Journey to the West: The Monkey King · chapter 2 of 8
The Water Curtain Cave
水帘洞
The monkeys find a roaring waterfall, and the old monkey makes a promise: whoever goes through it and comes back will be their king.
Hear the chapter
Read what you hear
- Narrator 猴子们跟着河水，来到了大瀑布前边。
Hóuzimen gēnzhe héshuǐ, láidào le dà pùbù qiánbian.
Following the river, the monkeys came to the foot of the great waterfall.
- Little Monkey 爷爷，水太大了！瀑布后边有什么？
Yéye, shuǐ tài dà le! Pùbù hòubian yǒu shénme?
Grandpa, there's so much water! What's behind the waterfall?
- Old Monkey 孩子们，听我说！谁能进去，再出来，我们就叫他大王！
Háizimen, tīng wǒ shuō! Shéi néng jìnqù, zài chūlái, wǒmen jiù jiào tā dàwáng!
Listen to me, everyone! Whoever can go in there and come back out, we'll make him our king!
- Little Monkey 我不去！我怕！
Wǒ bú qù! Wǒ pà!
Not me! I'm scared!
- Old Monkey 你呢？你呢？你们都不敢吗？
Nǐ ne? Nǐ ne? Nǐmen dōu bù gǎn ma?
What about you? Or you? Doesn't anyone dare?
- Sun Wukong 我去！我去！
Wǒ qù! Wǒ qù!
I'll go! I'll go!
- Old Monkey 石猴，你不怕吗？
Shí Hóu, nǐ bú pà ma?
Stone Monkey, aren't you scared?
- Sun Wukong 不怕！你们在这里等我！
Bú pà! Nǐmen zài zhèlǐ děng wǒ!
Not a bit! Wait for me here!
- Little Monkey 啊！他跳了进去！他真的跳了进去！
A! Tā tiào le jìnqù! Tā zhēnde tiào le jìnqù!
Oh! He jumped in! He really jumped in!
- Sun Wukong 啊？这里没有水！是一个大洞！
A? Zhèlǐ méiyǒu shuǐ! Shì yí gè dà dòng!
Huh? There's no water in here! It's a big cave!
- Sun Wukong 有床，有桌子，有碗……都是石头的！
Yǒu chuáng, yǒu zhuōzi, yǒu wǎn… dōu shì shítou de!
Beds, tables, bowls… all made of stone!
- Sun Wukong 石头上还写着：水帘洞。
Shítou shang hái xiězhe: Shuǐlián Dòng.
And there's writing on the stone: Water Curtain Cave.
- Narrator 石猴又跳了出来，站在瀑布前边的大石头上。
Shí Hóu yòu tiào le chūlái, zhàn zài pùbù qiánbian de dà shítou shang.
Stone Monkey leaped back out and stood on a big rock in front of the waterfall.
- Sun Wukong 我回来了！里边没有水，有一个大洞！
Wǒ huílái le! Lǐbian méiyǒu shuǐ, yǒu yí gè dà dòng!
I'm back! There's no water inside, just a big cave!
- Old Monkey 好！好！你进去了，也回来了！
Hǎo! Hǎo! Nǐ jìnqù le, yě huílái le!
Bravo! Bravo! You went in, and you came back!
- Sun Wukong 里边能住很多很多猴子！大家跟我来！别怕，跳！
Lǐbian néng zhù hěn duō hěn duō hóuzi! Dàjiā gēn wǒ lái! Bié pà, tiào!
There's room in there for lots and lots of monkeys! Everyone, follow me! Don't be scared. Jump!
- Little Monkey 真的没有水！床，桌子，碗，都是石头的！
Zhēnde méiyǒu shuǐ! Chuáng, zhuōzi, wǎn, dōu shì shítou de!
It's true, there's no water! Beds, tables, bowls, all made of stone!
- Old Monkey 我们说过，谁能进去再出来，谁就做大王。
Wǒmen shuō guo, shéi néng jìnqù zài chūlái, shéi jiù zuò dàwáng.
We made a promise: whoever went in and came back out would be our king.
- Old Monkey 大王，请坐！
Dàwáng, qǐng zuò!
Your Majesty, please take your seat!
- Sun Wukong 好！我不叫石猴了。我是……美猴王！
Hǎo! Wǒ bú jiào Shí Hóu le. Wǒ shì… Měi Hóuwáng!
Very well! I'm not Stone Monkey anymore. I am… the Handsome Monkey King!
- Little Monkey 美猴王！美猴王！
Měi Hóuwáng! Měi Hóuwáng!
Handsome Monkey King! Handsome Monkey King!
- Narrator 那时候，猴子们以为，这样快乐的日子，永远不会完。
Nà shíhou, hóuzimen yǐwéi, zhèyàng kuàilè de rìzi, yǒngyuǎn bú huì wán.
Back then, the monkeys thought days as happy as these would never end.
What changed in the story?
- What does the old monkey promise?
“谁能进去，再出来，我们就叫他大王！”
- How does the little monkey answer the challenge?
“我不去！我怕！”
- What does Stone Monkey find behind the waterfall?
“这里没有水！是一个大洞！……有床，有桌子，有碗……都是石头的！”
- What is written on the stone inside?
“石头上还写着：水帘洞。”
- What new name does Stone Monkey give himself?
“我不叫石猴了。我是……美猴王！”