Journey to the West: The Four Pilgrims · chapter 14 of 25
Fire at the Temple
大火
The monks set fire to the guests' house, but Wukong's wind turns it on the whole temple, and in the blaze someone carries off the shining cassock.
Read what you hear
- Narrator 那天夜里，悟空变得很小很小，从门下边飞了出去。
Nà tiān yèlǐ, Wùkōng biàn de hěn xiǎo hěn xiǎo, cóng mén xiàbian fēi le chūqu.
That night Wukong made himself very, very small and flew out under the door.
- Sun Wukong 柴？这么多柴！他们要放火烧我们！
Chái? Zhème duō chái! Tāmen yào fànghuǒ shāo wǒmen!
Firewood? So much firewood! They mean to burn us!
- Sun Wukong 打死他们？不行，师父又要念了……有了！老孙去天上，跟神借一个不怕火的宝贝！
Dǎsǐ tāmen? Bù xíng, shīfu yòu yào niàn le… Yǒu le! Lǎo Sūn qù tiānshàng, gēn shén jiè yí gè bú pà huǒ de bǎobèi!
Kill them? No, Master would start chanting again... I've got it! Old Sun will go up to heaven and borrow a fireproof treasure from a god!
Chapter 14 is part of SayMei Stories ($2.99 a month) and SayMei Premium. Part 1 of Journey to the West: The Four Pilgrims (chapters 1–5) is free, and The Second Cup of Tea, The Great Race: The Twelve Animals, The Kitchen God, Little Red Riding Hood, Beauty and the Beast, Chang'e and the Moon, Alice in Wonderland and Judge Dee's Cases are free from start to finish.
- Narrator 一个筋斗去，一个筋斗回。悟空把宝贝放在了唐僧的房子上边。
Yí gè jīndǒu qù, yí gè jīndǒu huí. Wùkōng bǎ bǎobèi fàng zài le Táng Sēng de fángzi shàngbian.
One somersault there, one somersault back. Wukong set the treasure over the house where Tang Seng was sleeping.
- Sun Wukong 你们真的放火了？好，老孙再给你们一点风！
Nǐmen zhēn de fànghuǒ le? Hǎo, Lǎo Sūn zài gěi nǐmen yìdiǎn fēng!
So you really set the fire? Fine, Old Sun will give you a little wind as well!
- the Black Bear Demon 好大的火！我在黑风山都看见了。我的老朋友在那里……我去帮帮他！
Hǎo dà de huǒ! Wǒ zài Hēifēng Shān dōu kànjiàn le. Wǒ de lǎo péngyou zài nàlǐ… wǒ qù bāngbang tā!
What a fire! I can see it from Black Wind Mountain. My old friend lives there... I'll go and help him!
- the Black Bear Demon 这是什么光？一件袈裟……真是宝贝！
Zhè shì shénme guāng? Yí jiàn jiāshā… zhēn shì bǎobèi!
What is that light? A cassock... a real treasure!
- the Black Bear Demon 火这么大，谁也不会知道。这不是偷……是帮他拿着！
Huǒ zhème dà, shéi yě bú huì zhīdào. Zhè bú shì tōu… shì bāng tā názhe!
With a fire this big, nobody will know. This isn't stealing... I'm just holding it for him!
- Sun Wukong 烧吧，烧吧！老孙的师父，一点事也没有！
Shāo ba, shāo ba! Lǎo Sūn de shīfu, yìdiǎn shì yě méiyǒu!
Burn away, burn away! Old Sun's master is perfectly fine!
- Tang Seng 天亮了……悟空！观音院怎么都烧没了？
Tiān liàng le… Wùkōng! Guānyīn Yuàn zěnme dōu shāo méi le?
It's morning... Wukong! Why has the whole Guanyin Temple burned down?
- Sun Wukong 他们想放火烧我们，老孙只给火加了一点风。
Tāmen xiǎng fànghuǒ shāo wǒmen, Lǎo Sūn zhǐ gěi huǒ jiā le yìdiǎn fēng.
They wanted to burn us. Old Sun only added a little wind to their fire.
- Tang Seng 你……这么多和尚，都没有家了！
Nǐ… zhème duō héshang, dōu méiyǒu jiā le!
You... all these monks have lost their home!
- Sun Wukong 是他们先放火的！
Shì tāmen xiān fànghuǒ de!
They started the fire first!
- Tang Seng 马呢？东西呢？
Mǎ ne? Dōngxi ne?
The horse? Our things?
- Sun Wukong 放心，马和马鞍都好好的，东西也都在。
Fàngxīn, mǎ hé mǎ'ān dōu hǎohǎo de, dōngxi yě dōu zài.
Don't worry. The horse and the saddle are fine, and our things are all here.
- Tang Seng 袈裟呢？袈裟还在老和尚那里！
Jiāshā ne? Jiāshā hái zài lǎo héshang nàlǐ!
And the cassock? The cassock is still with the old monk!
- the Old Abbot 袈裟……袈裟不见了！
Jiāshā… jiāshā bú jiàn le!
The cassock... the cassock is gone!
- Narrator 老和尚觉得没脸见人，不想活了。那天早上，他死了。
Lǎo héshang juéde méi liǎn jiàn rén, bù xiǎng huó le. Nà tiān zǎoshang, tā sǐ le.
The old monk was too ashamed to face anyone, and he no longer wanted to live. That morning, he died.
- Tang Seng 都是我们不好……悟空，我说过，宝贝不要给人看！你不听……
Dōu shì wǒmen bù hǎo… Wùkōng, wǒ shuō guo, bǎobèi bú yào gěi rén kàn! Nǐ bù tīng…
It's all our fault... Wukong, I told you not to show treasures to people! You wouldn't listen...
- Sun Wukong 头好疼！头好疼！师父别念了！老孙去找！
Tóu hǎo téng! Tóu hǎo téng! Shīfu bié niàn le! Lǎo Sūn qù zhǎo!
My head hurts! My head hurts! Stop chanting, Master! Old Sun will go and find it!
- Tang Seng 你去哪儿找？
Nǐ qù nǎr zhǎo?
And where will you look?
- Narrator 一个小和尚小声说：“黑风山的黑大王，是我们师父的老朋友……”
Yí gè xiǎo héshang xiǎoshēng shuō: “Hēifēng Shān de Hēi Dàwáng, shì wǒmen shīfu de lǎo péngyou…”
A young monk said softly, “The black king of Black Wind Mountain is our master's old friend...”
- Sun Wukong 老朋友？一定是他拿的！师父，你在这里等着，老孙说到做到。老孙去也！
Lǎo péngyou? Yídìng shì tā ná de! Shīfu, nǐ zài zhèlǐ děngzhe, Lǎo Sūn shuō dào zuò dào. Lǎo Sūn qù yě!
Old friend? Then he must have taken it! Master, wait here. Old Sun keeps his word. Old Sun is off!
- Narrator 黑风山上，三个人坐在草地上说话。
Hēifēng Shān shàng, sān gè rén zuò zài cǎodì shàng shuōhuà.
On Black Wind Mountain, three figures sat on the grass, talking.
- the Black Bear Demon 明天是我的生日。我有了一件好袈裟，就开一个“佛衣会”吧！
Míngtiān shì wǒ de shēngrì. Wǒ yǒu le yí jiàn hǎo jiāshā, jiù kāi yí gè “Fóyī Huì” ba!
Tomorrow is my birthday. I've got a wonderful cassock, so let's hold a Buddha Robe Feast!
- Sun Wukong 什么佛衣会？那是老孙的袈裟！
Shénme Fóyī Huì? Nà shì Lǎo Sūn de jiāshā!
A Buddha Robe Feast? That's Old Sun's cassock!
Hear the chapter
What changed in the story?
- Why doesn't Wukong kill the monks who want to burn them?
“打死他们？不行，师父又要念了……”
- What does Wukong borrow from heaven?
“跟神借一个不怕火的宝贝！”
- Why does the black king say he is coming to the temple?
“我的老朋友在那里……我去帮帮他！”
- What happens to the old monk that morning?
“老和尚觉得没脸见人，不想活了。那天早上，他死了。”
- Why does the black king want a Buddha Robe Feast?
“明天是我的生日。我有了一件好袈裟”