Pla Boo Thong (ปลาบู่ทอง)

Thai. ‘Golden Goby’. Name of a romantic love story. A fisherman called Setthi had two wives. With his major wife, named Kanittha, he had a daughter named Uyai and with his minor wife, named Kanitthi, he had two more daughters called Aai and Ie. Setthi loved his minor wife more than his major wife. One day he went fishing with his major wife and caught a golden fish called Pla Boo Thong. Too beautiful to eat it, he released it back into the water, yet his wife protested as she was hungry and tiered, and they hadn't caught anything else yet. After fishing for another while, they caught the same golden fish once again. Again, Setthi released it back into the water. When his wife complained again, he got angry with her and pushed her into the water. She drowned and reincarnated in a golden fish, since this had been the last thing on her mind. Upon on his return home, Setthi lied about what happened to the mother of Uyai. However, Kanittha, now born as a gold fish, would swim around the area of her former home and one day, while Uyai was sitting at the pier, she looked at the water and the fish with beautiful golden scales, which swam towards Uyai and talked about her fate from her cruel husband. Hence, Uyai learned that the fish was in fact her mother. When Setthi found out, he secretly caught the fish and fed it to his family. Uyai found out what had happened through a talking duck and begged the gods that her mother would reincarnate as two eggplant trees. The gods granted her wish, but when Setthi found out about it, he told his minor wife, who asked Aai to follow Uyai into the forest and pull out the trees when Uyai wasn't looking. The talking duck saw what happened and kept one fruit of the eggplant and told Uyai the story. She wrapped the fruit of the eggplant, buried it in the forest, and asked the gods that it may become a golden and a silver bodhi tree. Again the gods granted her wish. When the King came across the ton mai ngeun ton mai thong, i.e. the golden and silver trees, and learned Uyai's story, he made her his wife and Queen. Jealous of what had happened, Kanittha ensnared Uyai and killed her. Then, Aai put on Uyai's clothes and went to the palace taking the Queen's place. Due to a magic spell, the King was not aware that the girl had replaced his Queen, though he noticed that the golden and silver trees had become limp. Uyai reincarnated as a Red-breasted parakeet, and thus informed her husband about what had happened. He realized she was his wife and kept her in a golden cage, close to himself and able to talked to her often. However, he was still under the magic spell of the love potion and thus didn't take any action against Aai, who soon realized that the bird was her sister Uyai. One day, when the King was out to hunt for White Elephants, she got a chance to get rid of her. She caught the bird, cut off its wings, pulled out its feathers and asked the cook to prepare it as a meal for her. Assuming the bird was dead, the cook left it unattended, allowing it to escape. When he couldn't find the bird, he cooked another and so Aai thought that Uyai was dead. Meanwhile, the bird fled to the forest where it met a hermit, who took pity on the bird and changed it into beautiful woman, using magic. He took care of her as his own daughter and Uyai also took care of the hermit. Observing that Uyai often felt lonely, the hermit created Lom, a handsome boy from a picture he had drawn, so he could be her son and his grandson. As he grew up, the boy asked them why he had only his mother and no father. Uyai told him the stories and that her husband was the King. Lom thus travelled to fetch the King, who soon after was reunited with his beloved Uyai, and Lom returned back to the paper from which he was created. The King wanted to judge everyone involved in hurting his wife, but Uyai asked him to give them a pardon. Guilty and concerned, Aai however committed suicide. As a punishment, the King ordered her flesh cooked and made into a curry, and sent it to her parents. From shock, the youngest daughter Ie became dumb instantly. Setthi and Kanitthi repented, and with Ie, surrendered to the King. Uyai asked to forgive them and the King agreed. The King and Queen continued their reigns and ruled the people happily. Setthi and Kanitthi became kind and generous, especially to Red-breasted Parakeets and Pla Boo, and regularly came to feed the birds and fish in the garden behind the royal palace. See also POSTAGE STAMP. 回