This story was originally posted in Hmong in 2013; updated as an English rendition with new artwork in 2026.
Translated from the original 1986 Hmong RPA text into English by WYImagination.blogspot.com. Read the full historical copyright and storyteller attribution at the bottom of this post.
Long ago, there was an orphan boy whose mother and father had both passed away. The only family he had left were his older brother and his older brother’s wife. Sadly, neither of them loved him, and the orphan spent most of his days wandering alone through the mountains, carrying his father’s gun and bow wherever he went.
One day, as the orphan wandered along a stream, he came upon a small cave. Near the entrance, he saw a giant centipede carrying a large, precious jewel out of the cave.
Suddenly, lightning flashed across the sky.
The centipede quickly hid itself.
Another bolt of lightning struck, but it missed the centipede. Again and again, lightning flashed and struck toward the cave, but each time, the centipede managed to escape.
The orphan watched for a while before finally saying, “Ah! Lightning keeps trying to strike you, but it misses every time. Let me help Lightning out.”
The giant centipede emerged from the cave once more, but lightning missed it again.
The orphan quickly drew his bow and released an arrow. The arrow flew straight toward the centipede and struck it, piercing its body.
The giant centipede suddenly leaped toward the orphan.
At that very moment, lightning flashed again and struck the centipede, killing it instantly. The force of the lightning threw the orphan over the riverbank.
For a while, the orphan thought he was dead.
When he finally awoke, he looked down at his hand. To his surprise, he was tightly clutching a precious jewel.
The orphan thought to himself, If I killed the giant centipede, then this must be the jewel it was carrying.
He climbed back down from the riverbank and continued following the valley alongside the stream.
After walking for some time, he came to another valley where a small stream flowed gently through the land. There, he encountered an old man whose hair was as white as snow.
The old man looked at him and called out, “Come here, little boy. Where are you going?”
The orphan answered, “I have no mother and no father. My heart is troubled, so I am simply wandering through the valley.”
The old man said, “Oh! If that is so, can you help me? If you can help me, I have two daughters. If you help me, whichever one you like, I will give to you. If you do not want a wife and would rather have silver, I will give you silver. If you want gold, I will give you gold. If you want cattle or horses, I will give you cattle or horses.”
The orphan replied, “Ah! Old man, I do not know what I can possibly help you with. I am afraid that if I help you and succeed, then perhaps I will take what you offer. If I cannot do it, then I will simply leave it at that.”
The old man said, “Then go back home. Make two pairs of copper bullets. Tomorrow morning, after breakfast, come back and meet me here.”
The orphan returned home. He made the bullets and managed to make two pairs of copper bullets.
The next morning, the orphan ate his breakfast early. Then he went to the place where the old man had told him to meet him. After a little while, the old man arrived.
The old man asked, “You have come, little boy?”
The orphan answered, “Yes! I have come.”
The old man said, “Tonight, you sleep here. Tomorrow, people will come to seize my fields and my land. They will come to take my wife and my children as well. If you can help me, then whichever of my two daughters you like, I will give to you. My two daughters are the elder one, Nkauj Ntsuab, and the younger one, Nkauj Zuag Paj. Whichever one you want, I will give to you. Whatever else you want, I will give to you.”
The orphan replied, “Ah! Let me try and see if I can help.”
The old man told him, “Sleep here tonight. After a while, there will be thunder, lightning, wind, and rain roaring across the whole sky. Do not be afraid. At dawn, you will see the river roaring and rushing, and you will see the water become wild and muddy. As soon as it becomes light, you will be able to see them. I will be the one wearing the white crown, and I will run in front. The one following behind me will have nine golden horns. You must shoot that one.”
The old man then left.
The orphan remained there for a while. Darkness gradually fell. Soon the rain grew heavier. The darkness deepened, and the rain became stronger and stronger.
Thunder and lightning roared, and a violent storm raged through the entire night.
The next morning, when the rooster began to crow, the sound of the river could be heard roaring and rushing like thunder itself. The water came surging down, thick with yellow mud.
Then daylight appeared.
The orphan looked toward the river. Suddenly, he saw an enormous serpent as large as a tree trunk. It was wearing a white crown.
Then he saw another enormous serpent, just as large, with nine golden horns.
The two enormous dragons were chasing one another through the rushing water.
The orphan quickly raised his gun and fired one shot at the dragon following behind. After a little while, the serpent disappeared completely beneath the water.
Not long afterward, the old man who had asked the orphan for help came out and approached him.
He said, “Oh! Little orphan! You have come and helped me! Now you may go home. Tomorrow morning, after breakfast, come back here and I will speak with you.”
The orphan returned home.
The next morning, after breakfast, he went back to the place where he had been told to wait. After a little while, the old man appeared again.
The old man asked, “You have come again, little boy?”
The orphan answered, “Yes! I have come.”
The old man said, “Now that you have come, do not be afraid. Put your head underneath my armpit.”
The orphan moved closer.
Suddenly, the old man grabbed the orphan and held him tightly beneath his armpit. Then the old man leaped straight into the river with him.
The two of them plunged into the water.
But somehow, they passed straight through the river and came out on the other side.
What the orphan saw amazed him.
There were markets everywhere. Roads were filled with dust. Houses stood one after another—wooden houses, bamboo houses, cloth-covered houses, and houses surrounded by fences. People filled the streets, carrying flowers, playing instruments, and moving through the markets. There were so many people that the entire place seemed alive.
The old man was actually a great ruler who governed an entire kingdom.
The old man brought the orphan to his home and said, “I have gone and brought my son-in-law home. Now I will give my daughter Nkauj Ntsuab to him.”
Then he turned to the orphan.
“Little boy, do you want silver? If you want silver, I will give you silver. If you want gold, I will give you gold. Tell me what you want. Which one do you choose?”
The orphan answered, “Ah! I only want your daughter.”
The old man then spoke to his servants.
“Come, everyone! We will celebrate for nine days and nine nights with wine. Go and catch a great wild buffalo. We are going to eat meat and drink together!”
The orphan went to watch the servants try to capture the buffalo.
He saw a river nearby with a bridge crossing over it. The servants tied a rope trap across the bridge.
Whenever Hmong people came walking across the bridge and reached the rope, they would simply lift the rope with their hands and step over it. Several groups came across, but none of them were caught.
Then another group came.
This time, the rope caught an old man.
The servants pulled the rope tightly, dragging whatever had been caught from the bridge toward the riverbank.
But when they pulled it out, it was not a person at all.
It was a huge wild buffalo.
Its neck was enormous, and the rope could barely fit around it.
The orphan stood watching.
His father-in-law asked him, “So, my son-in-law, will you eat this buffalo?”
The orphan replied, “Oh, Father-in-law! I do not think I can eat this buffalo. I am afraid I cannot eat it.”
The father-in-law said, “Oh! If that is so, then I will have my servants catch fish for you to eat.”
The father-in-law ordered his servants to go and catch fish for the orphan.
The celebration continued for nine days and nine nights, with wine and food throughout the entire feast.
When the nine days and nine nights were over, the father-in-law gave silver and gold to his son-in-law and his daughter, Nkauj Ntsuab. He then had people escort the two of them back to the riverbank.
The servants and attendants then returned to the kingdom.
When the orphan and his wife reached the riverbank, they were carrying enormous amounts of silver and gold.
There was so much silver and gold that it seemed to fill the entire ground wherever they stopped to rest.
One day, the orphan’s older brother and sister-in-law came to visit.
When they arrived, they saw that the orphan had enormous piles of silver and enormous piles of gold. He had more wealth than they could have imagined.
And the orphan’s wife was incredibly beautiful.
His older brother and sister-in-law could not stop staring at her.
His sister-in-law sat there looking at the orphan’s wife, and his older brother stared at her as well. They could hardly take their eyes away from her.
The older brother finally said to the orphan, “Oh, orphan! How is it that you, who used to wander around like a poor, homeless person, have managed to marry such a beautiful woman? Please tell me how you did it, orphan! I am poor too. My own wife is ugly and dark like that. Look at you! What did you do to get such a wife? Please tell me. I want to try it myself and see if I can find a wife as beautiful as yours.”
The orphan answered, “Ah, older brother. You and your wife were always scolding me, so I spent my days wandering around. One day I reached the edge of a valley where there was a fig tree. I stayed there for a while, and an old man suddenly came out. He took me away with him, and I ended up marrying my wife. The old man simply gave us silver and gold to bring home and use to build our life together. That is all, older brother.”
The older brother said, “Oh! If that is how it happened, then, orphan, I will go and sleep there too. I will see if I can get a beautiful wife like yours. Maybe I can even get a wife as beautiful as your younger wife.”
So the older brother prepared himself.
He went and slept beneath the little fig tree beside the valley.
That night, many monkeys came to eat the figs.
The monkeys stayed there throughout the night and left their droppings all over the older brother.
By morning, the older brother was covered in monkey droppings.
His wife would not let him come back into the house.
The older brother had no choice but to leave and wander the world, while his wife was left without a husband.
And that is the end of the story.
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Original Source: Dab Neeg, Phau Ib (Hmong Folktales, Vol. 1, 1986), documented under the historical cultural preservation initiative Khaws Hmoob Txuj Sib Qhia Los ("Gathering Hmong Arts to Teach Each Other").
- Original Storyteller (Oral Dictation): Yaj Xov Txiab
- RPA Transcription & Editing: Yaj Vam Thaiv, Hawj Nyiaj Nkaub, and Hawj Tsav Xyooj
- Project Director & Archival Publisher: Txiv Plig Nyiaj Pov (Father Yves Bertrais) via Koom Haum Txoos Hmoob Guyane (Association of Hmong Communities in French Guiana).
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