Journey to the West: The Flaming Mountains · chapter 1 of 6
The Mountain of Fire
火焰山
Autumn should be cool, but the road ahead is on fire. A cake seller knows the only cure, and the person who owns it hates the Monkey King.
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Read what you hear
- Narrator 已经是秋天了，可是路上热得像夏天一样。
Yǐjīng shì qiūtiān le, kěshì lùshang rè de xiàng xiàtiān yíyàng.
It was already autumn, but the road was as hot as summer.
- Zhu Bajie 大师兄，我不走了！我的脚好热！
Dàshīxiōng, wǒ bù zǒu le! Wǒ de jiǎo hǎo rè!
Big Brother, I'm done walking! My feet are so hot!
- Sun Wukong 奇怪，秋天怎么这么热？前面还有红光。
Qíguài, qiūtiān zěnme zhème rè? Qiánmiàn hái yǒu hóng guāng.
Strange. Why is autumn so hot? And there's a red glow ahead.
- Tang Seng 悟空，我好渴。前面是什么地方？
Wùkōng, wǒ hǎo kě. Qiánmiàn shì shénme dìfang?
Wukong, I'm so thirsty. What is that place ahead?
- Sun Wukong 师父，前面有一座大山。山上都是火，一直烧到天上！
Shīfu, qiánmiàn yǒu yí zuò dà shān. Shān shàng dōu shì huǒ, yìzhí shāo dào tiānshang!
Master, there's a big mountain ahead. It's all fire, burning right up to the sky!
- Zhu Bajie 火？！那我们怎么过去？
Huǒ?! Nà wǒmen zěnme guòqù?
Fire?! Then how do we get across?
- Sha Wujing 山很长，我们走不过去。
Shān hěn cháng, wǒmen zǒu bú guòqù.
The mountains are long. We can't walk across.
- Tang Seng 可是我们要一直往西走啊。西天还很远呢。
Kěshì wǒmen yào yìzhí wǎng xī zǒu a. Xītiān hái hěn yuǎn ne.
But we have to keep going west. The Western Heaven is still far away.
- Zhu Bajie 大师兄，你会飞！飞过去吧！
Dàshīxiōng, nǐ huì fēi! Fēi guòqù ba!
Big Brother, you can fly! Just fly across!
- Sun Wukong 山这么高，火这么大。我的毛都会烧起来！
Shān zhème gāo, huǒ zhème dà. Wǒ de máo dōu huì shāo qǐlái!
The mountain's so tall and the fire so big. My fur would go up in flames!
- Old Cake Seller 热饼！刚做好的热饼！
Rè bǐng! Gāng zuò hǎo de rè bǐng!
Hot cakes! Fresh hot cakes!
- Zhu Bajie 饼！我要三个！你在哪儿做的？
Bǐng! Wǒ yào sān gè! Nǐ zài nǎr zuò de?
Cakes! I'll take three! Where did you bake them?
- Old Cake Seller 就在这块石头上。山这么热，饼放一会儿就好了。
Jiù zài zhè kuài shítou shang. Shān zhème rè, bǐng fàng yíhuìr jiù hǎo le.
Right on this rock. The mountain is so hot, the cakes are done in a moment.
- Zhu Bajie 真好吃！又热又香！我喜欢这座山！
Zhēn hǎochī! Yòu rè yòu xiāng! Wǒ xǐhuan zhè zuò shān!
So good! Hot and tasty! I love this mountain!
- Sun Wukong 八戒，别高兴得太早。这座山不让我们过去。
Bājiè, bié gāoxìng de tài zǎo. Zhè zuò shān bú ràng wǒmen guòqù.
Bajie, don't celebrate too soon. This mountain won't let us through.
- Tang Seng 老人家，请问，怎么才能过火焰山？
Lǎorénjia, qǐngwèn, zěnme cái néng guò Huǒyàn Shān?
Elder, may I ask, how can we cross the Flaming Mountains?
- Old Cake Seller 只有一个办法：借铁扇公主的芭蕉扇。一扇，火就没有了。
Zhǐyǒu yí gè bànfǎ: jiè Tiě Shàn Gōngzhǔ de bājiāo shàn. Yì shān, huǒ jiù méiyǒu le.
There's only one way: borrow Princess Iron Fan's banana-leaf fan. One wave, and the fire is gone.
- Sun Wukong 铁扇公主……又是她。
Tiě Shàn Gōngzhǔ… yòu shì tā.
Princess Iron Fan… it would be her.
- Zhu Bajie 大师兄，她是善财的妈妈。她会帮我们吧？
Dàshīxiōng, tā shì Shàncái de māma. Tā huì bāng wǒmen ba?
Big Brother, she's Shancai's mother. She'll help us, won't she?
- Sun Wukong 不会。她的儿子去做了小和尚，她一直很生我的气。
Bú huì. Tā de érzi qù zuò le xiǎo héshang, tā yìzhí hěn shēng wǒ de qì.
No. Her son went off to be a little monk, and she's been angry with me ever since.
- Old Cake Seller 对。谁去借扇子，她一扇，就把谁吹到五万里以外。
Duì. Shéi qù jiè shànzi, tā yì shān, jiù bǎ shéi chuī dào wǔ wàn lǐ yǐwài.
Right. Whoever goes to borrow the fan, she waves it once and blows him fifty thousand li away.
- Zhu Bajie 五万里？！那是多远？
Wǔ wàn lǐ?! Nà shì duō yuǎn?
Fifty thousand li?! How far is that?
- Sha Wujing 走一年，也走不到。可能要走两年。
Zǒu yì nián, yě zǒu bú dào. Kěnéng yào zǒu liǎng nián.
You couldn't walk it in a year. Maybe two.
- Tang Seng 悟空，那太危险了。我们再想想办法吧。
Wùkōng, nà tài wēixiǎn le. Wǒmen zài xiǎngxiang bànfǎ ba.
Wukong, that's too dangerous. Let's think of another way.
- Sun Wukong 师父，别怕。老孙有办法，我去看看！
Shīfu, bié pà. Lǎo Sūn yǒu bànfǎ, wǒ qù kànkan!
Don't worry, Master. Old Sun has a plan. I'll go take a look!
- Tang Seng 悟空，你要小心。
Wùkōng, nǐ yào xiǎoxīn.
Wukong, be careful.
- Sun Wukong 放心！我最小心了！
Fàngxīn! Wǒ zuì xiǎoxīn le!
Don't worry! I'm the most careful of all!
- Old Cake Seller 芭蕉洞在西南。大圣，路上小心。
Bājiāo Dòng zài xīnán. Dàshèng, lùshang xiǎoxīn.
Banana Cave is to the southwest. Great Sage, be careful on the way.
- Sun Wukong 咦？我还没说我是谁，你怎么知道我是大圣？
Yí? Wǒ hái méi shuō wǒ shì shéi, nǐ zěnme zhīdào wǒ shì Dàshèng?
Huh? I never said who I am. How do you know I'm the Great Sage?
- Old Cake Seller 我知道的事，比你想的多。快去吧。
Wǒ zhīdào de shì, bǐ nǐ xiǎng de duō. Kuài qù ba.
I know more than you think. Off you go.
What changed in the story?
- What is strange about the road at the start?
“已经是秋天了，可是路上热得像夏天一样。”
- How does the old man bake his cakes?
“就在这块石头上。山这么热，饼放一会儿就好了。”
- What can put out the fire?
“借铁扇公主的芭蕉扇。一扇，火就没有了。”
- Why will the princess not want to help Wukong?
“她的儿子去做了小和尚，她一直很生我的气。”
- What happens to people who try to borrow the fan?
“她一扇，就把谁吹到五万里以外。”