Journey to the West: The Monkey King · chapter 22 of 25
A Battle of Changes
变来变去
Erlang matches Wukong blow for blow, then change for change, from a little bird to a fish to a very odd little temple. And heaven is watching from above.
Read what you hear
- Sun Wukong 谁在洞口叫老孙弼马温？……你是谁？
Shéi zài dòngkǒu jiào Lǎo Sūn Bìmǎwēn? … Nǐ shì shéi?
Who's at the mouth of the cave calling Old Sun “Bimawen”? …And who are you?
- Erlang Shen 我是玉帝妹妹的儿子，二郎！
Wǒ shì Yùdì mèimei de érzi, Èrláng!
I am the Jade Emperor's sister's son, Erlang!
- Sun Wukong 哈哈，你是玉帝妹妹的儿子？你还小，回去吧，叫天上的大官来！
Hāhā, nǐ shì Yùdì mèimei de érzi? Nǐ hái xiǎo, huíqu ba, jiào tiānshàng de dà guān lái!
Ha ha, you're the Jade Emperor's sister's boy? You're too young. Go home and send me one of heaven's big officials!
Chapter 22 is part of SayMei Stories ($2.99 a month) and SayMei Premium. Part 1 of Journey to the West: The Monkey King (chapters 1–5) is free, and The Second Cup of Tea, The Great Race: The Twelve Animals, The Kitchen God, Little Red Riding Hood, Beauty and the Beast, Chang'e and the Moon, Alice in Wonderland and The Hound of the Baskervilles are free from start to finish.
- Erlang Shen 弼马温，看刀！
Bìmǎwēn, kàn dāo!
Bimawen, taste my blade!
- Sun Wukong 好！老孙就和你打！
Hǎo! Lǎo Sūn jiù hé nǐ dǎ!
Fine! Then Old Sun will fight you!
- Little Monkey 天哪！三百个回合了！大圣和二郎，都变得比山还高！
Tiān na! Sānbǎi gè huíhé le! Dàshèng hé Èrláng, dōu biàn de bǐ shān hái gāo!
Wow! Three hundred rounds! The Great Sage and Erlang have both grown taller than the mountains!
- Erlang Shen 朋友们，放鸟！放狗！
Péngyoumen, fàng niǎo! Fàng gǒu!
Friends, loose the hawks! Loose the hound!
- Little Monkey 大鸟和狗来了！快跑！快跑！
Dà niǎo hé gǒu lái le! Kuài pǎo! Kuài pǎo!
The hawks and the hound are coming! Run!
- Sun Wukong 孩儿们，快跑！……不好，老孙也走！
Hái'érmen, kuài pǎo! … Bù hǎo, Lǎo Sūn yě zǒu!
Children, run! …Oh no, Old Sun had better go too!
- Sun Wukong 变！老孙变成一只小鸟！
Biàn! Lǎo Sūn biànchéng yì zhī xiǎo niǎo!
Change! Old Sun turns into a little bird!
- Erlang Shen 小鸟？那我就变一只大鸟，来吃你！
Xiǎo niǎo? Nà wǒ jiù biàn yì zhī dà niǎo, lái chī nǐ!
A little bird? Then I'll turn into a big bird and eat you!
- Sun Wukong 不好！老孙跳到河里……变！变成一条鱼！
Bù hǎo! Lǎo Sūn tiào dào hé li… Biàn! Biànchéng yì tiáo yú!
Oh no! Into the river… Change! Old Sun turns into a fish!
- Erlang Shen 我再变一只吃鱼的鸟……这条鱼，看见我就跑了？一定是那只猴子！
Wǒ zài biàn yì zhī chī yú de niǎo… Zhè tiáo yú, kànjiàn wǒ jiù pǎo le? Yídìng shì nà zhī hóuzi!
Then I'll be a bird that eats fish… This fish swims off the moment it sees me? It must be that monkey!
- Sun Wukong 变！老孙变成一座小庙：嘴是门，眼睛是两个小洞……
Biàn! Lǎo Sūn biànchéng yí zuò xiǎo miào: zuǐ shì mén, yǎnjing shì liǎng gè xiǎo dòng…
Change! Old Sun becomes a little temple: my mouth is the door, my eyes are two little holes…
- Sun Wukong 尾巴放在哪儿？就放在后边，做一面大旗吧！
Wěiba fàng zài nǎr? Jiù fàng zài hòubian, zuò yí miàn dàqí ba!
And where does the tail go? Just stick it out the back, as a banner!
- Erlang Shen 哈哈！哪有小庙的大旗在后边的？是猴子的尾巴！
Hāhā! Nǎ yǒu xiǎo miào de dàqí zài hòubian de? Shì hóuzi de wěiba!
Ha ha! Who ever saw a little temple with its banner at the back? That's the monkey's tail!
- Erlang Shen 这座庙，我先打两个洞，再打门！
Zhè zuò miào, wǒ xiān dǎ liǎng gè dòng, zài dǎ mén!
As for this temple, first I'll smash the two holes, then the door!
- Sun Wukong 不好！洞是老孙的眼睛，门是老孙的嘴！快跑！
Bù hǎo! Dòng shì Lǎo Sūn de yǎnjing, mén shì Lǎo Sūn de zuǐ! Kuài pǎo!
Oh no! The holes are Old Sun's eyes, and the door is Old Sun's mouth! Run!
- Erlang Shen 又跑了？我看你往哪儿跑！
Yòu pǎo le? Wǒ kàn nǐ wǎng nǎr pǎo!
Gone again? Let's see where you run to now!
- Narrator 南天门上，玉帝、观音菩萨和老君，都在往下看。
Nántiān Mén shang, Yùdì, Guānyīn Púsà hé Lǎojūn, dōu zài wǎng xià kàn.
At the Southern Gate of Heaven, the Jade Emperor, Guanyin and Laozi were all looking down.
- the Jade Emperor 二郎好本领！可是那只猴子，又跑了！
Èrláng hǎo běnlǐng! Kěshì nà zhī hóuzi, yòu pǎo le!
Erlang fights well! But that monkey got away again!
- Guanyin 陛下，让我用瓶子打他一下。
Bìxià, ràng wǒ yòng píngzi dǎ tā yíxià.
Your Majesty, let me strike him once with my vase.
- Laozi, the Supreme Old Lord 菩萨的瓶子，打到他的金箍棒，就坏了。还是用我的金刚琢吧。
Púsà de píngzi, dǎ dào tā de jīn gū bàng, jiù huài le. Háishi yòng wǒ de jīn gāng zhuó ba.
Bodhisattva, your vase would break if it hit his staff. Better use my Diamond Ring.
- Sun Wukong 啊！谁打老孙的头？
À! Shéi dǎ Lǎo Sūn de tóu?
Ow! Who hit Old Sun on the head?
- Narrator 悟空倒了。二郎的狗跑过来，咬了他的腿。
Wùkōng dǎo le. Èrláng de gǒu pǎo guòlai, yǎo le tā de tuǐ.
Wukong fell down. Erlang's hound ran up and bit his leg.
- Sun Wukong 你这只坏狗！敢咬老孙？
Nǐ zhè zhī huài gǒu! Gǎn yǎo Lǎo Sūn?
You bad dog! How dare you bite Old Sun?
- Erlang Shen 朋友们，压住他！拿绳子来，别让他再变！
Péngyoumen, yā zhù tā! Ná shéngzi lái, bié ràng tā zài biàn!
Friends, hold him down! Bring the rope, and don't let him change again!
- Sun Wukong 这绳子……老孙不能动，也不能变了！
Zhè shéngzi… Lǎo Sūn bù néng dòng, yě bù néng biàn le!
This rope… Old Sun can't move, and he can't change either!
- Erlang Shen 猴子，你也有今天！
Hóuzi, nǐ yě yǒu jīntiān!
Well, monkey, your day has come at last!
- Little Monkey 大圣……大圣被抓了！
Dàshèng… Dàshèng bèi zhuā le!
The Great Sage… they've caught the Great Sage!
- the Jade Emperor 把这只猴子带到斩妖台去！
Bǎ zhè zhī hóuzi dài dào Zhǎnyāo Tái qù!
Take this monkey to the Demon-Executing Platform!
- Sun Wukong 斩老孙？哈哈，来吧！
Zhǎn Lǎo Sūn? Hāhā, lái ba!
Behead Old Sun? Ha ha, go ahead and try!
Hear the chapter
What changed in the story?
- Who does Erlang say he is?
“我是玉帝妹妹的儿子，二郎”
- What does Erlang turn into when Wukong becomes a little bird?
“小鸟？那我就变一只大鸟，来吃你”
- How does Erlang know the little temple is really Wukong?
“哪有小庙的大旗在后边的？是猴子的尾巴”
- Why doesn't Laozi want Guanyin to use her vase?
“菩萨的瓶子，打到他的金箍棒，就坏了”
- What happens to Wukong after the ring hits his head?
“二郎的狗跑过来，咬了他的腿”