Output:
“Stand on my left and be my Sustainer Star,” Monkey said to him, then told Friar Sand, “stand on my right as my Straightener Star while I help him to get some rootless water.”

The splendid Great Sage then paced out a magic pattern and said the words of a spell. Soon a dark cloud appeared to their East that came closer till it was over their heads. “Great Sage,” called a voice from it, “Ao Guang, the Dragon King of the Eastern Sea, is here to call on you.”

“I wouldn’t have troubled you if it hadn’t been important,” Monkey said. “Could I ask you to help by giving the king here some rootless water to take his medicine with?”

“When you summoned me, Great Sage,” the dragon king replied, “you said nothing about water. I have only come by myself. I haven’t brought any rain-making equipment, to say nothing of wind, clouds, thunder and lightning. So how can I make it rain?”


Output:
“There’ll be no call for wind, clouds, thunder or lightning this time,” Monkey said, “and we don’t need much rain either. We just need enough water for someone to take his medicine with.”

“In that case I’ll do a couple of sneezes and spit out some saliva,” the dragon king said. “That ought to be enough for him to take his medicine.”

“Terrific,” said Monkey, delighted. “Don’t waste a moment. Do it as soon as you can.”

The ancient old dragon gradually brought his dark cloud down till it was just over the palace, though he kept himself entirely concealed. He spat out a mouthful of saliva that turned into timely rain, whereupon all the officials at court exclaimed, “Ten million congratulations, Your Majesty. Heaven is sending down timely rain.”


Output: The king then ordered, “Take vessels out to hold the rain. All officials, whether inside or outside the palace and irrespective of their rank, must gather this sacred water to save our life.” Just watch as all the civil and military officials as well as the consorts, concubines, three thousand beauties, and eight hundred charming ladies-in-waiting of the three harems and the six compounds of the inner palace all stood there holding cups, dishes, bowls and plates to catch the timely rain. Up in the sky the ancient dragon so controlled his saliva that all of it fell within the palace. After about two hours the dragon king took his leave of the Great Sage and went back to the sea. When the officials gathered all the cups, dishes, bowls and plates together they found that some had caught one or two drops of water, some three to five, and some none at all. When it was all put together there were a little over three dishes full of it, and this was all presented to the king. Indeed:


Output:
The throne hall was filled with exquisite fragrance;

Fine scents were wafting round the Son of Heaven’s court.

The king then dismissed the Master of the Law and had the Black Gold Elixir and the timely rain carried into the inner quarters, where he took the first pill with the first dish of timely rain, then the second pill with the second dish. In three efforts he finished all three pills and all three dishfuls. Soon afterwards there was a noise from his stomach like the endless turning of a windlass. He sent for his chamber pot and evacuated four or five times before taking some rice porridge and collapsing on his dragon bed. When two of his consorts inspected the chamber pot they saw it contained huge amounts of feces and mucus, and amid it all a ball of glutinous rice.


Output: “The root of the disorder has come out,” the consorts reported, going over to the royal bed. The king was very pleased to hear this and ate some rice. A little later his chest felt eased and his natural forces and blood were in harmonious balance once more. He was full of vigor and the strength came back to his legs, so he rose from his bed, dressed in his court clothes and went into the throne hall, where he greeted the Tang Priest by prostrating himself. The venerable elder returned this courtesy as quickly as he could.


Output:
When this had been done the king helped Sanzang to his feet with his own hands and told his courtiers, “Write a note at once sending our personal and respectful greetings and have an official go to invite the three illustrious disciples of the Master of the Law to come here. Meanwhile the Eastern hall of the palace is to be opened up and the department of foreign relations is to arrange a banquet of thanksgiving.” Having been given these commands the officials carried them out. The scribes wrote out the note and the caterers prepared the meal. A state is indeed strong enough to overturn a mountain, and everything was done in an instant.

When Pig saw the officials come to deliver the note he was beside himself with delight. “Brother,” he said, “it really must be miracle medicine. From the way they’re coming to thank you you must have pulled it off.”


Output:
“You’ve got it all wrong, brother,” said Friar Sand. “As the saying goes, ‘One man’s good fortune affects his whole household.’ We two made up the pills, so we take a share of the credit. So just enjoy yourself and stop talking.” Hey! Just look at the three brothers as they all happily go straight to the palace, where all the officials received them and led them to the Eastern hall.

Here they saw the Tang Priest with the king and his ministers and the banquet all set out ready. Brother Monkey, Pig and Friar Sand all chanted a “na-a-aw” of respect to their master, after which the officials all came in. In the best place there were set out four tables of vegetarian food. It was the sort of banquet at which there are ten times as many dishes as you can eat. In front of these tables was one of meat dishes, and on this too you could see ten dishes of rare delicacies while you ate one. To either side four or five hundred more single tables were most neatly set out.

As the ancients had it:


Output:
As the ancients had it:

“A hundred rare delicacies,

A thousand goblets of fine wine,

Rich cream and yogurt,

Fat, red meat like brocade.”

Precious and many-coloured decorations,

Heavy fragrances of fruit.

Huge sugar dragons coil round sweet lions and immortals:

Ingots of cake draw furnaces escorted by phoenixes.

For meat there was pork and mutton, goose, chicken, duck and fish;

For vegetables, bamboo shoots, beansprouts, fungus and button mushrooms.

Delicious noodles in soup,

Translucent creamy sweets,

Succulent millet,

Fresh wild rice congee,

Pungent, tasty soup with rice noodles,

Dishes in which sweetness vied with beauty.

Monarch and subjects raised their cups as the diners took their seats;

Officials seated by rank slowly passed the jugs.

Holding a cup in his hand the king first seated the Tang Priest, who said, “As a monk I may not drink liquor.”

“This is alcohol-free wine,” the king said. “Could you not drink one cup of this, Master of the Law?”


Output:
“But wine is the first prohibition for us monks,” said Sanzang. The king felt awkward.

“If you may not drink, Master of the Law, how can I congratulate you?”

“My three badly-behaved disciples will drink on my behalf,” Sanzang replied. The king then happily passed the golden goblet to Monkey, who took it, made a courteous gesture to the assembly, and downed a cupful. Seeing how cheerfully he downed it the king offered him another cup. Monkey did not decline it but drank again.

“Have a third goblet,” said the king with a smile, and Monkey accepted and drank for a third time. The king then ordered that the cup be refilled and said, “Have another to make it four for the four seasons.”


Output:
Pig, who was standing beside Monkey, had to put up with the saliva gurgling inside him as the wine would not come his way; and now that the king was pressing Monkey so hard to drink he started to shout, “Your Majesty, that medicine you took owes something to me. Those pills include horse—” When Monkey heard this he was terrified that the idiot was going to give the game away, so he handed Pig the cup. Pig took the cup, drank and stopped talking.

“Holy monk,” said the king, “just now you said there was horse in the pills. What sort of horse?”

“This brother of mine has a very loose tongue,” said Monkey, cutting in. “We’ve got a really good formula that has been tried and tested, and he wants to give it away. The pills Your Majesty took this morning included not horse but Aristolochia.”

“What class of medicine is Aristolochia?” the king asked. “What conditions can it cure?”

One of the fellows of the Royal College of Medicine who was standing beside the king said, “Your Majesty,


Output:
Aristolochia is bitter, cold and free of poison,

Ends shortness of breath and cures phlegm well,

Circulates the energy, removes blood infections,

Fills emptiness, soothes coughs and eases the heart.

“It was the right thing to use, the right thing to use,” the king said. “The Venerable Pig must have another cup.” The idiot said nothing more, but downed three goblets. The king then gave three cupfuls to Friar Sand, who drank them. Everyone then sat down.

When they all had been feasting and drinking for a long time the king raised a large goblet once more and handed it to Monkey. “Please sit down, Your Majesty,” Monkey said. “I’ve been drinking hard in every round. I’d never refuse.”

“Holy monk,” the king said, “we are under a profound debt of gratitude to you that we will never be able to repay. Please drain this great goblet: we have something to say to you.”

“Say what you will first,” Monkey replied, “I’ll drink after.”


Output:
“We suffered from that melancholia for years on end,” the king said, “and one dose of your miraculous pills cured it.”

“When I saw Your Majesty yesterday I realized you were suffering from melancholia,” Monkey said, “but I don’t know what’s getting you down.”

“There’s an old saying that a family doesn’t talk about its dirt to strangers,” the king replied. “As you are our benefactor, holy monk, we shall tell you, but please don’t laugh.”

“I’d never dare,” Monkey said. “Please speak freely.”

“How many countries did you holy monks come through on your way here from the East?” the king asked.

“Five or six,” Monkey replied.

“What titles do the queens of the other kings have?” the king went on to ask.

“They’re called the queens of the Main Palace, East Palace and West Palace,” Monkey replied.


Output:
“We don’t use titles like that,” the king said. “We call the principal queen the Queen of the Sacred Golden Palace, the Eastern queen the Queen of the Sacred Jade Palace and the Western queen the Queen of the Sacred Silver Palace. But now only the Jade and Silver Queen are here.”

“Why isn’t the Golden Queen in the palace?” Monkey asked.

“She has been gone for three whole years,” the king replied in tears.

“Where did she go?” Monkey asked.


Output: “At the Dragon-boat Festival three years ago,” the king said, “we were in the Pomegranate Pavilion of the palace gardens with our queens and consorts, unwrapping rice dumplings, putting artemisia out, drinking calamus and realgar wine and watching the dragon boats race when all of a sudden there was a gust of wind. An evil spirit appeared in mid-air. He said he was the Evil Star Matcher who lives in the Horndog Cave on Mount Unicorn and was short of a wife. Seeing how beautiful and charming our Golden Queen is he wanted her for his wife and insisted we should hand her over at once. If we did not do so by the time he had asked three times he was going to eat us up first, then our officials and all the commoners living in the city. We were so concerned over the fate of our country and our people that there was no alternative: the Golden Queen had to be pushed outside the pavilion to be carried noisily off by the evil spirit. All this gave us such a fright that the rice dumpling we were eating turned solid


Output: the rice dumpling we were eating turned solid inside us. On top of that we have been unable to sleep for worrying, which is why we were ill for three years. Since taking you holy monks’ miraculous pills we have evacuated our bowels three times, and the accumulations from three years ago have all been passed. That is why our body now feels light and strong and our spirit is restored to what it was. Our life has today been given to us by you holy monks; this is a gift more weighty than Mount Tai.”


Output:
When Brother Monkey heard this he was very happy indeed and he downed the huge goblet of wine in two gulps. “Your Majesty,” he said with a smile to the king, “so that’s what caused your shock and your depression. Today you’ve been lucky: you met me and you were cured. But I don’t know whether you want the Golden Queen back in the palace.”

To this the king answered with tears, “We have been longing for her night and day, but nobody has ever been able to catch the evil spirit. Of course we want her back in our country.”

“What if I go to deal with that evil creature for you?” said Monkey.

The king fell to his knees and replied, “If you can rescue our queen we will gladly take our three queens and nine consorts away from the capital and go to live as commoners, leaving the whole kingdom to be yours to reign over, holy monk.”

When Pig, who was sitting beside them, heard all this being said and such great honors being done he could not help bursting into noisy laughter.


Output:
“This king’s got no sense of what’s proper,” he chortled. “Fancy giving up his kingdom and going on his knees to a monk for the sake of his old woman.”

Monkey hurried forward to help the king back on his feet and ask, “Your Majesty, has the evil spirit been back since he got the Golden Queen?”

“In the fifth month of the year before last,” the king said, “he carried off the Golden Queen. In the tenth month he came back to demand a couple of ladies in waiting to serve her, and we presented him with a couple. In the third month of last year he came to demand another couple, and two more in the seventh month. Then in the second month of this year it was a fourth pair. We do not know when he will be back again.”

“If he comes that often you must be terrified of him,” Monkey replied.


Output:
“Because he has come so frequently we are afraid of him and of his murderous intentions,” said the king. “In the fourth month last year we ordered the building of a demon shelter, so that whenever we hear the wind and know that he’s coming we can shelter there with our two queens and nine consorts.”

“Would Your Majesty mind taking me to see the shelter?” Monkey asked, and the king led Monkey by his left hand from the table. All the officials rose to their feet.

“Brother,” protested Pig, “you’re very unreasonable. Why leave this royal wine and break up the banquet to go looking at something?”

Hearing this and realizing that Pig was worried for his stomach the king told his attendants to have two tables of vegetarian food brought along so that Pig could go on being wined outside the demon shelter. Only then did the idiot stop making a fuss and join in with his master and Friar Sand saying, “Let’s break up the banquet.”


Output:
As a column of civil and military officials led the way the king and Monkey went arm-in-arm through the living quarters of the palace to the back of the royal gardens, but there were no great buildings to be seen.

“Where’s the demon shelter?” Monkey asked, and before the words were out of his mouth two eunuchs levered open a square flagstone with red lacquered crowbars.

“Here it is,” said the king. “Twenty feet or more below us a large underground palace hall has been excavated. In it there are four great vats of purified oil in which lights burn night and day. When we hear the wind we take shelter here and the flagstone is put on again from outside.”

“So the evil spirit doesn’t want to kill you,” said Monkey with a smile. “If he did this would give you no protection.” Just as he was speaking there came the roaring of a wind from due South that made the dust fly.


Output:
In their alarm all the officials complained, “That monk has the mouth of an oracle. The moment he mentions the evil spirit it turns up.” The panic-stricken monarch abandoned Monkey and scuttled into his underground shelter. The Tang Priest went with him, and all the officials fled for cover.

Pig and Friar Sand wanted to hide too, but Monkey grabbed one of them with each hand and said, “Don’t be afraid, brothers. You and I are going to identify him and see what sort of evil spirit he is.”

“Nonsense,” said Pig. “What do we want to identify him for? The officials have all hidden and the king’s shut himself away. Why don’t we clear off? What kind of hero are you trying to be?” But struggle though he might the idiot could not break free. When Monkey had been holding on to him for some time an evil spirit suddenly appeared in mid-air. Just see what it looked like:

A loathsome great body nine feet tall,

Round eyes flashing like lamps of gold.

Two huge ears sticking out as if they were round fans,


Output:
Four steel fangs like very long nails.

Red hair curled at his temples; his brows were as flames;

His nose was a hanging trough; his nostrils flared.

His whiskers were strands of cinnabar thread,

And jutting cheekbones shaped his green face.

On red-muscled arms were hands of indigo blue,

And ten sharp claws grasped a spear.

A leopardskin kilt was tied round his waist.

Bare feet and tangled hair completed his fiendish looks.

“Friar Sand,” asked Monkey when he saw the evil spirit, “can you recognize him?”

“I don’t know who he is,” Friar Sand replied. “I’ve never seen him before.”

“Pig,” Monkey next asked, “do you know?”

“I’ve never had a cup or a drink with him,” Pig replied. “He’s no friend or neighbour of mine. How could I know?”

“He reminds me of the sallow-faced golden-eyed gate keeper ghost under the Equal of Heaven of the Eastern Peak.”

“No he isn’t, no he isn’t,” said Pig.

“How do you know he isn’t?” Monkey asked.


Output:
“How do you know he isn’t?” Monkey asked.

“Because ghosts are spirits of the dark and the underworld,” Pig replied. “They only come out at night, between five and midnight. It’s only ten in the morning, and no ghost would ever dare come out now. And even if it was a devil it’d never ride a cloud. Ghosts that stir up winds make whirlwinds, not gales. Perhaps he’s the Evil Star Matcher.”

“You’re not such an idiot after all,” said Monkey. “That sounds sensible, so you two look after the master while I go to ask him his name. That’ll help me rescue the Golden Queen and bring her back to the palace for the king.”

“Go if you must,” Pig replied, “but don’t tell him anything about us.” Monkey did not deign to answer, but leapt straight up on his magic light. Goodness!

To settle the nation he started by curing the king;

To preserve the Way love and hatred had to go.


Output:
To preserve the Way love and hatred had to go.

If you don’t know who won the battle that followed when Monkey rose up into the sky or how the evil monster was captured and the Golden Queen rescued listen to the explanation in the next chapter.

Chapter Seventy

The Evil Monster’s Treasures Emit Smoke,

Sand and Fire Wukong Steals the Golden Bells by Trickery

The story tells how Brother Monkey summoned up his divine prestige and rose up into the air on his magic light, wielding his iron cudgel. “Where are you from, evil monster?” he asked, shouting in the evil spirit’s face. “And where are you going to wreak havoc?”

“I’m the vanguard warrior under the Great King Evil Star Matcher from Horndog Cave on Mount Unicorn,” shouted the demon at the top of his voice, “that’s who I am. His Majesty has ordered me to fetch two ladies-in-waiting to serve Her Majesty the Golden Queen. Who are you and how dare you question me?”


Output:
“I’m Sun Wukong, the Great Sage Equaling Heaven,” Monkey replied. “I was passing through this country while escorting the Tang Priest to worship the Buddha in the Western Heaven. Now I know that your gang of monsters was oppressing the king I’m going to use my heroic powers to bring the country back to order and wipe out this evil. And now you’ve come along to throw your life away just when I didn’t know where to find you.” When the monster heard this he foolishly thrust his spear at Monkey, who struck back at his face with the iron cudgel. They fought a splendid battle up in mid-air:

The cudgel was the sea-settler from the dragon’s palace;

The spear was of iron tempered by mankind.

An ordinary weapon was no match for that of an immortal;

In a few clashes its magic powers all drained away.

The Great Sage was an immortal of the Supreme Ultimate;

The spirit was only an evil monster.

How could a demon approach a True One?

In the face of truth the evil would be destroyed.


Output:
One stirred up wind and dust to terrify a king;

The other trod on mist and cloud to blot out sun and moon.

When they dropped their guard to try for victory

Neither of them dared to show off.

The Heaven-equaling Great Sage was the abler fighter:

With a loud clash of his cudgel the spear was broken.

When his spear was quickly broken in two by Monkey’s iron cudgel the evil spirit was in fear for his life, so he turned the wind right round and fled Westwards.

Instead of chasing him Monkey brought his cloud down to the entrance of the underground demon shelter. “Master,” he called, “you and His Majesty can come out now. The monster’s run away.” Only then did the Tang Priest come out of the underground shelter, supporting the king. The sky was clear, and all traces of the evil spirit had disappeared.

The king went over to the table, filled a golden goblet from the wine bottle with his own hands, and presented it to Monkey with the words, “Holy monk, allow us to offer our provisional thanks.”


Output:
Monkey took the cup, but before he could reply an official came in from outside the Western gate of the palace to report, “The Western gate is on fire.”

As soon as he heard this Monkey threw the wine, cup and all, up into the air. The cup fell with a clang. This so alarmed the king that he bowed to Monkey with the words, “Forgive us, holy monk, forgive us. We have treated you shabbily. The proper thing would have been to ask you into the throne hall to bow to you in thanks. We only offered you the wine here because it was to hand. Did you not throw the goblet aside because you were offended, holy monk?”

“Nothing of the sort,” laughed Monkey, “nothing of the sort.”

A moment later another official came in to report, “There’s been a miraculous fall of rain. No sooner had the Western gate caught fire than a heavy rainstorm put it out. The streets are running with water and it all smells of wine.”


Output:
“Your Majesty,” said Monkey with another smile, “you thought I’d taken offence when I tossed the cup aside, but you were wrong. When the evil spirit fled Westwards I didn’t go after him, so he started that fire. I just used the goblet to put out the demon’s fire and save the people outside the Western gate. It didn’t mean anything else.”

The king, even more delighted than before, treated Monkey with still greater respect. He invited Sanzang and his three disciples to enter the throne hall with him, clearly intending to abdicate in their favour.


Output:
“Your Majesty,” said Brother Monkey with a smile, “the demon who was here just now said he was a vanguard warrior under the Evil Star Matcher who’d come here to fetch palace girls. Now he’s gone back beaten he’s bound to report that damned monster, who’s certain to come here to fight me. I’m worried that if he comes here at the head of his hordes he’ll alarm the common people and terrify Your Majesty. I’d like to go out to meet him, capture him in mid-air and bring back your queen. But I don’t know the way. How far is it to his cave from here?”

“We once sent some of the horsemen and infantry of our night scouts to find out what was happening,” the king replied. “The return journey took them over fifty days. It’s over a thousand miles away to the South.”

“Pig, Friar Sand,” said Monkey on learning this, “stay on guard here. I’m off.”


Output:
“Wait another day, holy monk,” said the king, grabbing hold of him. “Don’t go till we have had some dried provisions prepared for you. We’ll give you silver for the journey and a fast horse too.”

“You’re talking as if I’d have to go slogging up mountains and over ridges, Your Majesty,” Monkey replied. “I tell you truthfully that I can do the return journey of a thousand miles each way before a cup of wine you’ve poured out has had time to get cold.”

“Holy monk,” the king replied, “I hope you won’t take offence at our saying this, but your distinguished features are very much like those of an ape. How can you have such magical powers of travel?” To this Monkey replied:

“Although my body is the body of an ape,

When young I mastered the paths of life and death.

1 visited all the great teachers who taught me their Way

And trained myself by night and day beside the mountain.

I took heaven as my roof and the earth as my furnace

And used both kinds of drug to complete the sun and moon,


Output:
Taking from positive and negative, joining fire and water,

Until suddenly I-was aware of the Mystic Pass.

1 relied entirely on the Dipper for success in my movements,

Shifting my steps by relying on the handle of that constellation.

When the time is right I lower or increase the heat,

Taking out lead and adding mercury, watching them both.

By grouping the Five Elements transformations are made;

Through combining the Four Forms the seasons can be distinguished.

The two vital forces returned to the zodiac;

The three teachings met on the golden elixir road.

When understanding of the laws came to the four limbs

The original somersault was given divine assistance.

With a single bound I could cross the Taihang mountains;

At one go I could fly across the Cloud-touching Ford.

A thousand steep ridges are no bother to me,

Nor hundreds of rivers as great as the Yangtse.

Because my transformations are impossible to stop

I can cover sixty thousand miles in a single leap.


Output:
The king was both alarmed and delighted to hear this. He presented a cup of royal wine to Monkey with a chuckle and the words, “Holy monk, you have a long and tiring journey ahead of you. Won’t you drink this wine to help you on your way?”

All the Great Sage had on his mind was going off to defeat the demon, he was not at all interested in drinking. “Put it down,” he said. “I’ll drink it when I come back.” No sooner had the splendid Monkey said this than he disappeared with a whoosh. We will not describe the amazement of the king and his subjects.

Instead we tell how with a single leap Monkey was soon in sight of a tall mountain locked in mists. He brought his cloud down till he was standing on the summit. When he looked around he saw that it was a fine mountain:

Soaring to the heavens, occupying the earth,

Blocking out the sun and making clouds.

Where it soared to the heavens

The towering peak rose high;

In the earth it occupied

Its ranges spread afar.

What blocked the sun


Output:
Its ranges spread afar.

What blocked the sun

Was the ridge dark with pines;

Where clouds were made

Was among the boulders glistening underneath the scar.

The dark pines

Were green throughout all seasons;

The glistening boulders

Would never change in many a thousand years.

Apes could often be heard howling in the night,

And evil pythons would often cross the deep ravines.

On the mountains birds sang sweetly

While the wild beasts roared.

Mountain roebuck and deer

Moved around in many a pair.

Mountain magpies and crows

Flew in dense flocks.

There was no end of mountain flowers in sight,

While mountain peaches and other fruit gleamed in season.

Steep it was, and the going impossible,

But this was still a place where evil immortals could live in retirement.


Output:
The Great Sage gazed with unbounded delight and was just about to look for the entrance to the cave when flames leapt out from a mountain hollow. In an instant the red fire blazed to the heavens, and from the flames there poured out evil smoke that was even more terrible than the fire. What splendid smoke! This is what could be seen:

The fire glared with a myriad golden lamps;

The flames leapt in a thousand crimson rainbows.

The smoke was not a stove chimney’s smoke,

Nor the smoke of grass or wood,

But smoke of many colours,

Blue, red, white, black and yellow.

It blackened the columns outside the Southern Gate of Heaven,

Scorched the roofbeams in the Hall of Miraculous Mist.

It burned so hard that

Wild beasts in their dens were cooked through, skins and all,

And the forest birds lost all their plumage.

At the mere sight of this appalling smoke he wondered

How the demon king could be captured in the mountain.


Output:
Just as the Great Sage was transfixed with terror a sandstorm burst out of the mountain. What magnificent sand! It blotted out the sun and the sky. Look:

Swirling masses of it filled the sky,

Dark and turbid as it covered the earth.

The fine grains blinded the people everywhere,

While bigger cinders filled the valleys like rolling sesame seeds.

Immortal boys collecting herbs lost their companions;

Woodmen gathering firewood could not find their way home.

Even if you were holding a bright-shining pearl

It still would have blown too hard for you to see.


Output:
Monkey had been so absorbed in enjoying the view that he did not notice the sand and cinders flying into his nose till it started tickling. Giving two great sneezes he stretched his hand out behind him, felt for two pebbles at the foot of a cliff and blocked his nostrils with them, then shook himself and turned into a fire-grabbing sparrowhawk that flew straight in among the flames and smoke, made a few swoops, and at once stopped the sand and cinders and put out the fires. He quickly turned back into himself, landed, and looked around again. This time he heard a banging and a clanging like a copper gong.

“I’ve come the wrong way,” he said to himself. “This is no den of demons. The gong sounds like an official messenger’s gong. This must be the main road to some country, and that I must be an official messenger on his way to deliver some document. I’ll go and question him.”


Output: As Monkey went along what looked like a young demon appeared. He was holding a yellow flag, carrying a document on his back and beating a gong as he hurried along so fast he was almost flying. “So this is the so-and-so who was beating that gong,” Monkey said. “I wonder what document he’s delivering. I’ll ask him.”


Output: The splendid Great Sage shook himself and turned into a grasshopper that lightly flew over and alighted on his document bag. Here Monkey could hear the evil spirit talking garrulously to himself as he beat the gong. “Our king is thoroughly vicious. Three years ago he took the Golden Queen from the Kingdom of Purpuria, but fate’s been against him and he hasn’t been able to get his hands on her. The poor palace ladies he took had to suffer on her behalf. He killed two of them who came, then the next four. He demanded them the year before last, last year and earlier this year. When he sent for two more this time he found his match. The vanguard warrior who went to demand the palace ladies was beaten by someone called Sun the Novice or whatever. He didn’t get his palace girls. It made our king so angry he wants to wage a war on Purpuria. He’s sent me with this declaration of war. Their king will be all right if he doesn’t fight, but if he does fight it’ll be a disaster for him. When our king uses his fire, smoke


Output: for him. When our king uses his fire, smoke and sandstorms their king, ministers and common people will all die. Then we’ll take over their city. Our king will be its monarch and we’ll be his subjects. But even though we’ll get official posts it goes against Heaven.”


Output:
Monkey was very pleased to hear this. “So there are even some decent evil spirits,” he thought. “That last remark—‘it goes against Heaven’—was very good. I wonder what he meant when he said that fate has been against their king and he hasn’t been able to get his hands on the Golden Queen. Let me ask him some questions.” With a whining buzz he flew away from the evil spirit to a point some miles ahead of him on the road, shook himself and turned into a Taoist boy:

He wore his hair in two bunches

And a robe of a hundred patches.

He beat on a fisherman’s drum

As he sang some Taoist snatches.

As Monkey came round the slope towards the little devil he raised his hands in greeting and said, “Where are you going, sir? What official document is that you’re delivering?”

The devil seemed to recognize him as he stopped beating his gong, returned his greeting and said with a titter, “Our king’s sent me to Purpuria with a declaration of war.”


Output:
“Has that woman from Purpuria slept with the king yet?” Monkey asked, pressing on with his questioning.

“When he brought her here the other year,” the little devil replied, “an immortal gave the Golden Queen a magic robe as her wedding dress. As soon as she put it on she was covered from head to foot with spike. Our king didn’t dare so much as caress her. Even the slightest touch makes his hand hurt. I don’t know why it happened. So from that year till this he hasn’t had her. When his vanguard fighter was sent this morning to demand two more palace ladies to serve her he was beaten. Our king was so angry he sent me with this declaration of war. He’s going to fight him tomorrow.”

“So is the king in a bad mood?” Monkey asked.


Output:
“So is the king in a bad mood?” Monkey asked.

“Yes, he’s in a bad mood back there,” said the little devil. “You ought to go and sing him some Taoist songs to cheer him-up.” The splendid Monkey put his arms in his sleeves, ready to go, while the evil spirit went on his way beating his gong as before. Monkey then turned murderous. He brought out his cudgel, turned round and hit the little devil on the back of his head. The unfortunate demon’s head was smashed to a pulp. The blood gushed out as his skin split open and his neck was broken. He was dead. Monkey then put his cudgel away and said to himself with regret.


Output: “I was in too much of a hurry. I never asked him his name. Too bad.” He took the declaration of war from the body and put it in his sleeve. Then he hid the yellow flag and the gong in the undergrowth by the path and was dragging the body by its ankles to throw it down the ravine when he heard something clinking. An ivory tablet inlaid with gold could be seen at the demon’s waist. The writing on it read: This is our trusted subordinate Gocome. He is of short stature and has a spotty and unbearded face. This tablet is to be kept permanently at his waist. Anyone without this tablet is an impostor.


Output:
“So the wretch was called Gocome. But after being hit by this cudgel of mine he’s gone and won’t be coming back.” He then undid the ivory tablet, fastened it at his own waist, and was just about to throw the body down when he remembered the terrible fire and smoke and decided he could not bring himself to look for the cave palace. He raised the cudgel, rammed it into the demon’s chest, lifted him up into the air and went straight back to Purpuria to announce his first success. Watch him as he goes whistling back to that country.

Pig was in front of the throne room guarding the king and his master when suddenly he turned round to see Monkey carrying the demon through the air. “Hey,” he complained, “that was an easy piece of work. If I’d known you were going to get him I’d have done it and got the credit.” Before he had finished speaking Monkey brought the cloud down and threw the demon at the foot of the steps.

Pig ran over and struck the body with his rake, “I’ll take the credit for that,” he said.


Output:
“You? The credit?” Monkey replied.

“Don’t try to rob me of it,” Pig said, “I’ve got proof. Can’t you see the nine holes I made in him with my rake?”

“See if he’s got a head,” said Monkey.

“So he doesn’t have a head,” Pig replied. “Now I know why he never moved when I hit him.”

“Where’s the master?” Monkey asked.

“Talking to the king in the throne hall,” said Pig.

“Go and ask him to come out,” said Monkey, and Pig hurried up into the hall.

At Pig’s nod Sanzang rose to his feet and came out at once to see Monkey, who thrust the declaration of war into his sleeve with the words, “Look after this, Master, and don’t let the king see it.”

Before the words were all out of his mouth the king too came out of the hall to greet Monkey and say, “You’re back, holy monk, venerable sir. How did the capture of the demon go?”

“Isn’t that a demon at the foot of the steps?” Monkey asked, pointing. “I killed him.”


Output:
“True,” said the king, “it is the body of an evil spirit, but it isn’t the Evil Star Matcher. We have twice seen the Evil Star Matcher with our own eyes. He is eighteen feet tall and nine feet across the shoulders. His face shines like gold and his voice is like thunder. He’s not a miserable little wretch like that.”

“You Majesty is right,” Monkey replied, “this isn’t him. It’s just a little messenger devil I happened to meet. I killed him and brought him back as a trophy.”

“Splendid,” said the king, who was very pleased indeed, “splendid. This is the first success. We have often sent people out to find out what is happening but they never discover anything. Then you just have to go out, holy monk, to bring one straight back. You really do have divine powers.”

“Fetch some warm wine,” he ordered, “and give it to the reverend gentlemen.”


Output:
“Never mind about the wine,” said Monkey. “I want to ask Your Majesty whether the Golden Queen left any keepsakes when she went. If so, give me some.” The word “keepsakes” cut the king to the heart. He could not help sobbing aloud with tears pouring down as he replied:

“When we were enjoying the festival that year

The Evil Star Matcher gave a mighty shout,

He took our wife to be his bandit queen;

To save the land we had to send her out.

We had no time for talk or parting words,

Nor could I see her off along her way.

She left no keepsake and no perfume bag;

We would be lonely here until today.”

“Your Majesty is here,” Monkey said, “so why upset yourself?” If the queen didn’t leave any keepsake there must be some things in the palace that she’s specially fond of. Give me one of them.”

“What do you want it for?” the king asked.


Output:
“What do you want it for?” the king asked.

“That demon king’s magic powers are quite something,” said Monkey, “and from what I’ve seen of his fire, smoke and sand he’ll be really hard to capture. Even if I do capture him the queen might refuse to come back here with a stranger like me. I must have some favorite thing of hers so that she’ll trust me and let me bring her back. That’s why I want it.”

“There is a pair of gold bracelets in her dressing room in the Sunlight Palace that she used to wear,” the king replied. “She only took them off that day as it was the Dragonboat Festival and she was going to wear multicolored threads instead. She was very fond of those bracelets. They have been put away in her dressing table. We have not been able to bear the sight of them since she left us: seeing them is like seeing her lovely face, and it makes us feel even more ill than ever.”


Output:
“Say no more,” Monkey replied, “and have the bracelets brought here. If you can bring yourself to part with them, give me both. If you can’t I’ll take just one.” The king ordered the Jade Queen to fetch them, which she did, handing them to the king.

At the sight of them he called out, “My beloved and tender-hearted queen,” several times, then handed them to Monkey, who took them and put them on his arm.

The splendid Great Sage could not stay to drink the celebratory wine, but whistled back to Mount Unicorn on his somersault cloud. Now he had no interest in the view as he headed straight for the cave palace. While he was walking along he heard noisy shouts so he stopped to take a careful look around. About five hundred of the soldiers of all ranks guarding the entrance to Horndog Cave were

Drawn up in massed array,

In close order.

Drawn up in massed array they held their weapons

Gleaming in the sun.

In close order they unfurled their banners

That fluttered in the breeze.


Output:
That fluttered in the breeze.

Tiger and bear generals did transformations;

Leopard and tiger-cat marshals were full of spirit.

Fiercely savage were the wolves;

The elephants were mighty and imposing.

Crafty hares and water-deer swung sword and halberd;

Great snakes and pythons carried cutlass and bow.

Orangutans that understood human speech

Controlled the formations and gathered intelligence.

When Monkey saw this he ventured no closer but went straight back the way he had come. Do you know why? Not because he was afraid of them. He went back to where he had killed the little devil, recovered the yellow flag and the gong, made a hand spell, thought of what he wanted to become, faced the wind, shook himself and turned into the likeness of Gocome. Then he started hitting the gong as he strode straight back towards Horndog Cave.

He was going to look at the layout of the cave when he heard an orangutan say, “You’re back, Gocome.”

“Yes,” Monkey had to reply.


Output:
“Yes,” Monkey had to reply.

“Hurry up,” the orangutan said. “Our king is waiting in the Flaying Pavilion to hear what you have to report.” As soon as he heard this Monkey hurried straight in through the main gate beating his gong and looking around. He saw that rooms and halls had been carved out of the beetling crag. On either side bloomed rare and precious flowers, while all around stood ancient cypresses and tall pines. Before he realized it he was through the inner gate, and suddenly looking up he saw a pavilion made light by the eight windows in it. In the pavilion was a splendid chair inlaid with gold on which a demon king was sitting upright. He was a truly terrifying sight. This is what he looked like:

A shimmering red glow rose from the top of his head;

A mighty and murderous air burst from his chest.

Sharp were the fangs that protruded from his mouth;

Red smoke rose from the scorched hair at his temples.

The bristles of his moustache were like embedded arrows;


Output:
His body was covered with hair like brushed-up felt.

Eyes bulged like bells to rival the Evil Star:

Hands held an iron mace like Mahadeva.

When Monkey saw the evil spirit he acted towards him in an offhand way, showing no trace of respect, but looking away and keeping on hitting his gong. “So you’re back, are you?” said the demon king. Monkey did not reply.

“Gocome,” the demon king asked again, “you’re back, are you?” Still Monkey did not reply. The demon king then went over to him, grabbed him and said, “Why are you still beating your gong now you’re back home? And why don’t you answer when I ask you a question?”

“What do you mean by your ‘Why? Why? Why?’” Monkey replied.


Output:
“I told you I didn’t want to go but you insisted. When I got there I saw huge numbers of foot soldiers and cavalry drawn up in order of battle. As soon as I was spotted they shouted, ‘Seize the demon! Seize the demon!’ They pushed and shoved and dragged and carried me into the city, where I saw their king. He told them to cut my head off, but luckily his two groups of advisers said that in international conflicts envoys should not be executed, so I was spared. They took the declaration of war, marched me out of the city, gave me thirty strokes in front of their army, and let me come back here to report. Before long they’ll be here to fight you.”

“In other words,” the monster said, “you had a bad time. I don’t blame you for refusing to answer when I asked you those questions.”

“It wasn’t that,” said Monkey. “The reason I didn’t answer was because of the pain.”

“How strong are their forces?” the demon king asked.


Output:
“I was reeling from shock and too badly frightened by the beating to be able to count them,” Monkey replied. “All I could see were masses of weapons drawn up there:

Bows and arrows, spears and sabers, suits of armor,

Dagger-axes, halberds, swords and tasseled banners.

Pikes, partisans, helmets,

Axes, round shields, and iron caltrops.

Long staves,

Short cudgels,

Steel forks, cannons and casques.

They were wearing tall boots, hats and quilted jackets,

And carrying cudgels, small pellet-bows and maces of bronze.”

“That’s neither here nor there,” laughed the demon king when he heard this. “Weapons like that can be finished off in a single blaze. Go and tell the Golden Queen all about it and ask her not to upset herself. Ever since she heard me lose my temper this morning and decide to go to war she’s been crying her eyes out. Tell her that their army is so fierce and brave that they’re bound to beat us. That’ll calm her down for a while.”


Output:
This delighted Monkey, who thought, “Just what I want.” Watch him as he goes the way he knows, through the side door and across the hall. Inside there were tall buildings: it was not like outside. He went straight to the women’s quarters at the back, where he saw from a distance a handsome and decorated doorway. That was where the Golden Queen lived. When he went to see her there were two groups of fox and deer spirits dressed like beautiful women to wait on her. The queen sat in the middle with her fragrant cheeks in her hands and tears pouring from both of her eyes. Indeed, she had

A beautiful face so soft and charming,

A bewitching countenance so fair.

But her raven-black hair was uncombed

And piled untidily on her head;

She did not want to dress up

And wore no hair ornaments or rings.

Her face was unpowdered,

And she wore no rouge.

Her hair was not oiled

But all in a tangle.

She pouted her cherry lips,

Ground her silver teeth,

Frowned with her brows like moth antennae,


Output:
Frowned with her brows like moth antennae,

And let her eyes sparkle with tears.

All her heart

Was filled with memories of Purpuria’s king;

All the time

She longed to escape from the net that held her.

Truly,

Ill-fated have been many lovely ladies

Left in their wordless grief to face the Eastern wind.

Monkey went up to her and greeted her with a “Hello.”

“You impudent boorish freak,” said the queen. “I remember how when I was living in splendor with my king in Purpuria even the king’s tutor and the prime minister had to prostrate themselves in the dust when they met me: they would never have dared look me in the face. How dare you say ‘Hello’ to me, you lout? Where are you from, you coarse beast?”

“Please don’t be angry, ma’am,” the serving women said. “He’s one of His Majesty’s most trusted lieutenants. His name is Gocome. He was the one who was sent with the declaration of war this morning.”


Output:
At this the queen controlled her temper and asked, “Did you go inside Purpuria when you delivered the declaration?”

“I took it straight to the capital and right into the throne hall,” said Monkey. “I saw the king himself and got an answer from him.”

“What did the king say when you saw him?” the queen asked.

“I have already told His Majesty here what he said about war and about the dispositions of their forces,” Monkey replied. “But there was also a private message from the king, who misses you, ma’am. There’s something private I have come to report to you, but with all these attendants around this is no place to talk.”


Output: When the queen heard this she dismissed her foxes and deer. Brother Monkey shut the door of the palace, rubbed his face, and turned back into himself. “Don’t be afraid of me,” he said to her. “I’m a monk sent by the Great Tang in the East to see the Buddha and fetch the scriptures at the Thunder Monastery in India. My master is Tang Sanzang, the younger brother of the Tang Emperor. I’m Sun Wukong, his senior disciple. When we were in your capital to present our passport for approval I saw a notice calling for doctors that your king and his ministers had posted. Then I used my medical skills to cure the illness he had contracted from missing you. When we were drinking at the banquet he gave to thank me he told me that you had been carried off by the evil spirit. As I can subdue dragons and tigers I was specially invited to capture the demon, rescue you and take you back to your country. I was the one who defeated the vanguard and killed the little devil. When I saw from outside the gates how ferocious the


Output: I saw from outside the gates how ferocious the demon king was I turned myself into Gocome’s double and came here to bring you a message.”


Output:
The queen said nothing when she heard this. Then Monkey produced the bracelets and presented them to her with both hands.

“If you don’t believe me, just look; where did these come from?” he asked.

As soon as she saw them the queen burst into tears, came down from where she was sitting, bowed to him in thanks and said, “Reverend sir, if you really can save me and get me back to court I will remember my deep debt of gratitude to you even when I’m old and toothless.”

“Let me ask you something,” said Monkey. “What treasure does he use to produce that fire, smoke and sand?”

“It’s no treasure,” the queen said, “just three golden bells. As soon as he shakes the first one three thousand feet of burning flames shoot out. When he shakes the second one a three-thousand-foot column of smoke gushes out to kipper people. And when he shakes it the third time a blinding three-thousand-foot sandstorm blows up. The fire and smoke are nothing much, but the sand is lethal. If it gets up your nostrils it can kill you.”


Output:
“It’s terrible,” Monkey said, “terrible. I’ve experienced it and I had to sneeze a couple of times. I wonder where he keeps the bells.”

“He never puts them down,” the queen replied. “He keeps them at his waist whether he’s going somewhere, staying at home, sitting down or sleeping. They are always with him.”

“If you still care for Purpuria and want to see your king again you must forget about your distress and grief for the moment,” said Monkey. “Make yourself look attractive and happy. Talk to him like a loving wife and get him to give you the bells to look after. When I’ve stolen them and defeated the monster I’ll take you back to be reunited with your royal husband so that you can live in peace together.”

The queen did as Monkey said while he turned himself back into the demon king’s trusted lieutenant, opened the doors again and called the serving women back in. “Go to the pavilion at the front, Gocome,” the queen said, “and ask His Majesty to come here as I’ve something to say to him.”


Output:
The splendid Monkey assented and went to the Flaying Pavilion, where he said to the evil spirit, “Your Majesty, Her Majesty would like to see you.”

“All she usually does is curse me, so why is she sending for me now?” the demon king happily asked. “When she asked me about the king of Purpuria I told her, ‘He doesn’t want you any more: he’s got a new queen now.’ When she heard that Her Majesty stopped missing him. That’s why she sent me out with this invitation.”

“You’re very able,” the demon king said, “and when we’ve destroyed Purpuria I’ll make you my high chancellor in personal attendance.”

Monkey thanked the demon king for his kindness and hurried to the door of the living quarters at the back, where the queen greeted him with happy smiles and her hands on his arms. The king stepped back with an awkward noise.

“Don’t,” he said, “don’t. I’m very grateful for this sign of your affection, ma’am, but I don’t dare stand next to you in case it hurts my hand.”


Output: “Sit down, Your Majesty,” the queen said. “I have something to say to you.”


Output: “There’s no objection to you speaking,” the demon king replied. “I’m very much obliged to Your Majesty for condescending to love me,” she said. “For three years now you have not shared my pillow although we were fated from our earlier lives to be married. I never expected that Your Majesty would treat me as a stranger instead of your wife. I remember that when I was queen of Purpuria the king gave all the valuable tribute from foreign countries to the queen to look after when he had seen it. But you have no treasures here. The servants wear marten hides and feed on blood. I have seen no fine silks, brocades, gold or pearls here. All the covers and blankets are of skins and felt. Or perhaps you do have some treasures that you won’t let me see or look after because you regard me as a stranger. They say you have three bells. I think they must be treasures. Why do you always keep them with you, even when you’re travelling or sitting down? There’s no reason why you shouldn’t give them to me to look after. I can


Output: shouldn’t give them to me to look after. I can give them to you when you need them. That would be one way of being a wife to you and it would show that we trust each other in our hearts. The only reason why you don’t do this must because you regard me as an outsider.”


Output:
At this the demon king burst into loud laughter, then bowed to her and said, “Ma’am, you’re justified in your complaint. Here are the treasures, and today I’m giving them to you to look after.” He undid his clothing to bring them out. Monkey watched with unwavering eyes as the monster pulled two or three layers of clothing aside to bring out the three bells that he carried next to his skin.

Putting cotton-wool in to muffle them he wrapped them up in a piece of leopard skin and handed them to the queen with the words, “They’re nothing, but please look after them very carefully. Whatever you do don’t

shake them.”


Output:
shake them.”

“I understand,” the queen replied as she accepted them. “I shall keep them on my dressing table and nobody will move them at all.” Then she gave these orders: “My little ones, lay on a banquet. His Majesty and I are going to have a few drinks to celebrate our happy union.” At once the serving women brought in fruit, vegetables and the flesh of water deer, raccoon-dogs, deer and hare and poured out coconut toddy that they offered them. The queen made herself so bewitchingly attractive that she swept the evil spirit off his feet.


Output: Monkey meanwhile went to fetch the bells. Feeling and groping, he found his way to the dressing-table, gently took the three bells, crept out through the doors of the inner quarters and left the cave palace. When he reached the Flaying Pavilion there was nobody about, so he opened the leopard-skin wrapper to have a look. One of the bells was as big as a teacup and the other two the size of fists. With reckless folly he tore the cottonwool apart. There was a loud clang and smoke, fire and sand came gushing out. Desperately Monkey tried to stop them but could do nothing. The pavilion was by now ablaze, sending the evil spirits on the gates all crowding in alarm inside the inner quarters.


Output: “Put the fire out,” said the demon king, who was badly rattled. As he rushed out to look he saw that Gocome had taken the golden bells, went up to him and shouted, “Dirty slave! Why did you steal my precious golden bells? What sort of nonsense are you up to? Arrest him!” The tiger and bear generals, the leopard and tiger-cat marshals, the elephants, gray wolves, cunning water deer, crafty hares, long snakes, great pythons, orangutans and all the other troops on the gates rushed him in a crowd.


Output:
Monkey was thrown into panic. Dropping the golden bells he turned back into himself, pulled out his gold-banded As-You-Will cudgel, went and charged at them, going through his cudgel routines and lashing out wildly. The demon king took his treasures back and ordered, “Shut the main gates.” At this some of the demons shut the gates and others went into battle. Unable to get away, Monkey put his cudgel away, shook himself and turned into a silly fly that attached itself to a spot on the stone wall which was not burning. None of the demons could find him. “Your Majesty,” they reported, “the thief’s got away, the thief’s got away.”

“Did he get out through the gates?” the demon king asked.

“The front gates are firmly locked and bolted,” the demons replied. “He can’t have got out through them.”

“Make a careful search,” said the demon king, and while some of them fetched water to douse the fire the others made a close search but found no trace of him.


Output:
“What sort of thief is he?” the demon king asked with fury. “He’s got a hell of a nerve, turning himself into Gocome’s double, coming in here to report back to me, then staying with me till he found a chance to steal my treasures. It’s luck he didn’t take them out, if he’d taken them over the mountain top and there had been a heavenly wind it would have been a disaster.”

“Your Majesty’s good fortune is divine,” said the tiger general, stepping forward. “It was because our luck has not yet run out that he was discovered.”

Then the bear marshal came forward to say, “Your Majesty, the thief was none other than the Sun Wukong who beat our vanguard warrior. I think he must have run into Gocome when he was on his way, killed him, taken his yellow flag, gong and ivory tablet, and turned into his double to come here and deceive Your Majesty.”


Output:
“Yes, yes,” the demon king replied, “you’re clearly right. Little ones,” he ordered, “make another careful search and be on your guard. Whatever you do, don’t open the gates and let him out.” It is rightly said that

By being too clever one becomes a fool;

What was once a joke can turn out to be real.

If you don’t know how Brother Monkey got out through the demons’ gates, listen to the explanation in the next installment.

Chapter Seventy-One

Under a False Name Monkey Beats the Demon Hound

Guanyin Appears to Subdue the Demon King

Matter has always been empty;

Emptiness said to be matter is only natural.

When one penetrates the dhyana of matter’s emptiness

There is no need for cinnabar to be refined into elixir.

Rest not when pursuing perfection of virtue and conduct;

Endure suffering to achieve hard-won skills.

Sometimes one only turns to heaven when one’s actions are complete,

To win an unchanging and immortal face.


Output:
To win an unchanging and immortal face.

The story tells how the Evil Star Matcher had the front and back gates tightly closed while Monkey was hunted for. The din went on till dusk, but no sign of him did they find. The demon king sat in the Flaying Pavilion, where he called his demons together and issued orders to the guards on all the gates to carry bells, shout passwords, beat drums and strike clappers. Everyone was to have an arrow on his bowstring or a sword unsheathed as he took his turn to keep watch during the night. Sun Wukong, who had turned into a fly, was sitting by the gates. Seeing how strict the security was at the front gates he spread his wings and flew to the gateway of the living quarters to take a look. He saw the Golden Queen slumped across a low table, the tears flowing down as she wept quietly in her sorrow, so he flew inside and landed lightly on the loose black clouds of her hair to listen to what she was crying about. A moment later she said tearfully, “My lord, you and I,


Output:
Burnt in an earlier life the incense of separation,

And now I have encountered an evil demon king.

For three years I have been gone: when will we two be reunited?

Great is the grief of mandarin ducks that are parted.

Just when the priest had brought me your message

Our union has been severed once more and the monkey is dead.

Because he was too curious about the golden bells

I long for you now more desperately than ever.”


Output: When he heard this Monkey went behind her ear, where he whispered, “Don’t be afraid, Your Majesty. I’m the holy monk, the venerable Sun Wukong, who was sent from your country. I’m still alive. It was all because I was too impatient. I went to your dressing table and stole the golden bells. While you were drinking with the demon king I sneaked out to the pavilion in the front, but I couldn’t restrain myself from opening them up to take a look at them. I didn’t mean to, but I tore the cotton wool muffling the bells, and the moment they rang flame, smoke and sand came gushing out. I panicked, threw the bells down, turned back into myself, and tried hard to fight my way out with my iron cudgel. When I failed and was scared they’d kill me I turned into a fly, and hid on the door pivot till just now. The demon king has made the security precautions even stricter and he won’t open the doors. Will you act like a wife to him and lure him in here to sleep so that I can escape and find some other way of rescuing you?”


Output:
When the queen heard this she shivered and shook, and her hair stood on end as if a spirit were pulling it; she was terrified, as if her heart was being pounded by a pestle. “Are you a man or a ghost?” she asked, the tears streaming down.

“Neither man nor ghost,” he replied. “At the moment I’ve turned into a fly and I’m here. Don’t be afraid. Hurry up and ask the demon king here.” The queen still refused to believe him.

“Stop appearing in this nightmare,” she said in a low voice through her tears.

“I’m not in a nightmare,” said Monkey. “If you don’t believe me put your hand out and open it. I’ll jump down into it for you to see.” The queen then put out her open hand. Monkey flew down and landed lightly on her jade palm. He was just like

A black bean on a lotus flower,

A bee resting on a peony blossom,

A raisin fallen into a hydrangea,

A black spot on a wild lily stalk.

The queen raised her hand and said, “Holy monk.”


Output:
The queen raised her hand and said, “Holy monk.”

“I’m the holy monk transformed,” Monkey replied. Only then did the queen believe him.

“When I invite the demon king here what are you going to do?” she asked.

“There’s an old saying that there’s nothing like liquor for ending a life,” Monkey replied, “and another that there’s nothing like liquor for solving any problem. Liquor’s very useful stuff. The best thing is to give him plenty to drink. Call one of your personal slave-girls in and let me have a look at her so I can make myself look like her and wait on you. Then I’ll be able to make my move.”

The queen did as he told her. “Spring Beauty, where are you?” she called, and a fox with a beautiful face came in round the screen, knelt down and said, “What orders did Your Majesty call me in to receive?”


Output: “Tell them to come in and light the silk lanterns, burn some musk, and help me into the front room,” the queen said. “Then I shall ask His Majesty to bed.” Spring Beauty went to the front and called seven or eight deer and fox spirits who lined up on either side of her. They carried two pairs of lanterns and one pair of portable incense-burners. By the time the queen bowed to them with her hands together the Great Sage had already flown off.


Output:
Spreading his wings, the splendid Monkey flew straight to the top of Spring Beauty’s head, where he pulled out one of his hairs, blew a magic breath on it, and called, “Change!” It turned into a sleep insect that landed lightly on Spring Beauty’s face. Now when sleep insects reach a human face they crawl into the nostrils, and once they are inside the person goes to sleep. Spring Beauty did indeed start feeling sleepy. She could not keep on her feet, but swayed about and felt dozy as she hurried to where she had been resting before, collapsed head first and fell into a deep sleep. Brother Monkey then jumped down, shook himself, turned into Spring Beauty’s exact likeness and went back round the screen to line up with the others.

As the Golden Queen walked into the front part of the palace a little devil saw her and reported to the Evil Star Matcher, “The queen’s here, Your Majesty.” The demon king hurried out of the Flaying Pavilion to greet her.


Output:
“Your Majesty,” the queen said, “the smoke and fire have been put out and there’s no sign of the thief. As it’s late now I’ve come to urge you to come to bed.”

“How considerate you are, my queen,” the monster replied utterly delighted to see her. “The thief was Sun Wukong who defeated my vanguard warrior, then killed my lieutenant and came here disguised as him to fool us. We’ve searched but can’t find a trace of him. It makes me feel uneasy.”

“The wretch must have got away,” the queen replied. “Relax, Your Majesty, stop worrying, and come to bed.”

Seeing the queen standing there and inviting him so earnestly the demon king could not refuse too insistently, so he told the other demons to be careful with the fires and lamps and be on their guard against robbers before he went to the living quarters at the back with the queen. Monkey, disguised as Spring Beauty, led their way with the other slave girls.

“Bring wine for His Majesty,” the queen said. “He’s exhausted.”


Output:
“Indeed I am,” said the demon king with a smile, “indeed I am. Fetch some at once. It’ll calm our nerves.” The imitation Spring Beauty and the other servants then laid out fruit and high meat and set a table and chairs. The queen raised a cup and the demon king did likewise; each gave the other a drink from their own.

The imitation Spring Beauty, who was standing beside them, said as she held the jug, “As tonight is the first time Your Majesties have given each other a drink from your own cups I hope that you will each drain them dry for double happiness.” They did indeed both refill their cups and drain them again. “As this is so happy an occasion for Your Majesties why don’t we slave girls sing and dance for you?” the imitation Spring Beauty suggested.


Output:
Before the words were all out of her mouth melodious voices could be heard as the singing and dancing began. The two of them drank a lot more before the queen called for the singing and dancing to end. The slave girls divided themselves into their groups and went to line up outside the screen, leaving only the imitation Spring Beauty to hold the jug and serve them wine. The queen and the demon king spoke to each other like husband and wife, and the queen was so full of sensuality that the demon king’s bones turned soft and his sinews went numb. The only trouble was that the poor demon was not lucky enough to enjoy her favours. Indeed, it was a case of “happiness over nothing, like a cat biting a piss bubble.”

After talking and laughing for a while the queen asked, “Were the treasures damaged, Your Majesty?”


Output:
“Those are treasures that were cast long, long ago,” the demon king said, “so they couldn’t possibly be damaged. All that happened was that the thief tore the cotton wool that was muffling the bells and the leopard skin wrapper was burnt.”

“Where have they been put away?” the queen asked.

“No need for that,” the demon king replied. “I carry them at my waist.” Hearing this, the imitation Spring Beauty pulled out a handful of his hairs, chewed them up into little bits, crept closer to the demon king, put the pieces of hair on the demon’s body, blew three magic breaths, said “Change!” very quietly, and turned the pieces of hair into three revolting pests: lice, fleas and bedbugs. They all made for the demon king’s body and started biting his skin wildly. Itching unbearably, the demon king put his hands inside his clothing to rub the irritation. He caught a few of the lice between his fingers and took them to a lamp for a closer look.


Output:
When the queen saw them she said mockingly, “Your Majesty, your shirt must be filthy. It can’t have been washed for ages. I expect that’s why they’re there.”

“I’ve never had insects like these before,” he said in embarrassment. “I would have to make a fool of myself tonight.”

“What do you mean, making a fool of yourself, Your Majesty?” the queen said with a smile. “As the saying goes, even the emperor has three imperial lice. Undress and I’ll catch them for you.” The demon king really did undo his belt and take his clothes off.

The imitation Spring Beauty was standing beside the demon king looking closely at the fleas leaping around between each layer of clothing, on which were rows of enormous bedbugs. Lice and nits were crowded as closely together as ants coming out of their nest. When the demon king took off the third layer of clothing and revealed his flesh the golden bells were also swarming with countless insects.


Output:
“Your Majesty,” said the imitation Spring Beauty, “hand me the bells so that I can catch the lice on them for you.” The demon king was so overcome with shame and alarm that he handed the three bells to Spring Beauty, not noticing that she was an impostor.

The imitation Spring Beauty took the bells and made a long show of catching lice. When she saw the demon king looking down to shake his clothes she hid the golden bells, pulled out a hair and turned it into three more bells just like the originals that she carried to the lamp to examine.


Output:
She then wriggled, braced herself, put the lice, bedbugs and fleas back on her body and returned the imitation bells to the monster. He took them but was still too befuddled to see that they were copies. Passing them with both his hands to the queen he said, “Put them away now, but be very careful with them, not like before.” The queen took the bells, quietly opened the chest, put them inside, and locked them in with a golden lock. Then she drank several more cups of wine with the demon king.

“Dust and clean the ivory bed,” she ordered the serving women, “and spread the brocade quilt. His Majesty and I are going to bed.”

The demon king expressed his thanks but said, “I have no such luck. I don’t dare go with you. I’ll take one of the palace women with me and go to bed in the Western part of the palace. I wish you a good night by yourself, ma’am.” With that each of them went to bed, and we will say no more of that.


Output:
Meanwhile the successful imitation Spring Beauty tucked the treasures into her belt and turned back into Monkey. He shook himself, took back the sleep insect, and headed for the front of the palace, where nightsticks and bells sounded together to mark the third watch. Splendid Monkey made himself invisible by making a spell with his hands and saying the words of it. Going straight to the gates he saw that they were very firmly locked and bolted, so he brought out his gold-banded cudgel, pointed it at the door and made unlocking magic. The gates swung easily open.

Hurrying outside he stood by the gates and shouted two or three times at the top of his voice, “Evil Star Matcher, give us back our Golden Queen.”


Output:
This startled all the devils, who hurried to look and saw that the gates were open. Quickly they fetched lamps to find the locks and fasten the gates once more. Several of them were sent running back inside to report, “Your Majesty, there’s someone outside the main gates shouting your title and demanding the Golden Queen.”

The slave girls hurried out to say very quietly, “Stop yelling. His Majesty’s only just gone to sleep.” Monkey gave another loud shout at the front gates, but the little devils still dared not disturb their master. This happened three or four times over, but they never went in to report. The Great Sage kept up his din till daybreak, by when his patience was exhausted and he swung his iron cudgel to hit the gates. This so alarmed the demons big and small that while some of them barricaded the gates the others went in to report.

As soon as the demon king woke up and heard the cacophonous din he got up, dressed and emerged from his bed-curtains to ask, “What’s all the shouting about?”


Output:
“Sir,” said the kneeling slave girls, “someone’s been shouting and cursing outside the cave half the night. We don’t know who it is. Now he’s attacking the gates.”

As the demon king went out through the gates of the palace several panic-stricken little devils appeared to kowtow to him and say, “There’s someone shouting and cursing outside. He’s demanding the Golden Queen, and if we say so much as half a ‘no’ he goes on and on at us, swearing in a thoroughly horrible way. When Your Majesty still hadn’t come out at daybreak he got so desperate he started attacking the gates.”

“Don’t open them,” the demon king said. “Go and ask him where he’s from and what he’s called. Report back as quickly as you can.”

The little devils hurried off to ask through the gates, “Who are you, knocking at our gates?”


Output:
“I’m your grandpa sent by Purpuria to take the Golden Queen back to her own country,” Monkey replied. When the little devils heard this they reported it to the demon king, who went back to the living quarters at the back to question the queen about why the attacker had come.

The queen had only just arisen and had not yet done her hair or washed when slave girls came in to report, “His Majesty’s here.” The queen hastily tidied up her clothes and let her black tresses hang loose as she went outside to greet him.

He had just sat down and had not yet asked her any questions when little demons were heard again asking, “The Grand Par from over there has smashed the gates down.”

“How many officers are there in your country, ma’am?” The demon king asked with a smile.

“Inside the palace there are forty-eight brigades of horse and foot, and a thousand good officers; and there are ever so many marshals and commanders on the frontiers,” the queen replied.


Output:
“Are any called Grand Par?” the demon king asked. “When I was in the palace all I knew about was helping His Majesty in the inner quarters and instructing the consorts and concubines every morning and evening,” the queen said. “There were no end of things happening outside. How could I possibly remember the names?”

“This one calls himself Grand Par,” the demon king replied. “There’s no such name I can think of in the book The Hundred Surnames. You’re a very intelligent and well-born lady, ma’am, and you’ve lived in a royal palace. You must have read a lot of books. Can you remember coming across that name in any of them?”

“There’s a passage in the Thousand Word Classic that goes, ‘received grand instruction,’” the queen replied. “I think that must refer to him.”


Output:
“I’m sure you’re right,” the demon king said with pleasure, “I’m sure you’re right.” He then got up, took his leave of the queen, went to the Flaying Pavilion, fastened his armor on neatly, mustered his devil soldiers, had the gates opened, and went straight outside with his flower-scattering battle-axe in his hand.

“Who’s the Grand Par from Purpuria?” he yelled stridently at the top of his voice.

Grasping his gold-banded cudgel in his right hand and pointing with his left Monkey replied, “What are you shouting at me for, nephew?” The sight of him drove the demon king into a fury.

“Damn you,” he shouted:

“You’ve a face just like a monkey’s;

You resemble a macaque.

A ghost is what you look like;

Don’t try to knock me back.”


Output:
Don’t try to knock me back.”

“Impudent devil,” laughed Monkey, “trying to bully your superiors and push your master around. You’re blind. I remember how when I made havoc in Heaven five hundred years ago all the nine heavenly generals only dared speak to me with the greatest respect. If I make you call me Grandpa I’m letting you off lightly.”

“Tell me your name immediately,” the demon king shouted. “What fighting skills have you got that give you the nerve to come rampaging here?”

“You’d have done better not to ask me what I’m called,” Monkey replied. “But as you insist on me telling you I’m afraid you’ll be in a hopeless mess. Come here and stand still while I tell you:

Heaven and earth were the parents that bore me;

My foetus was formed from the sun and moon’s essence.

The magic rock was pregnant for years beyond number;

Strange indeed was the miraculous root’s gestation.

When I was born the Three Positives were at their height;

Now I have been converted all is in harmony.


Output:
Now I have been converted all is in harmony.

Once I was declared the chief of all the demons,

Who bowed to me by the red cliff as subduer of monsters.

The Jade Emperor issued a decree of summons,

And the Great White Planet came with the edict,

Inviting me to Heaven to take up my office,

But as Protector of the Horses I had no joy.

When I first planned rebellion in my mountain cave

Boldly I led my armies against the Jade Emperor,

The Pagoda-carrying Heavenly King and Prince Nezha

Were utterly helpless when they fought against me.

Then the White Planes made a new suggestion,

And brought another edict urging me to make peace

I was made Great Sage Equaling Heaven,

And proclaimed as one of the pillars of the state.

Because I disrupted the banquet of peaches

And stole elixir when drunk I met with disaster.

Lord Lao Zi submitted a memorial in person,

And the Queen Mother of the West did homage to the throne.

Knowing that I was running riot with the law,


Output:
Knowing that I was running riot with the law,

They mustered heavenly forces and issued movement orders.

A hundred thousand vicious stars and evil planets

Were packed in close array with their swords and their halberds.

Heaven-and-earth nets were spread across the mountain

As all of the soldiers raised their weapons together.

A bout of bitter fighting left neither side the victor,

So Guanyin recommended the warrior Erlang.

The two of us fought together for mastery;

He was helped by the Seven Brothers who come from Plum Hill.

Each of us played the hero and did our transformations:

The three sages at the gates of Heaven opened the clouds.

Then Lord Lao Zi dropped his diamond noose,

And the gods led me as a prisoner to the steps of the throne-hall.

They did not bother with a detailed indictment:

The sentence was death by a thousand cuts.

Axe and hammer could not till me,

And I was unharmed by sword or saber.

Fire and thunderbolts were neither here nor there;


Output:
They had no way to destroy my immortal body.

I was taken under escort to the Tushita Heaven,

And all was arranged to refine me in the furnace.

Only when full time was up did they open up the vessel,

And I came bounding out from the middle of the crucible.

In my hands I was wielding this As-You-Will cudgel

As I somersaulted up to the Jade Emperor’s throne.

All the stars and constellations went into hiding,

And I could play the vandal in the palaces of Heaven.

The Miraculous Investigator rushed to invite the Buddha,

Then Sakyamuni and I both displayed our powers.

Turning my somersaults in the palm of his hand

I roamed all over the heavens before my return.

The Buddha then, using both foresight and deception,

Crushed and held me at the ends of the heavens.

After a period of over five hundred years

My body was delivered and I could once more play up.

Guarding the Tang Priest on his journey to the West,

Brother Sun Wukong is very intelligent.

I subdue the demons on the Westward road:


Output:
I subdue the demons on the Westward road:

Every evil spirit is struck with terror.”

When the demon king heard him tell that he was Sun Wukong he said, “So you’re the so-and-so who made havoc in Heaven. If you were released to guard the Tang Priest on his journey West then you should be an your way there. Why are you being such a busybody and making trouble for me? You’re acting as if you were the slave of Purpuria. By coming here you’ve thrown your life away.”


Output:
“Thieving damned monster,” Monkey shouted back. “You don’t know what you’re talking about. I was politely invited to help by the king of Purpuria. He addressed me very respectfully and treated me well. I’m a thousand times higher than that king. He treated me as if I were his father and mother or a god. How can you say I’m acting like a slave? I’ll get you, you monster, for bullying your superiors and trying to push your master around. Stay there and take this from your grandpa.” The monster then moved his hands and feet as fast as he could, dodged the blow from the cudgel and struck back at Brother Monkey’s face with his flower-scattering axe. It was a fine battle. Just watch!

The gold-banded As-You-Will cudgel,

The flower-scattering axe and its wind-keen blade.

One ground his teeth with terrible ferocity;

The other gnashed his molars and displayed his might.

One was the Great Sage Equaling Heaven descended to earth,

The other an evil demon king come down to the lower world.


Output:
Both snorted out clouds and shining mists that lit up the heavenly palace.

Sent stones and sand flying that blotted out the Dipper.

They came and went through many a movement,

Twisting and turning and giving off golden light.

Each used all of his talents to the full;

Both staked the whole of their magical powers.

One wanted to take the queen back to the capital;

The other would happily have stayed with her in the cave.

There was no deep reason for the struggle:

He was ready to give his life for the sake of the king.

When the two of them had fought fifty rounds without result the demon king realized that Monkey was too strong a fighter for him to be able to beat. Blocking the iron cudgel with his axe the demon said, “Stop, Sun the Novice. I haven’t had my breakfast yet today. Let me eat, then I’ll have it out with you.”


Output:
Monkey was well aware that he wanted to fetch the bells, so he put his cudgel away and said, “A hero doesn’t chase an exhausted hare. Off you go. Have a good meal, and get ready to come back and die.”

The demon quickly turned and rushed inside, where he said to the queen, “Get me my treasures at once.”

“What for?” she asked.


Output:
“What for?” she asked.

“The man challenging me to battle this morning was a disciple of the monk who’s going to fetch the scriptures,” he said. “He’s called Sun Wukong, or Sun the Novice, and Grand Par was just a nickname. I’ve been battling it out with him all this time, but still there’s no outcome. Just wait while I take my treasures out and set off smoke and flames to burn that ape.” These words made the queen feel very uneasy. If she didn’t fetch the bells, she was worried that he might be suspicious, but if she did she feared that Sun the Novice would be killed. As she was hesitating the demon king pressed her again: “Hurry up and fetch them.” She had no choice but to undo the lock, bring out the three bells and hand them to the demon king, who took them and went outside the cave again. The queen sat in the inner quarters, her tears pouring down like rain, as she thought that Monkey would not possibly be able to escape with his life. Neither of them realized that the bells were only copies.


Output:
Once outside the cave the demon stood upwind and shouted, “Stay where you are, Sun the Novice. Watch while I ring these bells.”

“You have your bells, but why shouldn’t I have mine?” Monkey replied. “You can ring yours, so why shouldn’t I ring mine?”

“What bells have you got?” the demon king asked. “Show me.” Monkey pinched his iron cudgel to make it into an embroidery needle that he tucked into his ear then brought out the three real treasures from at his waist.

“Here are my purple gold bells,” he said to the demon king. The sight of them came as a shock to the demon.

“That’s funny,” he thought, “very funny. Why are his bells exactly the same as mine? Even if they’d been cast from the same mould they’d not have been properly smoothed: you’d expect some extra marks or missing knobs. How can they be identical with this?”

“Where did you get your bells from?” he went on to ask again.

“Where are yours from, dear nephew?” Monkey replied.

Being honest, the demon king replied, “These bells of mine,


Output:
Come from deep in the Way of the Immortal of Great Purity,

Are made of gold long refined in the Eight Trigrams Furnace

Formed into bells renowned as ultimate treasures

Left by Lord Lao Zi till the present day.”

“That’s where my bells come from too,” Monkey replied with a smile.

“How were they made?” the demon king asked.

“These bells of mine,” said Monkey,

“Were made of gold refined in the furnace

When Lord Lao Zi made elixir in the Tushita Palace.

They are cyclical treasures.

The two threes make six:

Mine are the female and yours are the male.”

“The bells are golden elixir treasures,” the demon king said, “not birds or beasts. They can’t be male or female. As long as they yield what’s precious when they’re rung they’re good ones.”

“Words prove nothing,” said Monkey. “Show it by actions. Shake yours first.” The demon king then rang his first bell three times. No fire came out. He rang his second three times. No smoke came out. He rang his third three times, and no sand came out either.


Output:
“Very odd,” he said, making wild gestures, “very odd. The world’s changed. These bells must be hen-pecked. When the males see the females they don’t dare to do their stuff.”

“Stop, nephew,” said Monkey. “Now I’m going to shake mine to show you what happens.” The splendid ape then grasped all three bells in one hand and rang them together. Watch as clouds of red flames, black smoke and yellow sand all come gushing out, setting the trees and the mountain ablaze. Monkey then said the words of another spell and shouted “Wind!” towards the Southeast; and a wind did indeed spring up that fanned the flames. With the power of the wind behind them the flames and smoke filled the heavens, blazing red and deepest black, and the earth was covered by the yellow sandstorm. The Evil Star Matcher’s souls fled from his body in his terror, but he had nowhere to turn: amid that fire there was no way of escaping with his life.


Output:
Then a penetrating shout was heard from mid-air: “Sun Wukong, I am here.” Monkey quickly looked up and saw that it was the Bodhisattva Guanyin holding her vase of pure water in her left hand and a sprig of willow in her right with which to sprinkle sweet dew and put out the flames. In his alarm Monkey hid the bells at his waist, put the palms of his hands together and prostrated himself in a kowtow. The Bodhisattva flicked a few drops of sweet dew from her willow sprig and in an instant both flames and smoke disappeared, while no sign of the yellow sand remained to be seen.

“I did not realize, Most Merciful One, that you were coming down to the mortal world,” said Brother Monkey as he kowtowed, “and it was wrong of me to fail to keep out of your way. May I venture to ask where you are going, Bodhisattva?”

“I am here especially to find and take this evil monster,” the Bodhisattva replied.


Output:
“What is the monster’s background, and how can he put you to the trouble of capturing him in your illustrious person?” Monkey asked.

“He is a golden-haired giant hound on which I used to ride,” the Bodhisattva replied. “The boy in charge of it fell asleep and failed to keep proper guard over it, so that the wicked beast bit through its iron chains and escaped to save the king of Purpuria from disaster.”

When Monkey heard this he hastily bowed and said, “You have it the wrong way round, Bodhisattva. He’s been mistreating the king and his queen, and thus damaging public morality. So how can you say that he has saved the king from disaster when in fact he has brought him disaster?”


Output: “You would not know,” the Bodhisattva replied, “that when the previous king of Purpuria was reigning and the present king was the crown prince and had not yet taken the throne he was a superb archer and huntsman. Once he led his men and horses hunting with falcon and hound. They came to the Fallen Phoenix Slope, where a young peacock and peahen, two children of the Buddha’s mother in the West, the Bodhisattva Maurya Vidya Rani were resting. When the king shot with his bow he wounded the cock, while the hen died with an arrow still in her. After the Buddha’s mother realized to her regret what had happened she ordered that the prince should be separated from his wife for three years and suffer himself the way birds do when they are parted from their mates. At the time I was riding that hound and we both heard her say that. I never imagined that the beast would remember it and come back to mistreat the queen and thus save the king from disaster. That was three years ago, and now that the misdeed has been paid


Output: years ago, and now that the misdeed has been paid for it was fortunate that you came along to cure the king. I am here to recover the wicked and evil creature.”


Output:
“Bodhisattva,” said Monkey, “this may well be so, but he did sully the queen, damage public morality, offend ethics and break the law. You can’t let him off a non-capital punishment. Let me give him twenty blows before handing him over for you to take back.”

“Wukong,” said the Bodhisattva, “as you know I am here you really ought to show me the respect I deserve and spare him completely. This still counts as one of your successes in subduing a demon. If you hit him with your cudgel it’ll kill him.”

Monkey dared not disobey, but bowed and said, “If you’re taking him back to the ocean with you, Bodhisattva, you mustn’t let him escape and come down to the human world again. That would be quite a catastrophe.”


Output:
Only then did the Bodhisattva shout, “Wicked beast! Turn back into your own form! What are you waiting for?” The monster could be seen doing a roll and turning back into himself. Then he shook his fur for the Bodhisattva to mount on his back. The Bodhisattva looked down at his neck to see that the three golden bells were missing. “Wukong,” she said, “give me my bells back.”

“I don’t know where they are,” Monkey said.

“Thieving ape,” the Bodhisattva shouted. “If you hadn’t stolen those bells then ten Sun Wukongs, never mind one, would have dared go nowhere near him. Hand them over at once.”

“I really haven’t seen them,” Monkey replied with a smile.

“In that case I’ll have to recite the Band-tightening Spell,” said the Bodhisattva.

This scared Monkey, who could only plead, “Don’t say it, don’t say it. The bells are here.” This was indeed a case of

Who could untie the bells from neck of the giant hound?

To find that out ask the one who first fastened them on.


Output:
The Bodhisattva then placed the bells round the giant hound’s neck, and flew up to her high throne. Watch as the

Four-stalked lotus flowers blazed with fire;

Her whole body was thickly clad in cloth of gold.

We will say no more of how the Great Merciful One returned to the Southern Ocean.

The Great Sage Sun Wukong then tidied up his clothing and charged into the Horndog Gave swinging his iron cudgel and killing to his heart’s content. He wiped all the demons out till he reached the inner quarters of the palace and asked the Golden Queen to go back to her country. She prostrated herself to him for a long time. Monkey told her all about how the Bodhisattva had subdued the demon and why she had been separated from her husband. Then he gathered some soft grasses that he twisted together into a long straw dragon.


Output:
“Sit on this, ma’am,” he said, “and shut your eyes. Don’t be afraid. I’m taking you back to court to see your master.” The queen followed his instructions carefully while he used his magic power. There was a sound of the wind whistling in her ears.

An hour later he brought her into the city. Bringing his cloud down he said, “Open your eyes, ma’am.” When the queen opened her eyes and looked she recognized the phoenix buildings and dragon towers. She was very happy, and getting off the straw dragon she climbed the steps of the throne hall. When the king saw her he came straight down from his dragon throne to take the queen by her jade hand.

He was just going to tell her how much he had missed her when he suddenly collapsed, shouting: “My hand hurts, my hand hurts.”

“Look at that mug,” Pig said, roaring with laughter, “he’s out of luck. No joy for him. The moment he meets her again he gets stung.”

“Idiot,” said Monkey, “would you dare grab her?”

“What if I did?” Pig asked.


Output:
“What if I did?” Pig asked.

“The queen’s covered with poisonous spikes,” Monkey replied, “and she has poison on her hands. In the three years she was with the Evil Star Matcher in Mount Unicorn the monster never had her. If he had, his whole body would have been in agony. Even touching her with his hand made his hand ache.”

“Then what is to be done about it?” the officials asked. While all the officials were wondering what to do in the outer palace and the consorts and concubines in the inner palace were full of terror, the Jade and the Silver Queen helped their king to his feet.

Amid-the general alarm a voice was heard in the sky shouting, “Great Sage, I’m here.” Brother Monkey looked up, and this is what was to be seen:

The cry of a crane soaring through the heavens,

Then flying straight down to the palace of the king.

Beams of auspicious light shone about;

Clouds of holy vapors drifted all around.

Mists came from the cloak of coconut that covered his body:


Output:
Rare were the straw sandals on which he trod.

The fly-whisk in his hand was made of dragon whiskers,

And silken tassels hung around his waist.

He joined human destinies together throughout heaven and earth

As he roamed free and easy all over the world.

He was the Purple Clouds Immortal of the Daluo Heaven,

Come down to earth today to lift an enchantment.

Monkey went over to him to greet him with, “Where are you going, Zhang Boduan of the Ziyang sect?”

The True Man of Ziyang came to the front of the hall, bowed and replied, “Great Sage, the humble immortal Zhang Boduan greets you.”

“Where have you come from?” Monkey replied.


Output:
“Where have you come from?” Monkey replied.

“Three years ago I passed this way when going to a Buddha assembly,” the True Man said. “When I saw that the King of Purpuria was suffering the agony of being parted from his wife I was worried that the demon would defile the queen. That would have been an affront to morality and made it hard for the queen to be reunited with the king later on. So I turned an old coconut cloak into a new dress of many colours and gave it to the demon king. He made the queen wear it as her wedding dress. As soon as she put it on poisonous barbs grew all over her body. They were the coconut cloak. Now that you have been successful, Great Sage, I’ve come to lift the spell.”

“In that case,” said Monkey, “thank you for coming so far. Please remove the barbs at once.” The True Man stepped forward, pointed at the queen, and removed the coconut cloak. The queen’s body was once more as it had originally been.


Output:
The True Man shook the cloak, put it over his shoulders, and said to Monkey, “Please forgive me if I leave now, Great Sage.”

“Don’t go yet,” said Monkey. “Wait till the king has thanked you.”

“I won’t trouble him,” said the True Man with a smile, then raised his hands together in salute, rose up into the sky and went. The king, queen and the officials high and low were so astonished that they all bowed to the sky.

When the bowing was over the king ordered that the Eastern hall of the palace be thrown open so that they could give thanks to the four monks. The king led all his officials to go down on their knees and kowtow to them, and husband and wife were reunited. In the middle of the celebratory banquet Monkey said, “Master, bring out that declaration of war.”


Output:
The venerable elder produced it from his sleeve and handed it to Monkey, who passed it in turn to the king. “This was a letter that the demons sent his lieutenant to deliver,” Monkey said. “He was the officer I killed and brought here as a trophy. Then I turned myself into the officer and went back to the cave to report. That was how I saw Her Majesty and stole the golden bells. He almost caught me, but I did another change, stole them again, got them out and fought him. It was lucky for him that the Bodhisattva Guanyin came to collect him and tell me why you and Her Majesty were parted.”

He told the whole story from beginning to end in great detail. Everyone in the country—whether ruler or ministers, whether within the palace or outside—expressed admiration and gratitude.


Output:
“In the first place,” said the Tang Priest, “it was because of Your Majesty’s own good fortune, and in the second place it was thanks to my disciple’s efforts. We are deeply obliged to you for this sumptuous banquet today, and now we must take our leave of you. Please do not delay us poor monks on our pilgrimage to the West.”

When the king realized that his efforts to keep them there would be of no avail he inspected and returned the passport and arranged a great procession of royal coaches. The Tang Priest was invited to sit in his own dragon carriage, while the king, his queens and his consorts themselves all pushed it along as they saw them on their way then bade them farewell. Indeed:

He was fated to have his melancholy washed clean away:

The mind finds peace of itself when thought and worrying cease.

If you do not know what of good or ill lay in store for them on the way ahead listen to the explanation in the next installment.

Chapter Seventy-two


Output:
Chapter Seventy-two

The Seven Emotions Confuse the Basic in Gossamer Cave

At Filth-Cleansing Spring Pig Forgets Himself

The story tells how Sanzang took his leave of the king of Purpuria, got everything ready, saddled the horse and headed Westwards. They crossed many a mountain and river. Before they realized it autumn and winter were over and spring’s brightness and charm were back. Master and disciples were enjoying the scenery as their way led them across the greenery when they suddenly noticed a building amid trees. Sanzang dismounted and stood beside the main track.

“Master,” Brother Monkey asked, “the road is easy and there is no evil about, so why have you stopped?”

“You aren’t at all understanding, brother,” Pig said. “The master is feeling sleepy after being in the saddle for so long. You ought to let him come down and have a rest.”

“It’s not that,” Sanzang said. “I can see a house over there. I was thinking of going there myself to beg for some food.”


Output:
“What a thing for the master to say,” said Monkey with a smile. “If you want some food I’ll go and beg some for you. As the saying goes, ‘Your teacher for a day is your father for the rest of your life.’ It would be outrageous for me, your disciple, to sit here idly and let my master go begging.”

“There’s no need to say that,” Sanzang replied. “Usually you three have to cross enormous distances as far as the eye can see to beg for our food. Today there’s a house so close it’s in shouting distance, so let me beg this time.”

“But, Master, you wouldn’t know what to do,” said Pig. “As the saying goes, when three people go travelling it’s the youngest who does the rough jobs. You’re the senior one and we’re all only disciples. As the old book says, ‘When there is a job to be done the disciple does it.’ Let me go.”