A painting of a woman in a white dress with flowers in her hair

The first-borns were two beautiful daughters. Thúy Kiều the eldest, Thúy Vân the younger. Apricot slender in frame, snow pure in spirit. Each to her own charms, but both girls were perfect. Vân’s beauty was very remarkable. Her eyebrows – full crescent arcs, her moonlit face – oval. Jades tingled in her voice; flowers bloomed from her smile. Her speech: educated, chaste and refined. Clouds yielded to her hair’s lustrous shine and flow. Snow ceded to the silky whiteness of her skin’s glow.