The turtle and the sword

Once upon a time, early in the 15th century, the Chinese seized control of Vietnam. There was a great Vietnamese hero, named Le Loi, who travelled around the countryside calling the people to stand up against the Chinese.

'But what can we do against the Chinese?' the people asked. 'There are so many of them. They are more powerful than us.'

Le Loi asked Heaven for help and Heaven sent him a magic sword. With the magic sword Le Loi led an army and drove the Chinese out of Vietnam. When the Chinese were gone, the people made Le Loi their emperor. He was known as Emperor Ly Thai To.

One day when the emperor was by the lake he saw a giant golden tortoise swimming on the surface of the lake. The tortoise took the sword from him and dived under the water.

The people of Vietnam believe that the tortoise returned the sword to Heaven. Ever since, the lake has been known as Hoan Kiem Lake which means Lake of the Returned Sword.

The end

This is a traditional story from Vietnam. It is believed there are still tortoises in the lake. People are always looking for them. They say it is good luck to see one. The one in the picture died in 1968. It was 2.1 metres long and weighed 250 kg. It's remains can be seen in Ngoc Son Temple, on an island in the lake, where your Grandpa took this picture.

love from Grandpa John