Journey to the West: The Four Pilgrims · chapter 1 of 8
The Monkey Under the Mountain
五行山下
Five hundred years under a mountain is a long time for a monkey. Then one morning a young monk comes down the road, and he might be the one the monkey has waited for.
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Read what you hear
- Narrator 五百年过去了。五行山下，还压着那只猴子。
Wǔbǎi nián guòqù le. Wǔxíng Shān xià, hái yāzhe nà zhī hóuzi.
Five hundred years went by, and that monkey was still pinned under Five Elements Mountain.
- Sun Wukong 唉！老孙的头上都长草了！观音菩萨说会有人来救我。人呢？
Ài! Lǎo Sūn de tóu shang dōu zhǎng cǎo le! Guānyīn Púsà shuō huì yǒu rén lái jiù wǒ. Rén ne?
Ugh! There's grass growing on Old Sun's head! Guanyin said someone would come to save me. So where are they?
- Narrator 这天早上，一个叫唐僧的年轻和尚，骑着马从东边来了。
Zhè tiān zǎoshang, yí gè jiào Táng Sēng de niánqīng héshang, qízhe mǎ cóng dōngbian lái le.
That morning, a young monk named Tang Seng came riding a horse from the east.
- Sun Wukong 师父，师父！你来了，你终于来了！
Shīfu, shīfu! Nǐ lái le, nǐ zhōngyú lái le!
Master, Master! You're here, you're finally here!
- Tang Seng 啊，谁？谁在叫我？
A, shéi? Shéi zài jiào wǒ?
Ah, who's there? Who's calling me?
- Sun Wukong 在这儿，在山下面！你往下看！
Zài zhèr, zài shān xiàmiàn! Nǐ wǎng xià kàn!
Down here, under the mountain! Look down!
- Tang Seng 一只猴子，在石头下面？你……你是妖怪吗？
Yì zhī hóuzi, zài shítou xiàmiàn? Nǐ… nǐ shì yāoguài ma?
A monkey, under the rocks? Are you... are you a demon?
- Sun Wukong 老孙不是妖怪！老孙是齐天大圣孙悟空！
Lǎo Sūn bú shì yāoguài! Lǎo Sūn shì Qítiān Dàshèng Sūn Wùkōng!
Old Sun is no demon! Old Sun is Sun Wukong, the Great Sage Equal to Heaven!
- Tang Seng 齐天大圣？那你怎么在山下面呢？
Qítiān Dàshèng? Nà nǐ zěnme zài shān xiàmiàn ne?
The Great Sage Equal to Heaven? Then what are you doing under a mountain?
- Sun Wukong 这个……说来话长。老孙以前，做了一点点错事，就是……大闹了一下天宫。
Zhège… shuō lái huà cháng. Lǎo Sūn yǐqián, zuò le yìdiǎndiǎn cuòshì, jiù shì… dà nào le yíxià Tiāngōng.
Well... it's a long story. Old Sun once made a teeny little mistake. I just... raised a little havoc in heaven.
- Tang Seng 大闹天宫？这也叫一点点？
Dà nào Tiāngōng? Zhè yě jiào yìdiǎndiǎn?
Havoc in heaven? And you call that a teeny little mistake?
- Sun Wukong 都过去了！菩萨说，去西天取经的和尚会来救我，我就做他的徒弟！
Dōu guòqù le! Púsà shuō, qù Xītiān qǔjīng de héshang huì lái jiù wǒ, wǒ jiù zuò tā de túdì!
That's all in the past! Guanyin said a monk on his way to the West for the scriptures would come and free me, and then I'd be his disciple!
- Tang Seng 去西天取经？那就是我啊！可是这座山这么大，我怎么救你？
Qù Xītiān qǔjīng? Nà jiù shì wǒ a! Kěshì zhè zuò shān zhème dà, wǒ zěnme jiù nǐ?
On the way to the West for the scriptures? But that's me! Only... this mountain is so big. How can I get you out?
- Sun Wukong 太好了！山上有一张纸，写着金字。你把它拿下来，我就出来了！
Tài hǎo le! Shān shang yǒu yì zhāng zhǐ, xiězhe jīn zì. Nǐ bǎ tā ná xiàlái, wǒ jiù chūlái le!
Wonderful! There's a paper up on the mountain with golden writing on it. Take it off, and I'll be out!
- Narrator 唐僧爬到山上，真的看见了那张纸。
Táng Sēng pá dào shān shang, zhēn de kànjiàn le nà zhāng zhǐ.
Tang Seng climbed the mountain, and there was the paper, just as the monkey had said.
- Tang Seng 阿弥陀佛。如果他真是我的徒弟，就让我拿下这张纸吧。
Ēmítuófó. Rúguǒ tā zhēn shì wǒ de túdì, jiù ràng wǒ náxià zhè zhāng zhǐ ba.
Amitabha. If he is truly meant to be my disciple, let me lift this paper away.
- Narrator 这时，风吹来，那张纸飞上了天。
Zhèshí, fēng chuīlái, nà zhāng zhǐ fēishàng le tiān.
Just then a wind blew up, and the paper flew off into the sky.
- Sun Wukong 好了！师父，老孙要出来了！你快走远一点儿，别让石头打到你！
Hǎo le! Shīfu, Lǎo Sūn yào chūlái le! Nǐ kuài zǒu yuǎn yìdiǎnr, bié ràng shítou dǎ dào nǐ!
That's it! Master, Old Sun is coming out! Quick, move a bit further away, so the rocks don't hit you!
- Tang Seng 这么远，可以了吗？
Zhème yuǎn, kěyǐ le ma?
Is this far enough?
- Sun Wukong 不够！再远一点儿！再远一点儿！
Bú gòu! Zài yuǎn yìdiǎnr! Zài yuǎn yìdiǎnr!
Not far enough! Further! Further!
- Tang Seng 还要远？我的腿都走累了！
Hái yào yuǎn? Wǒ de tuǐ dōu zǒu lèi le!
Even further? My legs are worn out!
- Narrator 只听一声大响，五行山从中间开了！
Zhǐ tīng yì shēng dà xiǎng, Wǔxíng Shān cóng zhōngjiān kāi le!
Then came a tremendous crack, and Five Elements Mountain split open down the middle!
- Sun Wukong 哈哈！老孙出来了！师父，从今天起，老孙就是你的徒弟！
Hāhā! Lǎo Sūn chūlái le! Shīfu, cóng jīntiān qǐ, Lǎo Sūn jiù shì nǐ de túdì!
Ha ha! Old Sun is out! Master, from this day on, Old Sun is your disciple!
- Tang Seng 好，好！悟空，快起来吧。
Hǎo, hǎo! Wùkōng, kuài qǐlái ba.
Good, good! Wukong, please, get up.
- Sun Wukong 师父，你看！老孙耳朵里有一根小针。大！大！再大！
Shīfu, nǐ kàn! Lǎo Sūn ěrduo lǐ yǒu yì gēn xiǎo zhēn. Dà! Dà! Zài dà!
Look, Master! Old Sun keeps a tiny needle in his ear. Grow! Grow! Bigger!
- Tang Seng 啊！小针变成了一根金色的大棒！
A! Xiǎo zhēn biànchéng le yì gēn jīnsè de dà bàng!
Oh! The tiny needle has turned into a great golden staff!
- Sun Wukong 这就是老孙的金箍棒！有了它，什么妖怪都不怕！
Zhè jiù shì Lǎo Sūn de jīn gū bàng! Yǒu le tā, shénme yāoguài dōu bú pà!
This is Old Sun's Golden-Hoop Staff! With this, no demon can scare me!
- Tang Seng 悟空，出家人要做好事，不能随便打人。记住了吗？
Wùkōng, chūjiārén yào zuò hǎoshì, bù néng suíbiàn dǎ rén. Jìzhù le ma?
Wukong, a monk must do good. You can't just go around hitting people. Will you remember that?
- Sun Wukong 记住了，记住了！老孙最听话了！
Jìzhù le, jìzhù le! Lǎo Sūn zuì tīnghuà le!
I'll remember, I'll remember! Old Sun always does as he's told!
- Narrator 忽然，路边跳出来六个强盗，手里都拿着刀。
Hūrán, lù biān tiào chūlái liù gè qiángdào, shǒu lǐ dōu názhe dāo.
Suddenly six robbers jumped out from beside the road, knives in their hands.
- Robber 站住！和尚，把马和东西都留下！
Zhànzhù! Héshang, bǎ mǎ hé dōngxi dōu liúxià!
Stop right there, monk! Leave the horse and everything you've got!
- Sun Wukong 师父，你说不能打人……那打一点点，可以吗？
Shīfu, nǐ shuō bù néng dǎ rén… nà dǎ yìdiǎndiǎn, kěyǐ ma?
Master, you said no hitting people... but how about just a teeny little bit?
What changed in the story?
- Who told Wukong that someone would come to save him?
“观音菩萨说会有人来救我。”
- What does Tang Seng have to do to set Wukong free?
“山上有一张纸，写着金字。你把它拿下来，我就出来了！”
- What does Wukong keep asking Tang Seng to do before he comes out?
“不够！再远一点儿！再远一点儿！”
- What does the tiny needle in Wukong's ear turn into?
“小针变成了一根金色的大棒！”
- What does Tang Seng tell Wukong he must never do?
“出家人要做好事，不能随便打人。”