and their bodies were like cracked wood. If it weren’t for the fact that her eyes could move, the girl would have thought there was a room full of dead bodies! Tsodrup Tenchung plucked up the courage to ask, “Old mother, eldest sister, what are you doing lying here?”

It took a long time before a woman replied feebly: “Girl, we are all the devil’s wives. We live together with him. Yue, he will be sent to this iron room and locked up, and a bowl of blood will be taken from us every day to nourish his body.” After hearing this, the girl said anxiously, “Now that the devil is not at home, let us escape together!” The women said, “Good-hearted girl, we are people whose blood has been sucked by him. Even if we escape to the other side of the world, we will be caught by him. You quickly wrap up an old woman’s human skin and quietly leave this terrible place.” Let’s go to the devil’s cave!”

The girl listened to the women’s advice, hurriedly wrapped herself in the skin of an old woman with wrinkles and white hair, put on a tattered dress, and escaped from the devil’s house. The old woman with rotten eyes did not stop her because the girl had sung many songs to her; the yak-sized dogs did not bite the ground because the girl had fed them “massong”.

She came to the high snow-capped mountains and happened to meet the devil coming back. The girl quickly bent down and held the corners of her clothes tightly with both hands. The devil said, “Mai! What are you doing?”

Tsodrup Tenchung quickly replied, “Old woman, I came from the canyon and went to the plains to beg for food.” Not far away, the devil came back and shouted loudly, “Old woman, What’s going on with you?” It turned out to be her necklace making a jingling sound when it hit human skin. The girl suddenly became wise and said tremblingly: “Old woman, I’m scared. My knees are shaking and making a sound.”

As soon as the devil turned his back, Tsodrup Tenchung ran forward with all his strength. During the day, the sun guides her; at night, the moon lights her up. After running for three days and three nights, they arrived at a royal city. She leaned against a stone wall, trying to catch her breath, but unexpectedly she fell asleep.

At this time, the king’s old cook went out to carry firewood and found a dying old woman lying by the wall. He woke her up and gave her some tsampa. The girl begged the old man to take her in as a slave. The old chef looked her over, sighed and said: “Old woman, you are so thin that you can even blow over in the wind. What else can you do? However, it is better to do good than to do bad. Let me beg the king for you!” ”

The old cook reported what he saw to the king. The king said: “Yes, what use is the dying old woman to me? But considering the price of the prince’s trip to propose tomorrow, let me accumulate some merit for him!”

So the girl was kept in the palace, carrying water and lighting fires in the kitchen.

The next day was the auspicious day for the prince to propose to the princess of a neighboring country. As soon as the morning star rose, the prince led his ministers and attendants to the neighboring country.

Unexpectedly, halfway through the journey, the prince’s horse was disturbed by a flying bird and broke its front hoof. He was unable to continue on his way. He had to ask the ministers and attendants to wait by the roadside while he came back to change the horses.

The prince walked into the stable and saw the old woman going out to carry water. The prince thought: “Strange! I want to see how a staggering old woman can carry a bucket full of water and climb hundreds of stone steps?” So he followed quietly, Came to the jade-like spring water. After the old woman scooped up the water, she walked into a small forest, tied her braid to a branch, and swayed gently.

After a while, a very beautiful girl emerged from the pupa under the old woman’s human skin. She Pingpingtingting came to the spring, picked up a handful of clear spring water, and washed her face as beautiful and bright as a flower. The prince looked on, dumbfounded, and felt that the woods and fields were filled with the girl’s beautiful brilliance; her fragrance overflowed everywhere around her. The matter of proposing to a neighboring country had long been forgotten by him.

In the evening, Guozheng called the prince to his side and asked him why he didn’t go to a neighboring country to propose? The prince neither argued nor explained, he just stood there blankly, still thinking about the beauty that emerged from the old woman’s skin.

On the third day, the procession of marriage proposals started again, and the prince ran back from the middle again. When the girl quietly took off her human skin and went to the spring to wash herself, the prince suddenly burst out, picked up the human skin and ran towards the depths of the canyon. The girl was anxious and shy, so she followed behind and begged again and again. They came to a meadow with flowers in full bloom. The prince stopped and asked the girl to tell her origins with kind words and longing eyes.

That night, the king called the prince again and scolded him for running away twice and ruining this rare marriage. The prince suddenly said this: “I don’t love any princess, I want to marry the slanderous old woman!”

When the king, queen and ministers heard this, they all thought there was something wrong with their ears. After the prince repeated this several times, the king became so angry that he drew out his sword with a bang and shouted, “I’m going to kill you, you madman, I’m going to kill you, you idiot, and make you sing in the underworld.” In front of you, marry this old woman who was half-body buried in the sky burial ground!”

After being dissuaded by the queen and many ministers, the king put away his sword. The prince also begged his father to calm down, and suggested that the old woman, who was carrying the blame, should be called to the hall.

Tsodrup Tenchung came and walked to the brightly lit palace. The king, queen, ministers and servants saw with their own eyes that from under the skin of an ugly old woman, a beautiful, bright, crystal clear and lovely young girl emerged from the pupa. Everyone opened their eyes wide, thinking that the goddess Baidumu had come to the world. The servants held their breath involuntarily and bowed deeply to the girl. Tsodrup Tenchung walked shyly through the crowd, nestled beside the queen, and softly told her unfortunate fate.

So, the king approved their marriage and held a grand ceremony in the royal capital. The story of Tsodrup Tenchung spread throughout the city and countryside like the wind, and the people celebrated it for seven days and nights.

After the wedding, their relationship became even more intimate, just like goldfish falling in love with the blue sea and butterflies surrounding beautiful flowers. Soon, an alarm came from the border, and the enemy country was dispatching troops to prepare for invasion.

On the order of the king, the prince led troops to defend the border. Tsodrup Tenchung, who was already pregnant, held the asihada and highland barley wine and sent the prince on one journey after another. When parting, the prince gave numerous instructions on horseback: whether the child is a boy or a girl, he must send a messenger to the border to announce the good news.

Three months after their separation, Tsodrup Tenchung gave birth to a son and a daughter. Their faces were like the fifteenth moon and their bodies were like white conch shells. The king was happy, and the queen was even happier. She sent a messenger on a fast horse to the prince to announce the good news.

The messenger passed through a black stone canyon and met the devil who was looking for Tsodrup Tenchung. The devil said: “Brother, you are running so fast, what’s the hurry?” The messenger said happily: “Haha! Don’t you know about this great joy?

Our princess Tsodrup Tenchung gave birth to a baby yesterday. Princess, a little prince! I have to rush to the border to announce the good news, how can I not be in a hurry?” When the devil heard these words, he quickly pretended to congratulate the messenger, and at the same time invited him to sit on the roadside and poured him wine and toasted meat. The messenger quickly He was so drunk that he turned into a piece of rotten wood, fell on the ground and fell asleep.

The devil took out the king’s letter from his leather pocket. The letter read: “Your wife Tsodrup Tenchung gave birth to a pair of lovely children last night. Her face is like a blooming flower and her body is like crystal jade. I have sent a special messenger to Congratulations to you!” The devil imitated the king’s handwriting, wrote a new letter, stuffed it into the messenger’s leather pocket, and disappeared in a gust of wind.

After the messenger sobered up, he rushed to the border in a panic, and the prince presented the king’s letter. The prince was shocked when he saw it, because the letter said: “Your wife Tsodrup Tenchung gave birth to a pair of monsters yesterday, with faces like donkeys and bodies like poisonous snakes. Should they be burned to death or killed?” “He turned over the letter and read it three times, and then turned it over and read it nine times. The more he read, the more doubtful he became. He hurriedly wrote a reply and ordered the messenger to rush back to the capital overnight.

The devil once again laid out good wine and meat in Blackstone Canyon, waiting for the arrival of the messenger. As the saying goes: “Drunk is one’s own enemy.” The two ate and drank on the roadside, and the messenger soon became as drunk as cow dung. The devil took out the prince’s letter and read it. There was this paragraph in it: “I never believe that what my father wrote is reality in the world. Even so, please love mother and son even more, and we will discuss it after I come back.” The devil took the letter again. After rewriting it, he left like a storm.

The messenger returned to the palace and handed the reply to the king. The king opened it and almost couldn’t believe his eyes. The letter said: “I have long expected that this witch from the devil’s cave will not bring good luck to the royal family. Please burn the three of them, mother and son, to death quickly, otherwise it will be extremely detrimental to my guarding the border.” The prince’s messenger.

The king and queen are in a dilemma, burn them to death, the girl has nothing wrong with having big hair; leave them alone, the failure of the border threatens the survival of the kingdom. The old couple had no choice but to shed tears and order the warriors to drive Tsodrup Tenchung, mother and son, out of the palace.

Tsodrup Tenchung was carrying the little princess on his back and holding the little prince in his arms, crying as he hurried on. Her foot was cut by the ice and she took one step and a drop of blood came out. Her clothes were torn by thorns, and she was shivering in the wind and snow. All her dry food was gone, and the baby was reduced to a few bones. Let’s go, let’s go. She wants to go to the border and tell her husband about her grievances.

Tsodrup Tenchung walked through the wilderness and saw a small house from which the aroma of beef and mutton wafted. She approached the window and stretched out her thin hand, asking for something to eat or drink. Suddenly, a devil’s head stuck out of the window, and he opened his mouth like an iron pot and laughed: “Haha! Tsodrup Tenchung, you can’t run away! You can’t run away!”

When the girl saw the devil, she was so frightened that she ran as fast as she could. The devil screamed horribly and chased after her. She ran across the dam, and the devil stretched out his long claws, grabbed the little princess, and ate her. She climbed over the mountain, and the devil stretched out his long claws, snatched the little prince from his arms, and threw him to death.

Tsodrup Tenchung could no longer escape, so he walked to the cliff in three steps and prepared to jump off. Suddenly, a group of men and horses came over from the other side of the mountain. It turned out to be the prince returning from victory. He hurriedly rescued the girl and blocked the devil, and the two started a fierce battle on the top of the mountain.

Finally, the prince took out a grain of white highland barley from his hair and threw it high into the sky. The white highland barley turned into a snow peak, suppressing the vicious devil.

The prince and Tsodrup Tenchung returned to the palace together and lived a happy and peaceful life.

Narrated by: Yuzhen, Chengguan Town, Shigatse
Collected in June 1979
Compiled in February 1980