Journey to the West: The Monkey King · chapter 10 of 25
One Somersault
一个筋斗
Showing off has cost Wukong his place at the master's side. One somersault takes him home at last, but his monkeys are not cheering.
Read what you hear
- Narrator 弟子们都走了。松树下边，祖师看着悟空，一句话也不说。
Dìzǐmen dōu zǒu le. Sōngshù xiàbian, Zǔshī kànzhe Wùkōng, yí jù huà yě bù shuō.
The students hurried away. Under the pines, the master looked at Wukong and said nothing at all.
- Master Subodhi 悟空，我问你：你学的本领，是给别人看的吗？
Wùkōng, wǒ wèn nǐ: nǐ xué de běnlǐng, shì gěi biérén kàn de ma?
Wukong, tell me. The skills you've learned: are they for showing off?
- Master Subodhi 别人看见了，就会来要。你不给，他们就会来打你。
Biérén kànjiàn le, jiù huì lái yào. Nǐ bù gěi, tāmen jiù huì lái dǎ nǐ.
When others see them, they'll want them too. And if you won't give them, they'll come after you.
Chapter 10 is part of SayMei Stories Unlimited ($2.99 a month) and SayMei Premium. Chapters 1–3 of Journey to the West: The Monkey King are free, and The Second Cup of Tea, The Great Race: The Twelve Animals, The Kitchen God, Little Red Riding Hood, The Ugly Duckling, Chang'e and the Moon, Alice in Wonderland and Judge Dee's Cases are free from start to finish.
- Sun Wukong 师父，弟子错了！弟子以后不敢了！
Shīfu, dìzǐ cuò le! Dìzǐ yǐhòu bù gǎn le!
Master, I was wrong! I'll never dare do it again!
- Master Subodhi 我不打你。可是，你得走了。
Wǒ bù dǎ nǐ. Kěshì, nǐ děi zǒu le.
I won't punish you. But you must go.
- Sun Wukong 师父要赶我走？弟子……弟子去哪儿呢？
Shīfu yào gǎn wǒ zǒu? Dìzǐ… dìzǐ qù nǎr ne?
You're sending me away, Master? But… where would I go?
- Master Subodhi 你从哪里来，就回哪里去。
Nǐ cóng nǎli lái, jiù huí nǎli qù.
Go back to where you came from.
- Sun Wukong 花果山……弟子离开家二十年了。可是师父对我这么好，我还没有谢谢您……
Huāguǒ Shān… dìzǐ líkāi jiā èrshí nián le. Kěshì shīfu duì wǒ zhème hǎo, wǒ hái méiyǒu xièxie nín…
Flower Fruit Mountain… I've been away from home for twenty years. But you've been so good to me, Master, and I've never even thanked you…
- Master Subodhi 不用谢我。以后，你别做坏事，就好了。
Búyòng xiè wǒ. Yǐhòu, nǐ bié zuò huàishì, jiù hǎo le.
You needn't thank me. Just stay out of trouble from now on. That's all.
- Master Subodhi 还有：你到了哪里，都不能说你是我的徒弟。这是我们的秘密！
Hái yǒu: nǐ dào le nǎli, dōu bù néng shuō nǐ shì wǒ de túdì. Zhè shì wǒmen de mìmì!
And one more thing. Wherever you go, you must never say you were my disciple. That is our secret!
- Master Subodhi 你这猢狲！你说半个字，我就知道。我不会放过你！
Nǐ zhè húsūn! Nǐ shuō bàn gè zì, wǒ jiù zhīdào. Wǒ bú huì fàngguò nǐ!
You monkey! Say even half a word, and I will know. And I will never forgive you!
- Sun Wukong 弟子不说！一个字也不说！我就说，本领都是我自己学的！
Dìzǐ bù shuō! Yí gè zì yě bù shuō! Wǒ jiù shuō, běnlǐng dōu shì wǒ zìjǐ xué de!
I won't tell! Not a single word! I'll say I learned it all myself!
- Sun Wukong 师父，弟子走了……
Shīfu, dìzǐ zǒu le…
Master… I'm going now…
- Narrator 悟空向祖师拜了三拜，跳到筋斗云上，向东飞去。
Wùkōng xiàng Zǔshī bài le sān bài, tiào dào jīndǒuyún shang, xiàng dōng fēi qù.
Wukong bowed to his master three times, leapt onto his somersault cloud and flew away east.
- Sun Wukong 一个筋斗，十万八千里！去的时候，我走了十多年。回来，还不到两个小时！
Yí gè jīndǒu, shíwàn bāqiān lǐ! Qù de shíhou, wǒ zǒu le shí duō nián. Huílai, hái bú dào liǎng gè xiǎoshí!
One somersault, a hundred and eight thousand li! Going, it took me more than ten years. Coming back, not even two hours!
- Sun Wukong 那是……花果山！我到家了！
Nà shì… Huāguǒ Shān! Wǒ dào jiā le!
That's… Flower Fruit Mountain! I'm home!
- Sun Wukong 孩儿们，我回来了！
Hái'érmen, wǒ huílai le!
Children, I'm home!
- Narrator 石头后边，大树上，草里，好多好多猴子跳了出来。
Shítou hòubian, dà shù shang, cǎo li, hǎo duō hǎo duō hóuzi tiào le chūlai.
From behind the rocks, out of the big trees and the grass, monkeys came leaping, more than anyone could count.
- Little Monkey 天哪！真的是大王！大王回来了！
Tiān na! Zhēn de shì dàwáng! Dàwáng huílai le!
Oh my! It really is Your Majesty! Our king is back!
- Old Monkey 大王，你去了这么久，我们天天等啊！……可是，你怎么一点儿也没老？
Dàwáng, nǐ qù le zhème jiǔ, wǒmen tiāntiān děng a! … Kěshì, nǐ zěnme yìdiǎnr yě méi lǎo?
Your Majesty, you were gone so long, and we waited every single day! …But how come you haven't grown any older?
- Sun Wukong 哈哈！我学了不老的本领啊！……你们怎么都在哭？
Hāhā! Wǒ xué le bù lǎo de běnlǐng a! … Nǐmen zěnme dōu zài kū?
Ha ha! I learned how never to grow old! …Why is everyone crying?
- Little Monkey 大王，有一个妖怪……他天天来打我们，抓我们！
Dàwáng, yǒu yí gè yāoguài… tā tiāntiān lái dǎ wǒmen, zhuā wǒmen!
Your Majesty, there's a demon… he comes every day to beat us and grab us!
- Old Monkey 他叫混世魔王。他来的时候，有风，有雷。他要我们的水帘洞！
Tā jiào Hùnshì Mówáng. Tā lái de shíhou, yǒu fēng, yǒu léi. Tā yào wǒmen de Shuǐlián Dòng!
He calls himself the Demon King of Chaos. When he comes, there's wind, and there's thunder. He wants our Water Curtain Cave!
- Little Monkey 他还把我们的东西都带走了，还抓走了我们好多孩子！
Tā hái bǎ wǒmen de dōngxi dōu dài zǒu le, hái zhuā zǒu le wǒmen hǎo duō háizi!
He's carried off all our things, and he's taken lots of our children too!
- Old Monkey 大王，你再晚一点儿回来，我们的家就没有了！
Dàwáng, nǐ zài wǎn yìdiǎnr huílai, wǒmen de jiā jiù méiyǒu le!
Your Majesty, if you'd come home any later, we'd have no home left!
- Sun Wukong 什么？谁敢打我的孩儿们？他在哪儿？
Shénme? Shéi gǎn dǎ wǒ de hái'érmen? Tā zài nǎr?
What? Who dares to hurt my monkeys? Where is he?
Hear the chapter
What changed in the story?
- Why does the master send Wukong away?
“你学的本领，是给别人看的吗？”
- What must Wukong never tell anyone?
“你到了哪里，都不能说你是我的徒弟。”
- How long does the flight home take?
“回来，还不到两个小时！”
- What surprises Old Monkey when the king comes home?
“你怎么一点儿也没老？”
- What has the Demon King of Chaos done?
“他还把我们的东西都带走了，还抓走了我们好多孩子！”