Journey to the West: The Monkey King · chapter 3 of 8
I Don't Want to Grow Old
我不想老
Years of feasts and fun in the Water Curtain Cave. Then, in the middle of a party, the Monkey King begins to cry.
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- Narrator 很多年过去了。美猴王和猴子们，天天都很高兴。
Hěn duō nián guòqù le. Měi Hóuwáng hé hóuzimen, tiāntiān dōu hěn gāoxìng.
Many years went by. The Monkey King and his monkeys were happy every single day.
- Little Monkey 大王，吃桃子！这个最大，最好吃！
Dàwáng, chī táozi! Zhège zuì dà, zuì hǎochī!
Have a peach, Your Majesty! This one's the biggest and the sweetest!
- Sun Wukong 好！大家一起吃，一起喝！
Hǎo! Dàjiā yìqǐ chī, yìqǐ hē!
Wonderful! Eat up, everyone! Drink up!
- Narrator 可是吃着吃着，美猴王忽然不笑了。
Kěshì chīzhe chīzhe, Měi Hóuwáng hūrán bú xiào le.
But in the middle of the feast, the Monkey King suddenly stopped laughing.
- Little Monkey 大王，你怎么哭了？
Dàwáng, nǐ zěnme kū le?
Your Majesty, why are you crying?
- Sun Wukong 我今天很高兴。可是……以后呢？
Wǒ jīntiān hěn gāoxìng. Kěshì… yǐhòu ne?
I'm happy today. But… what about later on?
- Sun Wukong 爷爷，你老了。以后，我也会老，大家都会老。
Yéye, nǐ lǎo le. Yǐhòu, wǒ yě huì lǎo, dàjiā dōu huì lǎo.
Grandpa, you've grown old. One day I'll be old too. We all will.
- Sun Wukong 老了，就会死。死了，就不能在花果山玩儿了！
Lǎo le, jiù huì sǐ. Sǐ le, jiù bù néng zài Huāguǒ Shān wánr le!
And when we're old, we die. And when we're dead, we can never play on Flower Fruit Mountain again!
- Little Monkey 大王，别说了……我也想哭了。
Dàwáng, bié shuō le… wǒ yě xiǎng kū le.
Stop, Your Majesty… now I want to cry too.
- Old Monkey 大王，别哭。我听说，有的人不会老，也不会死。
Dàwáng, bié kū. Wǒ tīngshuō, yǒude rén bú huì lǎo, yě bú huì sǐ.
Don't cry, Your Majesty. I've heard there are some who never grow old and never die.
- Sun Wukong 什么？真的吗？他们是谁？
Shénme? Zhēnde ma? Tāmen shì shéi?
What? Really? Who are they?
- Old Monkey 他们叫神仙。神仙住在很远很远的山上。
Tāmen jiào shénxiān. Shénxiān zhù zài hěn yuǎn hěn yuǎn de shān shang.
They're called immortals. The immortals live on mountains far, far away.
- Sun Wukong 很远？有多远？
Hěn yuǎn? Yǒu duō yuǎn?
Far away? How far?
- Old Monkey 要过很多大海，很多高山。
Yào guò hěn duō dàhǎi, hěn duō gāoshān.
You'd have to cross many great seas and many high mountains.
- Sun Wukong 神仙不会老……那我去找神仙，跟他学本领！
Shénxiān bú huì lǎo… nà wǒ qù zhǎo shénxiān, gēn tā xué běnlǐng!
The immortals never grow old… Then I'll go and find one, and learn from him!
- Sun Wukong 爷爷，明天我就走！
Yéye, míngtiān wǒ jiù zǒu!
Grandpa, I leave tomorrow!
- Little Monkey 大王，你要走？那我们怎么办？
Dàwáng, nǐ yào zǒu? Nà wǒmen zěnme bàn?
You're leaving, Your Majesty? What will we do?
- Sun Wukong 别怕。我学好了本领，就回来教你们！
Bié pà. Wǒ xué hǎo le běnlǐng, jiù huílái jiào nǐmen!
Don't worry. Once I've learned it all, I'll come back and teach you!
- Narrator 第二天，美猴王用树做了一只小船，一个人走了。
Dì èr tiān, Měi Hóuwáng yòng shù zuò le yì zhī xiǎochuán, yí gè rén zǒu le.
The next day, the Monkey King made a little boat out of trees and set off alone.
- Old Monkey 大王，路上小心！早点儿回来！
Dàwáng, lùshang xiǎoxīn! Zǎo diǎnr huílái!
Take care on the way, Your Majesty! Come back soon!
- Sun Wukong 等我回来！我一定会回来的！
Děng wǒ huílái! Wǒ yídìng huì huílái de!
Wait for me! I'll come back, I promise!
- Narrator 小船越走越远。大海的那边，真的有神仙吗？
Xiǎochuán yuè zǒu yuè yuǎn. Dàhǎi de nàbiān, zhēnde yǒu shénxiān ma?
The little boat sailed farther and farther away. Were there really immortals across the sea?
What changed in the story?
- Why does the Monkey King suddenly cry at the feast?
“我也会老，大家都会老……老了，就会死。”
- According to the old monkey, who never grows old or dies?
“有的人不会老，也不会死……他们叫神仙。神仙住在很远很远的山上。”
- What does the Monkey King decide to do?
“那我去找神仙，跟他学本领！”
- What does he promise the little monkey?
“我学好了本领，就回来教你们！”
- How does the Monkey King leave?
“美猴王用树做了一只小船，一个人走了。”