CHAO TRIS'S STORY

There was a man named Chao Tris, originally a resident of the Chamkar Leu district, who moved to live in Preah Nokor city and married a lady living in the Royal Palace. Whenever her husband's work was done, she often taught her husband royal vocabulary (terms used for the royal family) because she serves the royal family in the Royal Palace. Chao Tris was industrious in memorizing the royal terms, until he remembered all the terms; however, he was not smart enough to realize that these terms could be used only for the royal family, so he used those terms to talk to all people;

One day Chao Tris went to go fishing at the river. After catching a fish, he put it into the boat and rowed it to sell at the fish market and shouted in order to sell his fish: "Hey! Ladies and gentlemen, please yeang (come) to buy machha (fish) to make kraya (royal meal) for soy (eating) as you wish; "

People living along the riverbank went to buy the fish and asked: "how much is this one? Chao.Tris told them "This is still mean preahchun (alive), and costs two taels. That one just soypreahvilay khsaypreahchunmea (died), it cost only one tael; that one broke preah se (royal head) so preah lohit (royal blood) flowed, but it is still fresh , and costs five bahts; trung (your royal highness) is kindly requested to buy it. " Some people, after hearing the man using the royal terms, laughed, some warned him not to speak like that, as it really worried them;

Chao Tris did not listen and completely did not follow these instructions, and still used the royal terms. At that time, there was a man who was extremely disturbed by the royal terms and could no long bear it, and got up to slap Chao Tris's mouth. Being angry with that man, he said to the man: "you buy fish, why do you use your preah hoas (royal hand) to slap my preah oas (royal mouth) like that, if trung (your royal highness) does not wish to buy it, it is up to your preah reach haratey (royal mind);"

The slapper and all the buyers, upon hearing Chao Tris say this, laughed heartily and insulted [him, saying]: "you are a person who does not know how to speak language or when it is appropriate to use these royal terms, which are only for use in the royal family. They must not be used with people and it is very upsetting to hear it, please do not use royal terms [mixed] with the subjects' terms;" 

 

Chao Tris, upon hearing this insult, became really enrged, but dared not argue back, but tried to sell all the fish and row the boat back home;

Upon arriving home, he blamed his wife "Hey, Atouch's mother, you taught me the royal terms and I tried to memorize them, but now I have been slapped on the mouth." After saying this, he told his wife the story of taking the fish to sell and saying the royal terms, and being slapped on the mouth by the people at the market who prohibited him from using [the terms] from beginning to end;

The wife, after hearing this, laughed a little and said "I asked you to study royal terms to be used only in the royal family and did not tell you to use them with the subjects' terms, which is the people's language. I assumed that you already understood and did not ban you from speaking the same to ordinary people. From now on, please remember, when you went to pay a courtesy visit to His Majesty the King, you must use the royal terms, and if you speak to ordinary people, you must use the subjects' terms."

- The END -