Journey to the West: Havoc in Heaven · chapter 4 of 8
The Peach Garden
蟠桃园
Putting a monkey in charge of heaven's magic peaches: what could go wrong? Then seven fairies arrive with news of a banquet.
Read what you hear
- Narrator 大圣在天上没有事做，每天到处玩儿，交了很多朋友。
Dàshèng zài tiānshàng méiyǒu shì zuò, měi tiān dàochù wánr, jiāo le hěn duō péngyou.
Up in heaven, the Great Sage had nothing to do. He wandered about all day and made lots of friends.
- The Jade Emperor 大圣每天没有事做，这样不好。就让他去管蟠桃园吧！
Dàshèng měi tiān méiyǒu shì zuò, zhèyàng bù hǎo. Jiù ràng tā qù guǎn Pántáo Yuán ba!
The Great Sage has nothing to do all day. That's no good. Let him look after the Peach Garden!
- Narrator 蟠桃园里的桃子，三千年才熟一次。吃了，就能长生不老。
Pántáo Yuán lǐ de táozi, sānqiān nián cái shú yí cì. Chī le, jiù néng chángshēng bù lǎo.
The peaches in the Peach Garden took three thousand years to ripen. Whoever ate one would live forever and never grow old.
Chapter 4 is part of SayMei Stories ($2.99 a month) and SayMei Premium. Chapter 1 of Journey to the West: Havoc in Heaven is free, and so are The Second Cup of Tea, Mulan, The Butterfly Lovers, Journey to the West: The Monkey King, Cinderella, The Night of the Nian, Chang'e and the Moon, The Great Race: The Twelve Animals, Aesop's Fables, Little Red Riding Hood, The Three Little Pigs, The Ugly Duckling, Pangu and Nüwa: How the World Began, Beauty and the Beast, The Magic Lotus Lantern, Alice in Wonderland, Zhong Kui the Demon Queller and The Odyssey from start to finish.
- Sun Wukong 这么多桃子！又大又红，好香啊！
Zhème duō táozi! Yòu dà yòu hóng, hǎo xiāng a!
So many peaches! Big and red, and they smell wonderful!
- Sun Wukong 老孙管这些桃子……吃一个，没有人知道吧？
Lǎo Sūn guǎn zhèxiē táozi… chī yí gè, méiyǒu rén zhīdào ba?
Old Sun is in charge of these peaches… Nobody will know if I eat just one, right?
- Narrator 从那天起，大圣常常一个人爬到树上，吃最大最红的桃子。
Cóng nà tiān qǐ, Dàshèng chángcháng yí gè rén pá dào shù shàng, chī zuì dà zuì hóng de táozi.
From then on, the Great Sage would often climb the trees alone and eat the biggest, reddest peaches.
- Sun Wukong 太好吃了！天上最好的工作，就是这个！
Tài hǎochī le! Tiānshàng zuì hǎo de gōngzuò, jiù shì zhège!
So delicious! This is the best job in all of heaven!
- Sun Wukong 吃饱了……老孙变小一点儿，在树上睡一会儿。
Chī bǎo le… Lǎo Sūn biàn xiǎo yìdiǎnr, zài shù shàng shuì yíhuìr.
I'm stuffed… Old Sun will make himself tiny and take a nap up in this tree.
- Narrator 有一天，七个仙女来到了蟠桃园。
Yǒu yì tiān, qī gè xiānnǚ láidào le Pántáo Yuán.
One day, seven fairies came to the Peach Garden.
- Fairy in Red 大家快摘桃子！王母娘娘的蟠桃会就要开始了！
Dàjiā kuài zhāi táozi! Wángmǔ Niángniang de Pántáo Huì jiù yào kāishǐ le!
Let's pick the peaches, quick! The Queen Mother's Peach Banquet is about to begin!
- Fairy in Red 奇怪！大的红桃子，怎么一个也没有了？
Qíguài! Dà de hóng táozi, zěnme yí gè yě méiyǒu le?
How strange! Where have all the big red peaches gone? There isn't a single one left!
- Sun Wukong 谁？谁在动老孙的桃子？
Shéi? Shéi zài dòng Lǎo Sūn de táozi?
Who's there? Who's touching Old Sun's peaches?
- Fairy in Red 啊！是大圣！我们是王母娘娘叫来摘桃子的。
A! Shì Dàshèng! Wǒmen shì Wángmǔ Niángniang jiào lái zhāi táozi de.
Oh! It's the Great Sage! The Queen Mother sent us to pick peaches.
- Sun Wukong 摘桃子做什么？
Zhāi táozi zuò shénme?
What do you need peaches for?
- Fairy in Red 王母娘娘要开蟠桃会，请天上的客人吃桃子、喝好酒。
Wángmǔ Niángniang yào kāi Pántáo Huì, qǐng tiānshàng de kèrén chī táozi, hē hǎo jiǔ.
The Queen Mother is holding the Peach Banquet. She's inviting guests from all over heaven to eat peaches and drink fine wine.
- Sun Wukong 蟠桃会？好啊！都请了谁？
Pántáo Huì? Hǎo a! Dōu qǐng le shéi?
A Peach Banquet? Wonderful! Who's invited?
- Fairy in Red 请了西天的佛祖，请了太上老君，还请了很多很多客人……
Qǐng le Xītiān de Fózǔ, qǐng le Tàishàng Lǎojūn, hái qǐng le hěn duō hěn duō kèrén…
The Buddha of the Western Heaven, Laozi the Supreme Old Lord, and lots and lots of other guests…
- Sun Wukong 那……请我齐天大圣了吗？
Nà… qǐng wǒ Qítiān Dàshèng le ma?
And… is the Great Sage Equal to Heaven invited?
- Fairy in Red 这个……没有听说。
Zhège… méiyǒu tīngshuō.
Well… we haven't heard anything about that.
- Sun Wukong 什么？老孙是齐天大圣，为什么不请我？
Shénme? Lǎo Sūn shì Qítiān Dàshèng, wèishénme bù qǐng wǒ?
What? Old Sun is the Great Sage Equal to Heaven! Why wasn't I invited?
- Sun Wukong 你们都给我站着，别动！定！
Nǐmen dōu gěi wǒ zhànzhe, bié dòng! Dìng!
All of you, stand right there and don't move! Freeze!
- Fairy in Red 大圣！我们……我们动不了了！
Dàshèng! Wǒmen… wǒmen dòng bù liǎo le!
Great Sage! We… we can't move!
- Sun Wukong 他们不请老孙？好！老孙自己去蟠桃会看看！
Tāmen bù qǐng Lǎo Sūn? Hǎo! Lǎo Sūn zìjǐ qù Pántáo Huì kànkan!
They didn't invite Old Sun? Fine! Old Sun will go and see this Peach Banquet for himself!
Hear the chapter
What changed in the story?
- Why does the Jade Emperor put Wukong in charge of the Peach Garden?
“大圣每天没有事做，这样不好。”
- What happens to someone who eats one of these peaches?
“吃了，就能长生不老。”
- What does Wukong do after eating his fill?
“老孙变小一点儿，在树上睡一会儿。”
- Why are the fairies surprised?
“大的红桃子，怎么一个也没有了？”
- What makes Wukong so angry?
“没有听说。”……“为什么不请我？”