Retell the fairy tale of Tấm Cám in your own words

Assignment: Retell the fairy tale of Tấm Cám in your own words

Retell the fairy tale of Tấm Cám in your own words

I. Outline Retell the fairy tale of Tấm Cám in your own words (Standard)

1. Introduction:
Introduce the fairy tale of Tấm Cám

2. Body:

* Background, lives of the two sisters Tấm and Cám:
- Tấm and Cám are half-sisters from different mothers
- Tấm is diligent, honest, and kind-hearted
- Cám is lazy, mischievous, and cruel

* Tấm and the carp:
- Tấm raises a carp in the well
- When the carp is eaten by Cám and her mother, listening to the Fairy, Tấm puts the fish bones back into the jar, which turns into beautiful items for her to attend the festival.

* Tấm attends the festival and becomes the King's wife
- Thanks to a flock of sparrows helping to gather rice and grains, Tấm is allowed to attend the festival
- After losing her shoe, she becomes the King's wife
- Cám and her mother are envious and plot against Tấm out of jealousy

* The death of Tấm and her transformations
- Tấm dies falling from a jackfruit tree, so Cám replaces her in the palace as the King's wife
- Tấm transforms multiple times: into a golden bird, two peach trees, a brocade frame, and a melon

* Tấm's return and the death of Cám and her mother
- Tấm transforms back into a human and is welcomed back to the palace by the King
- Due to her greed for status, Cám dies from her own greed, and Cám's mother dies upon hearing the news of her daughter's death

3. Conclusion:

Express your thoughts on the fairy tale of Tấm Cám

II. Sample Essay Retelling the fairy tale of Tấm Cám in your own words

1. Retell the fairy tale of Tấm Cám in your own words, Sample 1 (Standard)

Surely, each of us has heard the story of 'Tấm Cám' at least once. This masterpiece has brought us valuable moral lessons, which remain relevant to this day.

Tấm and Cám are half-sisters, sharing the same father but different mothers. Cám's mother lavishes attention and care on her daughter, while constantly mistreating and abusing Tấm. One afternoon, Tấm diligently collects shrimp in a basket, only to have them stolen by Cám, leaving behind only a small carp. This carp, gifted by the Fairy, Tấm raises in the well, feeding it daily.

One day, Cám and her mother deceive Tấm into believing they cooked the carp, throwing only its bones into the fireplace. Thanks to the Fairy, Tấm finds the fish bones in the ashes, which she then places in four jars under her bed. On the day of the royal festival, with the Fairy's help, sparrows gather rice and grains, while the fish bones transform into beautiful silk clothes, embroidered shoes, horses, and a splendid saddle.

Tấm, on her way to the festival, accidentally dropped her shoe. The king, while traveling, inadvertently picked it up and decreed that whoever fits this shoe would become his queen. Thus, Tấm became the queen and lived happily with the handsome king. However, shortly after, Cám and her mother plot and deceive Tấm by tricking her to climb a tall jackfruit tree and then cutting it down, resulting in Tấm's death. Afterwards, Tấm transforms into various forms to always be by the king's side and punish Cám and her mother. Sometimes she transforms into a golden bird singing by the king's side, sometimes into two peach trees providing shade, sometimes into a brocade frame, and finally into a melon.

A melon is brought by an old watermelon vendor to keep in the house. Every day, Tấm emerges from the melon to clean the house and cook rice for the old woman. When the old woman discovers Tấm, she refuses to let her return to the melon. It's Tấm's betel leaf that helps the king discover his wife, and he welcomes Tấm back to the palace. This time, when Tấm returns, Cám seeks advice on how to regain her youth and beauty. Tấm advises her to bathe in boiling water, causing Cám's death. Tấm then sends the fish sauce jar back to her wicked stepmother, who, upon realizing it's made from her daughter, dies of shock.

In conclusion, we see the truth of the saying 'good begets good, evil begets evil' never fails. As humans, we must always remember that what we sow, we shall reap.

2. Retell the fairy tale of Tấm Cám in your own words, Sample 2 (Standard)

Reading the story 'Tấm Cám,' we realize that this is not just a simple fairy tale. It's also a story about family happiness, about the battle between good and evil.

In that village, there were two half-sisters with different mothers, the older sister named Tấm was kind, filial, and hardworking; the younger named Cám was playful, lazy, and wicked. Both sisters had to catch shrimp, and whoever caught more would be rewarded. Tấm diligently caught a full basket, but in the end, Cám stole it all. Tấm could only cry, but as the saying goes, 'good begets good,' Tấm was helped by a deity who turned into a minnow in Tấm's basket. Tấm brought it home to nurture in the well, calling out each time she fed it:

'Fishy fishy come and dine
On golden rice and silver at my home's shrine
But beware the rice of others, for they are not thine'

Unfortunately, Cám and her mother overheard this call one day, mistaking their own rice for Tấm's. They caught the fish and ate it together. When Tấm returned from her cattle herding, she found no fish in the well. With the help of the deity, she only found a handful of fish bones, which she placed in four jars buried under the four bedposts.

On the day of the royal festival, Tấm also wanted to join the pilgrimage like everyone else, but her stepmother mixed the rice and grain together, forcing Tấm to separate them before she could go. This time, the deity appeared again, sending a flock of sparrows to gather rice and grain for Tấm. Then, Tấm retrieved from the four jars what turned out to be silk robes, embroidered shoes, a saddle, and even a beautiful horse. On her way to the festival, Tấm accidentally dropped a shoe into the lake, which was then picked up by the king passing by.

Seeing the beautiful small shoe, the king knew it belonged to a lovely girl, so he ordered that whoever fit the shoe would become his queen. Tấm tried on the shoe, and it fit perfectly, proving it was hers. Thus, much to the envy of Cám and her mother, Tấm became the queen. On the anniversary of her father's death, Tấm was killed by her stepmother, who intended to replace her with Cám in the palace. Tấm then transformed into a golden bird, a cherry blossom tree, a swing, and finally a betel nut. Eventually, the water vendor, who had brought the betel nut home, helped Tấm return to human form. Every day, Tấm rolled betel nuts and served the old lady selling water. One day, when the king passed by and saw the betel nut, he immediately remembered his wife and brought her back to the palace. Seeing Tấm return more beautiful than before, Cám, ignoring Tấm's warning, bathed in boiling water, resulting in her death and transformation into fish sauce. The jar of fish sauce was sent to the stepmother's house, and initially, she praised its taste, but upon learning that her daughter had died, she died too.

The wicked, who always scheme to harm others like Cám and her mother, ultimately met their demise. Meanwhile, the good and virtuous like Tấm finally found peace and happiness.

3. Retell the fairy tale of Tấm Cám in your own words, sample number 3 (Standard)

Fairy tales are often thought to resemble beautiful magical worlds like heaven. However, Vietnamese fairy tales are realistic and more educational. And the story of Tấm Cám is one such fairy tale.

In another household, there were two sisters named Tấm and Cám. Tấm was the elder stepdaughter, while Cám was the younger. Both of Tấm's parents had passed away early, leaving her to live with her stepmother and stepsister. Despite being assigned the same task of catching shrimp, Tấm diligently searched through the mud while Cám sat idle on the bank. After Tấm filled a basket with shrimp, Cám tricked her into washing her hair and then poured all the shrimp into her own basket to claim the reward from their mother. Although Tấm lost all the shrimp, a deity helped her by giving her a fish. Tấm raised the fish in the well and fed it rice daily. One day, Cám called the fish up and slaughtered it, then threw the bones into the kitchen ashes. When Tấm returned and couldn't find the fish, she cried. At this moment, the deity helped Tấm find the fish bones and advised her to bury them in jars for future use.

The king announced a royal festival, attracting people from all over to the capital. Tấm wanted to go but was forced by her stepmother to sift through a pile of mixed rice and grains. Fortunately, the deity appeared again, and a flock of sparrows helped Tấm sift the rice and grains. Then, Tấm dug up the four jars buried underground, which contained only silk robes, a horse, a saddle, and notably, a pair of beautifully embroidered shoes. As Tấm rode toward the capital, she accidentally dropped a shoe on the bridge. Later, the king found the shoe and sent a message that whoever's foot fit the shoe would become his wife.

Many tried but failed until it was Tấm's turn, and the shoe fit perfectly because it was hers. After Tấm became the king's wife, she was later killed by her stepmother on the anniversary of her father's death. Tấm died but transformed into a golden bird, a cherry blossom tree, a swing, a betel nut, all to stay by the king's side and keep an eye on Cám.