Xyooj Mim and Xyooj Kaub are orphaned siblings who have no parents or family left to care for them. One day, Xyooj Mim happens upon a dragon prince. The prince offers to marry her, but in return, he promises to provide for her younger brother. He gives Xyooj Kaub a magical grain of rice and a piece of meat that can replenish themselves, allowing the boy to have food for the rest of his life.
There is, however, one condition: Xyooj Kaub must never completely finish the rice or the meat. As long as a portion remains, the food will magically replenish itself. But if he ever eats everything, the magic will be broken, and the food will never return.
For a while, Xyooj Kaub follows the instructions. But as he grows older, his curiosity gets the better of him. One day, he eats the very last grain of rice and the last piece of meat. The magic disappears, and Xyooj Kaub is once again left without food.
Hungry and heartbroken, he wanders until he reaches a lake. There, he sits beside the water and begins to cry.
While he is crying, Xyooj Kaub encounters a dragon king. The dragon king takes pity on him, gives him food, and tells him where he can find his sister, Xyooj Mim.
The dragon king asks for only one favor in return. He tells Xyooj Kaub to deliver a message to his dragon-king son-in-law: the dragon king's kingdom has suffered a terrible fire, and he needs his son-in-law to come and help rebuild it.
Xyooj Kaub agrees.
He then begins a long journey on foot, traveling many miles until he finally reaches his sister.
When Xyooj Mim sees her younger brother again, she is overjoyed. Xyooj Kaub also meets his brother-in-law, the dragon prince. The dragon prince takes Xyooj Kaub with him to Heaven, where he is given the extraordinary opportunity to see his deceased parents and his elder brothers and sisters-in-law once more.
But Xyooj Kaub is still human, and because he is not a heavenly being, he cannot remain in Heaven forever. Eventually, he must return to Earth with his brother-in-law.
When Xyooj Kaub returns, Xyooj Mim holds a great celebration to welcome him home. During the festivities, Xyooj Kaub makes a bet with the village headman. They compete to see who has the ability to call the dragon king out from his lake.
The village headman tries first, but he cannot summon the dragon king.
Then Xyooj Kaub uses the special words taught to him by the dragon king he had met earlier.
Immediately, the dragon king emerges.
The dragon king grabs Xyooj Kaub and takes him down into the dragon kingdom. Everyone on Earth believes that Xyooj Kaub has died.
But Xyooj Kaub has not died.
In the dragon kingdom, he meets the dragon king's beautiful youngest daughter, Nkauj Zuag Paj. The two become deeply fond of one another and eventually fall in love.
Xyooj Kaub wishes to marry her, but the dragon king does not immediately agree. Instead, Xyooj Kaub must prove himself through a series of riddles, games, and contests. After many challenges, the dragon king finally accepts Xyooj Kaub and grants him permission to marry Nkauj Zuag Paj.
The two are married.
After the wedding, the dragon king secretly places Nkauj Zuag Paj inside an umbrella and gives the umbrella to Xyooj Kaub.
The old dragon king warns him:
"Do not open this umbrella, no matter how hot the sun becomes. Keep it closed until you arrive home."
Xyooj Kaub accepts the umbrella without knowing that his bride is hidden inside it.
As he begins his journey home, the weather becomes unbearably hot. Xyooj Kaub complains about the scorching sun. He is also confused and frustrated because he has just gotten married, yet his wife is nowhere to be seen.
What Xyooj Kaub does not know is that the terrible weather is being caused by Nkauj Kub Kaws, the sister of the Thunder God. Nkauj Kub Kaws is jealous of Nkauj Zuag Paj and is also in love with her.
The heat becomes unbearable.
Again and again, Xyooj Kaub is tempted to open the umbrella.
Finally, he gives in.
The moment he opens it, Nkauj Zuag Paj tumbles out.
She is angry and heartbroken.
She reminds Xyooj Kaub that her parents specifically warned him not to open the umbrella. Xyooj Kaub apologizes and begs her to return inside so that they can continue their journey together.
But Nkauj Zuag Paj tells him that it is already too late.
That night, while Xyooj Kaub is sleeping, Nkauj Zuag Paj's family comes to Earth. They build a beautiful home for the couple and provide them with servants, rice fields, and everything they need to live comfortably.
For a time, Xyooj Kaub and Nkauj Zuag Paj live together.
But Nkauj Kub Kaws has not given up.
She disguises herself as a beautiful woman and repeatedly comes to visit Xyooj Kaub. She flirts with him and gradually begins to manipulate him.
Little by little, she convinces Xyooj Kaub that she is the woman who truly belongs with him.
She tells him that Nkauj Zuag Paj is not beautiful at all, but rather a monster who drinks the blood of sheep.
Nkauj Zuag Paj repeatedly warns her husband that Nkauj Kub Kaws is dangerous and malicious. She begs him not to believe her lies.
But Xyooj Kaub refuses to listen.
Eventually, Nkauj Kub Kaws succeeds in turning him completely against his own wife.
Xyooj Kaub drives Nkauj Zuag Paj away.
Heartbroken, Nkauj Zuag Paj returns to the dragon kingdom.
As she leaves, she takes the house, the servants, and the rice fields that her family had provided for them.
She leaves Xyooj Kaub with only one thing: a rooster.
Even after everything he has done to her, Nkauj Zuag Paj still pities him.
Soon afterward, Nkauj Kub Kaws reveals her true form to Xyooj Kaub. She mocks him for his foolishness and leaves him as well.
Xyooj Kaub is now completely alone.
He has lost his wife, his home, his servants, his rice fields, and even the woman who deceived him.
With nothing left, he returns to the lake where Nkauj Zuag Paj disappeared. Every day, he sits beside the water and cries, longing for his wife.
One day, he encounters two female frog servants. They have come to the lake to wash Nkauj Zuag Paj's clothes.
Xyooj Kaub begs them to help him see his wife again.
At first, they refuse. But after he pleads with them repeatedly, they finally agree to help.
The frog women explain that they can drink the water from the lake and temporarily empty it so that Xyooj Kaub can enter the dragon kingdom beneath it.
They attempt to do so.
The first time, their bodies become enormously swollen from drinking so much water.
Xyooj Kaub laughs at them.
They try a second time, but again they become bloated, and Xyooj Kaub mocks them.
On their third attempt, however, the frog women successfully drink the lake dry.
Xyooj Kaub immediately jumps into the empty lake.
At last, he finds Nkauj Zuag Paj again.
But he cannot simply bring her home.
Nkauj Zuag Paj explains that since leaving him, the Thunder God has come to ask for her hand in marriage. In only a few days, she will be taken to Heaven to become his wife.
Still, she tells Xyooj Kaub not to lose hope.
She gives him a plan.
She tells him to fill three basins with water. One basin must be placed at the front door, one at the back door, and one on the roof of his house.
Then, on the day she is taken to Heaven with the Thunder God, Xyooj Kaub will hear the sound of bells.
When he hears the bells, he must look into the water in each basin. Her reflection will appear in the water as she passes overhead.
He must grab her when he sees her.
However, Nkauj Zuag Paj does not clearly explain one crucial detail:
He must reach upward and grab her from the sky—not grab her reflection in the water.
The day finally comes.
Nkauj Zuag Paj passes over Xyooj Kaub's home on her way to Heaven.
The bells ring.
Xyooj Kaub looks into the first basin.
He sees her reflection and reaches into the water, but he grabs nothing.
He rushes to the second basin.
Again, he sees her reflection and reaches into the water.
Again, he fails.
Finally, he runs to the third basin on the roof.
Once more, he sees Nkauj Zuag Paj's reflection in the water.
But instead of reaching toward the sky, he reaches for the reflection.
He misses her.
Nkauj Zuag Paj continues on to Heaven with the Thunder God.
Three days pass.
But Nkauj Zuag Paj does not want to remain with the Thunder God.
She tells him that she has unfinished business in the dragon kingdom and asks permission to return to Earth.
The Thunder God agrees.
When Nkauj Zuag Paj descends from Heaven, however, she does not return to the dragon kingdom.
She goes straight to Xyooj Kaub.
She finds him, takes him beneath her arm, and carries him away.
The Thunder God realizes what has happened and becomes furious.
He pursues them, but Nkauj Zuag Paj and Xyooj Kaub manage to escape his wrath.
Together, they travel far away and eventually settle at the bottom of Heaven.
There, among the billions of stars, Xyooj Kaub and Nkauj Zuag Paj live together happily ever after.
And this is why, according to the folktale, whenever a Hmong couple gets married, they are supposed to keep their marriage umbrella close to them for at least three days—so that they do not suffer the same misfortune as Xyooj Kaub and Nkauj Zuag Paj.
The story reminds us that love requires trust, patience, and the wisdom to listen to those who genuinely care for us.
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