Amidst the hustle and bustle of Saigon , the story of the beggar girl and the stray dogs made many people quiet.
The Little Beggar Girl and the Old Dog
In recent days, a small but heartwarming story shared by a young person has been spreading rapidly on social networks . A seemingly ordinary moment in the heart of bustling Saigon, but it has made many people’s hearts soften.
“Stopping at Hang Xanh intersection , I saw a beggar sitting on the side of the road, next to him was a trembling old puppy.
I asked:
– Your dog? What ‘s wrong with it ?
The girl looked up, smiling gently like the early winter sun:
– I just picked it up yesterday afternoon, uncle. It was lame and couldn’t walk. I felt sorry for it so I picked it up.
An old puppy, probably beaten or sick, had swollen hind legs and was shaking like a noodle. It looked like the child had wrapped it in an old shirt to keep it warm.
What is its name?
– I just picked it up so I haven’t named it yet.”
The child smiled again. A simple, sincere smile. Whenever the dog was mentioned, she lit up as if she were talking about a loved one. It seemed to her that finding that disabled dog was a gift.
The person who posted the article originally didn’t intend to take any photos, but because the girl’s face was so beautiful and innocent , he asked permission to take a few. She wrinkled her nose in laughter and kept repeating, “I picked it up, uncle.”
The story seemed to stop at a light-hearted sharing. But behind that smile is a real life journey full of hardship and emotion of a girl named Truong Ngoc Quynh Nhi, 17 years old, from Dong Nai.
Behind the smile like “early winter sunshine” of a 17 year old girl
I met Nhi on the sidewalk, under the harsh sunlight of Ho Chi Minh City streets. She sat huddled in a corner of the sidewalk, quietly blending in with the hurried crowd. Her wide-brimmed black hat was worn out, still covered with dust, partially concealing her sunburned face. Her faded, loose-fitting striped shirt reached down to her knees, clearly second-hand, and did not fit her skinny body.
Yet when she smiles, it is a gentle, gentle smile that warms people’s hearts, just like the “early winter sunshine” mentioned in the article. A small, pure soul amidst the hustle and bustle of the city.
Every day, at 7am, Nhi leaves her small rented room in Tan Hiep ward, Dong Nai, crosses the market and gets on the bus. At around 9am, she arrives in Thanh My Tay ward (HCMC), starting a day of collecting scrap metal and begging.
“It takes an hour and a half to get here once. I go to the market and walk up a hill to my house. The next day, we continue the journey, repeating it every day. When it gets too sunny, I start running to a shady place to sit.” – Nhi said.
Nhi’s mother died of lung cancer when she was 8 years old. When her mother was alive, she was a strict person who loved her children with discipline.
“Mom took care of everything. Mom worked at a Hue beef noodle shop. After Mom passed away, grandma didn’t have any control over her, so my brother and I dropped out of school.” – Nhi forced a smile when talking about her life. Perhaps, she had gone through too many hardships that a 17-year-old girl shouldn’t have to endure. The hardships of life, the losses from childhood and the nameless worries about the future… all left their mark on that small figure, making her mature earlier than her age.
“Now I also regret not going to school like other people, going to school every day and coming home in the afternoon. I know how to read and have a degree. Now I am trying to take care of my grandmother. She takes care of me, but I have never taken care of her.” – Nhi choked up.
Small room and warm hearts
Mrs. Nguyen Thi Be Hai (73 years old, Dong Nai), the grandmother who has worked hard to raise Nhi and her brother since their mother passed away, slowly said: “The grandchildren understand the situation. As soon as I get sick and lie down, they immediately run to find money for medicine, always like that…” The three of them depend on each other to survive.
The small rented room of the three grandmothers and grandchildren (Photo: Di Anh)
In the cramped rented room of only a few square meters, apart from a small fan in the corner, the only valuable thing is the refrigerator that someone gave her, but she also calculated to cut down on it because it consumes too much electricity.
Despite the difficulties, the three of them still took in five stray dogs, small creatures abandoned in garbage dumps and on the roadside. Nhi and her grandmother cleaned and cared for them all like family. The smart, affectionate dogs were a rare source of joy in the quiet life, the last bit of warmth in the poor rented room.
“This one knows how to shake hands. When I went to collect scrap metal, it followed me. Wherever I went, it followed me. It has been small since it was little, but now it is this big. This black one was raised by a man over there, but he locked it in a rented room for a whole week without food or water. No one took care of it, so he brought it home to raise. Someone saw the yellow one, so he brought it home to raise,” Mrs. Hai said.
Currently, Nhi’s grandmother is still taking care of 5 puppies (Photo: Di Anh)
Among them, there was a dog named Lu, the old dog in the story that spread on social networks . But sadly, up to now, Lu could not survive despite Nhi’s grandmother’s best efforts.
“I was walking when I saw it sitting there, I thought, ‘What a big dog, why is it breathing so poorly?’ I was about to touch it, but it looked so fierce, I was afraid it would bite. But after walking for half an hour, I came back and saw it still sitting there, so I gave it some water. A woman there told me to adopt it, I feel so sorry for it…” – Nhi recalled.
That whole day, Nhi and her brother only earned over 170,000 VND. But she still spent 130,000 VND to buy a leash for the dog: “My second brother gave me money to buy a leash for 130,000 VND. I was so scared. After that, I chained it to sit. Because when we went to collect scrap metal, no one would watch it.”
Unfortunately, the dog grew weaker, could not eat or drink for a whole week and passed away. Lu the dog was gone. But the poor girl’s love for the abandoned creature remained.
Nhi’s current dream is to learn hairdressing and makeup. “I’ve loved it since I was little. Especially hairdressing.” Her innocent voice still shines despite all the hardships.
In the middle of a noisy city, a beggar girl may find it difficult to have a big house or a life without worrying about food and money. However, she has a big heart, big enough to contain the kindness that people sometimes lose sight of.
