LUB TSUA MOS LWJ (White Deer Mountain)

White Deer Mountain is a story about a long time ago, there was a small village in Laos located near a big lake. Every morning, the villagers would see a white deer grazing on the grass on the other side of the lake, and in the evening, after sunset, they would spot the same white deer standing atop a mountain. However, they didn’t realize that this creature was the guardian of the land and the lake. One day, a six-month-pregnant daughter-in-law took a bamboo boat to cross the lake to the other side, but she never returned. The next morning, her husband went in search of her but also disappeared. His father, distraught, traveled to another village to find an old monk for help. When the monk arrived, he looked at the lake and spoke to its spirit: "If you have taken my people, God will punish you, and the thunder will strike you down." After his warning, the monk told the villagers that they needed to evacuate immediately. They had three days to leave, as something terrible was about to happen, but they could return afterward. Following the monk's warning, the villagers packed their belongings and moved to the highest mountain to wait. Exactly three days later, as evening fell, the sky darkened and a heavy rainstorm hit for about ten minutes before stopping abruptly. Suddenly, a loud clap of thunder struck the lake where the village once stood. The following day, the men ventured back to assess the damage. To their shock, they found water everywhere on their rice fields, and the village had been completely flooded. Months later, the villagers from nearby settlements discovered the skeleton of a giant snake by the river. They realized that the snake had been struck by lightning and had fled, ultimately dying in the process. From that day on, everyone lived peacefully, and they named the mountain near the lake "White Deer Mountain.