Once there was a man as rich as he was evil. He never missed an opportunity to exploit his servants. His avaricious practices enabled him to amass the largest fortune in the region. The master's youngest child, a daughter, was not married.
Khoai, one of the servants, had no family and had worked since his childhood for the rich man. The master feared Khoai might leave and find work elsewhere. When Khoai was almost eighteen, the master called him aside, saying, "If you work hard from morning to night, I'll give you the hand of my youngest daughter."
Khoai, as naive as his master was crafty, worked eagerly for three years, tending to all the household tasks. Meanwhile, the master's daughter, Ut, grew more beautiful by the day. A very rich district chief asked for her hand in marriage for his son. The rich man forgot his promise to Khoai, which he'd never intended to keep anyhow, and quickly agreed. The two families began to prepare for the ceremony.
Khoai reproached the master for breaking his word. The master wanted to give his servant a good thrashing but instead said to himself, "Khoai can still be of some use to me." Once again, he thought of a ruse. "It's true that I'm preparing Otis wedding," the master said. "But if you really want to marry her, go to the forest and bring me a piece of bamboo with a hundred nodes. We'll make the most beautiful chopsticks in the world. Then you will marry Ut."
Khoai left for the forest. He looked and looked but couldn't find any bamboo with a hundred nodes. Discouraged, he sat at the foot of a tree and wept.
Suddenly a venerable old man appeared. "Why are you crying, My Child?" he asked. Khoai told him his story. "Go and cut bamboo!" the man said. "Count a hundred sections and bring them to me!"
Khoai went away, brandishing his axe, and soon returned with the hundred sections. The old man bent down, murmuring, "Unite at once. Unite at once." Scarcely had he uttered these words when the hundred bamboo sections, which lay scattered about, rolled into a line and joined, forming a piece of bamboo with a hundred nodes.
Khoai wanted to throw himself at the old man's feet, but the Buddha - for it was he - had already disappeared. Khoai set his bamboo pole on his shoulder. But how could he carry such a long trunk through the thick woods? Once again, he sat down and wept like a youngster.
Once again, the old man appeared. "Why are you crying?" he asked. For a second time, Khoai told him his troubles. Spreading his hands over the bamboo, the old man repeated softly, "Separate at once. Separate at once."The bamboo broke into a hundred sections. Khoai loaded the pieces into two bundles and carried them back to his master's house.
When he arrived, he found the two families enjoying a wedding feast. Mats covered with dishes and presents awaited the bride. Angry, Khoai went to his master, who reproached him, "I didn't ask for a hundred separate nodes but for one bamboo with a hundred nodes!" The guests, their chopsticks in mid-air, burst into scornful laughter.
Khoai bent down, whispering, "Unite at once. Unite at once."
The bamboo pieces joined instantly, entwining the master, who struggled to free himself. The district chief and his son tried to help, but the giant bamboo entwined them, producing howls of pain. The guests turned pale with terror and remained rooted in place. Finally, they knelt before Khoai, begged forgiveness, and asked him to release the culprits.
Khoai paused, looked around the courtyard, and then murmured, "Separate at once. Separate at once." The bamboo fell, releasing the men. The district chief and his son fled without asking that their bridal gifts be returned. Defeated, the master gave Khoai his daughter's hand in marriage.