Journey to the West: Journey's End · chapter 5 of 6
The Scrolls Dry
晒经书
Soaked and stranded, the four spread the scriptures on a rock to dry, argue, joke, and one page is torn. Then a bell rings far away.
Read what you hear
- Narrator 太阳出来了。四个人都湿透了，水不停地往下滴。
Tàiyáng chūlái le. Sì gè rén dōu shītòu le, shuǐ bù tíng de wǎng xià dī.
The sun came out. All four were soaked, and water kept dripping off them.
- Zhu Bajie 我的耳朵里有一条鱼！哎哟，它还在动！
Wǒ de ěrduo lǐ yǒu yì tiáo yú! Āiyō, tā hái zài dòng!
There's a fish in my ear! Ow, it's still wiggling!
- Sha Wujing 二师兄，别动。先帮我把经书放到那块大石头上。
Èr shīxiōng, bié dòng. Xiān bāng wǒ bǎ jīngshū fàng dào nà kuài dà shítou shàng.
Second Brother, hold still. First help me put the scrolls on that big rock.
Chapter 5 is part of SayMei Stories ($2.99 a month) and SayMei Premium. Chapter 1 of Journey to the West: Journey's End 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, The Odyssey, Robin Hood, Jiang Ziya Goes Fishing, The Steadfast Tin Soldier, The Hound of the Baskervilles and The Kitchen God from start to finish.
- Zhu Bajie 好好好，我小心一点。一卷，两卷，三卷……哎，这两卷分不开了！
Hǎo hǎo hǎo, wǒ xiǎoxīn yìdiǎn. Yí juàn, liǎng juàn, sān juàn… āi, zhè liǎng juàn fēn bù kāi le!
Fine, fine, fine, I'll be careful. One, two, three... hey, these two are stuck together!
- Tang Seng 轻一点，八戒。它们比我们的命还重要。
Qīng yìdiǎn, Bājiè. Tāmen bǐ wǒmen de mìng hái zhòngyào.
Gently, Bajie. They matter more than our own lives.
- Zhu Bajie 我知道，师父。可是我的肚子也很重要，它已经饿了。
Wǒ zhīdào, shīfu. Kěshì wǒ de dùzi yě hěn zhòngyào, tā yǐjīng è le.
I know, Master. But my belly matters too, and it's already hungry.
- Sha Wujing 二师兄，你的肚子可以等。经书要先晒干，不然就坏了。
Èr shīxiōng, nǐ de dùzi kěyǐ děng. Jīngshū yào xiān shàigān, bùrán jiù huài le.
Second Brother, your belly can wait. The scrolls must dry first, or they will spoil.
- Zhu Bajie 那我用嘴吹一吹，会快一点。呼——呼——
Nà wǒ yòng zuǐ chuī yi chuī, huì kuài yìdiǎn. Hū—hū—
Then I'll blow on them, and it'll go faster. Whoo... whoo...
- Tang Seng 八戒，你把水吹到我脸上了。
Bājiè, nǐ bǎ shuǐ chuī dào wǒ liǎn shàng le.
Bajie, you're blowing water onto my face.
- Sha Wujing 大师兄去河边了。他说要和老乌龟谈一谈。
Dà shīxiōng qù hébiān le. Tā shuō yào hé lǎo wūguī tán yi tán.
Big Brother went down to the river. He said he wanted a word with the Old Turtle.
- Zhu Bajie 只是谈一谈？我看他的棒子也一起去了。
Zhǐshì tán yi tán? Wǒ kàn tā de bàngzi yě yìqǐ qù le.
Just a word? I bet his staff went along.
- Tang Seng 但愿他别动棒子。乌龟没有错，是我忘了。
Dànyuàn tā bié dòng bàngzi. Wūguī méiyǒu cuò, shì wǒ wàng le.
I hope he doesn't. The turtle did nothing wrong. It was I who forgot.
- Sha Wujing 师父，菩萨说的最后一次苦难，就是这一次，对吗？
Shīfu, Púsà shuō de zuìhòu yí cì kǔnàn, jiùshì zhè yí cì, duì ma?
Master, the last trial the Bodhisattva spoke of was this one, wasn't it?
- Tang Seng 我想是的。八十次已经过去了，这是第八十一次。
Wǒ xiǎng shì de. Bāshí cì yǐjīng guòqù le, zhè shì dì-bāshíyī cì.
I think so. Eighty are behind us, and this is the eighty-first.
- Sun Wukong 师父，老乌龟说他不生气了，只是有点难过。
Shīfu, lǎo wūguī shuō tā bù shēngqì le, zhǐshì yǒudiǎn nánguò.
Master, the Old Turtle says he isn't angry, only a little sad.
- Zhu Bajie 大师兄，你的棒子没有打人吧？
Dà shīxiōng, nǐ de bàngzi méiyǒu dǎ rén ba?
Big Brother, your staff didn't hit anyone, did it?
- Sun Wukong 老孙只是去聊天。老乌龟说，他不怪师父，他只是太想知道答案了。
Lǎo Sūn zhǐshì qù liáotiān. Lǎo wūguī shuō, tā bú guài shīfu, tā zhǐshì tài xiǎng zhīdào dá'àn le.
Old Sun only went to chat. The Old Turtle says he doesn't blame the Master. He just wanted the answer so badly.
- Tang Seng 谢谢你，悟空。我见了佛祖，第一件事就是替他问。
Xièxie nǐ, Wùkōng. Wǒ jiàn le Fózǔ, dì-yī jiàn shì jiùshì tì tā wèn.
Thank you, Wukong. When I see the Buddha, the first thing I'll do is ask for him.
- Sun Wukong 好，这一次，可不能再忘了！老孙会一直提醒你。
Hǎo, zhè yí cì, kě bù néng zài wàng le! Lǎo Sūn huì yìzhí tíxǐng nǐ.
Good. And this time you mustn't forget! Old Sun will remind you the whole way.
- Sun Wukong 师父，你看这一页。它贴在石头上，破了一个小角。
Shīfu, nǐ kàn zhè yí yè. Tā tiē zài shítou shàng, pò le yí gè xiǎo jiǎo.
Master, look at this page. It stuck to the rock and a little corner tore off.
- Tang Seng 啊……经书少了一个角。真可惜。
Ā… jīngshū shǎo le yí gè jiǎo. Zhēn kěxī.
Oh... the scripture is missing a corner. What a pity.
- Sun Wukong 老孙觉得，这个小角是我们的记号。以后谁读到它，就知道它掉进过河里。
Lǎo Sūn juéde, zhège xiǎo jiǎo shì wǒmen de jìhao. Yǐhòu shéi dú dào tā, jiù zhīdào tā diào jìn guo hé lǐ.
Old Sun thinks this little corner is our mark. Whoever reads it later will know it once fell in a river.
- Tang Seng 你说得对。它和我们一样，走了很远的路，也湿过。
Nǐ shuō de duì. Tā hé wǒmen yíyàng, zǒu le hěn yuǎn de lù, yě shī guo.
You're right. Like us, it walked a long road and got wet.
- Zhu Bajie 那我的肚子也是记号！它也湿过，也饿过！
Nà wǒ de dùzi yě shì jìhao! Tā yě shī guo, yě è guo!
Then my belly is a mark too! It got wet, and it got hungry!
- Sha Wujing 师父，太阳要下山了。经书都干了。
Shīfu, tàiyáng yào xià shān le. Jīngshū dōu gān le.
Master, the sun is going down. The scrolls are all dry.
- Tang Seng 太好了。八戒，悟净，请帮我把经书包起来。
Tài hǎo le. Bājiè, Wùjìng, qǐng bāng wǒ bǎ jīngshū bāo qǐlái.
Wonderful. Bajie, Wujing, please help me wrap the scrolls up.
- Zhu Bajie 师父，八十一次苦难都完了，可以吃饭了吧？
Shīfu, bāshíyī cì kǔnàn dōu wán le, kěyǐ chīfàn le ba?
Master, all eighty-one trials are over. May we eat now?
- The Guardian 各位，八十一次苦难都满了。请上云，我们送你们回长安。
Gèwèi, bāshíyī cì kǔnàn dōu mǎn le. Qǐng shàng yún, wǒmen sòng nǐmen huí Cháng'ān.
Friends, all eighty-one trials are complete. Please board the cloud, and we will take you home to Chang'an.
- Sha Wujing 师父，你听。远远的，有钟声。
Shīfu, nǐ tīng. Yuǎnyuǎn de, yǒu zhōngshēng.
Master, listen. There's a bell, far away.
- Tang Seng 是长安的钟。我听见了。我们回家了。
Shì Cháng'ān de zhōng. Wǒ tīngjiàn le. Wǒmen huí jiā le.
That's the bell of Chang'an. I hear it. We're going home.
Hear the chapter
What changed in the story?
- What does Bajie have in his ear after the river?
“我的耳朵里有一条鱼”
- Why must the scrolls be dried before anything else?
“经书要先晒干”
- What happens to one page of the scroll?
“破了一个小角”
- What does Wukong say the torn corner will be?
“这个小角是我们的记号”
- What does Sha Wujing hear at the end?
“远远的，有钟声”