Journey to the West: The Monkey King · chapter 2 of 25
The Water Curtain Cave
水帘洞
Behind the roaring waterfall, Stone Monkey finds something no monkey has ever seen. A promise is kept, a king gets a new name, and then, in the middle of a feast, he goes quiet.
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Read what you hear
- Narrator 瀑布前边，猴子们都看着石猴。他往前一跳，跳到了瀑布里。
Pùbù qiánbian, hóuzimen dōu kànzhe Shí Hóu. Tā wǎngqián yí tiào, tiào dào le pùbù li.
At the foot of the waterfall, every monkey was watching Stone Monkey. He took one leap forward, right into the falling water.
- Sun Wukong 啊？没有水！奇怪，这里一点儿水也没有！
Á? Méiyǒu shuǐ! Qíguài, zhèli yìdiǎnr shuǐ yě méiyǒu!
Huh? No water! That's strange, there isn't a drop of water in here!
- Sun Wukong 这儿有一座铁桥！铁桥后边……是一个大洞！
Zhèr yǒu yí zuò tiěqiáo! Tiěqiáo hòubian… shì yí gè dà dòng!
There's an iron bridge here! And behind the iron bridge… a great big cave!
- Sun Wukong 石头床、石头碗，还有做饭的地方！大石头上还写着字：水帘洞！
Shítou chuáng, shítou wǎn, hái yǒu zuòfàn de dìfang! Dà shítou shang hái xiězhe zì: Shuǐlián Dòng!
Stone beds, stone bowls, even a place to cook! And there's writing on the big stone: Water Curtain Cave!
- Little Monkey 石猴出来了！石猴出来了！你没事吧？
Shí Hóu chūlai le! Shí Hóu chūlai le! Nǐ méishì ba?
Stone Monkey's back! Stone Monkey's back! Are you all right?
- Sun Wukong 哈哈，太好了！太好了！里边没有水，有一座铁桥，还有一个家！
Hāhā, tài hǎo le! Tài hǎo le! Lǐbian méiyǒu shuǐ, yǒu yí zuò tiěqiáo, hái yǒu yí gè jiā!
Ha ha, what luck! What luck! There's no water in there. There's an iron bridge, and even a home!
- Old Monkey 一个家？在瀑布后边？
Yí gè jiā? Zài pùbù hòubian?
A home? Behind the waterfall?
- Sun Wukong 对！床、碗都有，大家都住得下。这是天地给我们的家！跟我来！
Duì! Chuáng, wǎn dōu yǒu, dàjiā dōu zhù de xià. Zhè shì tiāndì gěi wǒmen de jiā! Gēn wǒ lái!
Yes! Beds, bowls, everything, and room for us all. It's a home that heaven and earth made for us! Follow me!
- Narrator 不怕的猴子马上跟着他跳了进去。
Bú pà de hóuzi mǎshàng gēnzhe tā tiào le jìnqu.
The brave monkeys jumped in right behind him.
- Little Monkey 我……我不敢！水声那么大……爷爷，你先跳！
Wǒ… wǒ bù gǎn! Shuǐ shēng nàme dà… yéye, nǐ xiān tiào!
I… I don't dare! The water's so loud… Grandpa, you jump first!
- Old Monkey 好，好，爷爷先跳。孩子，别怕，跟着我！
Hǎo, hǎo, yéye xiān tiào. Háizi, bié pà, gēnzhe wǒ!
All right, all right, Grandpa will go first. Don't be scared, child. Follow me!
- Little Monkey 一，二，三……啊！我进来了！哈哈，真的没有水！
Yī, èr, sān… à! Wǒ jìnlai le! Hāhā, zhēn de méiyǒu shuǐ!
One, two, three… aaah! I'm in! Ha ha, there really isn't any water!
- Old Monkey 慢一点儿！慢一点儿！碗和床，大家都有！
Màn yìdiǎnr! Màn yìdiǎnr! Wǎn hé chuáng, dàjiā dōu yǒu!
Slow down! Slow down! There are bowls and beds for everyone!
- Little Monkey 这个碗是我的！这儿是我的床！
Zhège wǎn shì wǒ de! Zhèr shì wǒ de chuáng!
This bowl's mine! And this bed is mine!
- Sun Wukong 大家听着！你们说过：谁能进去，再出来，就叫他大王。这话还算不算？
Dàjiā tīngzhe! Nǐmen shuō guo: shéi néng jìnqu, zài chūlai, jiù jiào tā dàwáng. Zhè huà hái suàn bu suàn?
Listen, everyone! You said that whoever could go in and come back out would be king. Does that still count?
- Old Monkey 算！算！大王说得对。大家，快拜大王！
Suàn! Suàn! Dàwáng shuō de duì. Dàjiā, kuài bài dàwáng!
It counts! It counts! His Majesty is right. Everyone, quick, bow to our king!
- Little Monkey 大王！千岁大王！
Dàwáng! Qiānsuì dàwáng!
Your Majesty! Our king of a thousand years!
- Sun Wukong 好！从今天起，我不叫石猴了。我叫……美猴王！
Hǎo! Cóng jīntiān qǐ, wǒ bú jiào Shí Hóu le. Wǒ jiào… Měi Hóuwáng!
Good! From today on, I'm not Stone Monkey anymore. I'm… the Handsome Monkey King!
- Little Monkey 美猴王？哈哈，大王，你真好看！
Měi Hóuwáng? Hāhā, dàwáng, nǐ zhēn hǎokàn!
The Handsome Monkey King? Ha ha, Your Majesty, you really are handsome!
- Narrator 一年又一年，猴子们白天在花果山上玩儿，晚上回水帘洞睡觉。
Yì nián yòu yì nián, hóuzimen báitiān zài Huāguǒ Shān shang wánr, wǎnshang huí Shuǐlián Dòng shuìjiào.
Year after year, the monkeys played on Flower Fruit Mountain by day and slept in the Water Curtain Cave by night.
- Little Monkey 春天看花，夏天吃果子，秋天……还是吃果子！
Chūntiān kàn huā, xiàtiān chī guǒzi, qiūtiān… háishi chī guǒzi!
In spring we look at flowers, in summer we eat fruit, and in autumn… we eat more fruit!
- Old Monkey 那冬天呢？
Nà dōngtiān ne?
And in winter?
- Little Monkey 冬天？也吃果子！哈哈！
Dōngtiān? Yě chī guǒzi! Hāhā!
In winter? We eat fruit too! Ha ha!
- Old Monkey 大王，今天又有好吃的！大家一起喝！
Dàwáng, jīntiān yòu yǒu hǎochī de! Dàjiā yìqǐ hē!
Your Majesty, there's good food again today! Let's all drink together!
- Sun Wukong 哈哈，好！喝！我们天天都这么高兴！
Hāhā, hǎo! Hē! Wǒmen tiāntiān dōu zhème gāoxìng!
Ha ha, yes! Drink! We're this happy every single day!
- Narrator 可是，美猴王忽然不笑了。他看着大家，很久没有说话。
Kěshì, Měi Hóuwáng hūrán bú xiào le. Tā kànzhe dàjiā, hěn jiǔ méiyǒu shuōhuà.
But suddenly the Handsome Monkey King stopped laughing. He looked around at them all, and for a long time he said nothing.
- Little Monkey 大王，你……你怎么哭了？
Dàwáng, nǐ… nǐ zěnme kū le?
Your Majesty… why are you crying?
What changed in the story?
- What does Stone Monkey find behind the waterfall?
“这儿有一座铁桥……石头床、石头碗，还有做饭的地方”
- Why doesn't Little Monkey want to jump at first?
“我不敢！水声那么大”
- How does Stone Monkey become king?
“你们说过……这话还算不算？”
- What new name does he give himself?
“我不叫石猴了。我叫……美猴王！”
- What does Little Monkey notice at the feast?
“你怎么哭了？”