Six hundred years ago, Vietnam was occupied by a powerful neighbour from the north — the Ming. The Vietnamese were trying to fight them off, but they were losing.
One day, a poor fisherman named Lê Lợi went to the river. When he pulled up his net, there was something unusual inside — not a fish, but a long, gleaming sword blade. He took it home, puzzled.
A few weeks later, hiding from soldiers in a forest, Lê Lợi spotted something glittering high up in a tree. He climbed up — and found a sword handle, beautifully carved.
When he took the handle home and fitted it onto the blade he had pulled from the net, they joined together perfectly. Not a gap. Not a wobble. As if they had always been one sword.
Lê Lợi understood: this sword had been sent to him by Heaven. He raised an army, and led them with the magic blade. After ten years of fighting, they drove the Ming out. Lê Lợi was crowned king.
One day, a few years later, King Lê Lợi was rowing on a small lake in the middle of his capital city, Hanoi. Suddenly, a giant golden turtle rose out of the water.
"Your Majesty," said the turtle, "the war is won. Heaven sent that sword for the fight. Now, please return it."
Lê Lợi looked at the magic sword. He drew it from his belt, and held it out. The turtle took the sword in its mouth, dipped beneath the water, and was gone.
From that day on, the lake was called Hồ Hoàn Kiếm — the Lake of the Returned Sword. It is still there, in the middle of Hanoi today.
Lê Lợi was given the sword for one purpose — to win the war. When the war was over, he gave it back. He didn't keep it for himself, or use it to threaten others. What's a tool you should put away when you're done with it?
Even today, in the middle of Hanoi, you can walk around Hồ Hoàn Kiếm. Old people sit on benches, kids run, lovers hold hands. There's a small island in the middle with a red bridge.
Until 2016, a giant real soft-shell turtle lived in the lake — said to be a descendant of the one in the story. So the legend isn't entirely a story.