Câu chuyện về bó đũa

Long, long time ago, there was a rich farmer who had ten sons. Everyday they worked in the rich fields from sunrise to sunset. Years pass by, the farmer became older and weaker. Finally he was very, very ill and could not get off his bed. He decided to give the rice field to his sons.

Meanwhile, the ten brothers began to realize how sick their father had become. They began to fight with one another to see who should get the ten acres of rice after their father passed away. The oldest son said 'I am the eldest, so I should get the most.' The youngest son said, 'Father loves me the best, I should get more.'

The next day, the ten brothers were called to their father's bedside. The old man did not say a word and gave each one of his sons a chopstick. Then he said 'I want to see who can break their chopstick?' SNAP, SNAP, SNAP… Everyone was very happy to break their chopstick easily. The old farmer then took out ten chopsticks and bunched them together tightly. He gave the bundle to his oldest son and asked him to break it. The oldest son tried and tried. Sweat came running down his neck, but he could not break it. The chopstick bunch was passed on to the rest of the brothers. None of them were able to break it.

Father then said, 'Each of you will receive one acre of rice field. If you work against one another, you will be as weak as a single chopstick. Anyone can easily destroy you. If, however, you work as a group, no one in the world can tear you apart.'

The ten brothers looked at one another ashamed of their own foolishness. After their father died, they worked hard as a team and their rice fields continued to have full harvest for years to come and the old man's wisdom lives on.