Once upon a time, in a remote region of Vietnam, there was a young peasant, brave and generous, named Ngoc Tâm. He had a very beautiful and elegant wife. Unlike her husband, who was thrifty and hardworking, she was lazy and loved luxury. Despite this, Ngoc Tâm loved his wife and forgave her everything.
Unfortunately, this union was only short-lived, because the young woman died suddenly one morning. Desperate, Ngoc Tâm did not want to part with his wife’s body and opposed her burial.
After selling his possessions, he embarked with the coffin in a small sailing boat, a sampan, and wandered with the current, having no precise destination in mind.
One day, his sampan brought him to the foot of a green and fragrant hill. Once ashore, he discovered a landscape of great beauty with rare flowers and trees full of various fruits. He suddenly met an old man with a goatee and long white hair. The old man exuded a great serenity and an amazing mercy. Ngoc Tâm understood that he had before him a genius of the place. He threw himself at his feet, imploring him to give his wife back her life.
Taken with pity, the genie said to him: “I will grant your wishes, because your love and your pain are sincere. But may you not regret it later!” Then he asked the peasant to open the coffin, cut his fingertip and let three drops of blood fall on the body of the deceased. Immediately, the dead woman opened her eyes as if she was waking up from a long sleep. Before leaving, the genie spoke to the woman: “Do not forget your duties as a wife. Think of the love your husband has for you and his devotion. Be happy together.”
In a hurry to return to his home, Ngoc Tâm rowed day and night. One evening, he had to moor to buy provisions. While he was away, the large boat of a rich merchant came to moor next to his.
Struck by the beauty of the young woman, the merchant entered into conversation with her, eventually seducing her and taking her with him to a new destination. On his return, Ngoc Tâm, furious, decided to pursue the rich merchant.
He managed to find him after many months of searching. He also found his wife and asked her to join him. Accustomed to the luxurious life offered to her by the merchant, she refused. Suddenly, the peasant was cured of his love and said to his wife: “You are free to leave me. But you must give me back the three drops of blood I poured on your body to revive you.”
Happy to be rid of her stupid husband so cheaply, she hastened to prick her finger. But the moment the blood started to flow, she collapsed dead.
However, she could not resign herself to leaving this world for good. She returned transformed into a mosquito that bites all human beings, hoping to find the three drops of blood that will allow her to regain her human form. The story also explains why only the female mosquito bites humans.
