Monkey King

At the mouth of the Water Curtain ****,the Monkey King ordered his monkey troops to prepare to battle the gods of heaven.The forces of heaven and the forces of the Mountain fought until the sun set.After darkness fell,the Monkey put a handful of his hairs into his mouth.He bit them into pieces and cried,"Change!"At once,each hair changed into another Wu-k'ung.All of them fought the gods with their magic staffs.

King Li could not defeat all the Wu-k'ungs.The Jade Emperor met with his ministers again.The Kuan-yin of the South Sea,who had been invited to the peach banquet,said,"I know a god who can catch this monkey.It's your Majesty's nephew,the God Erh-lang."The Jade Emperor sent for God Erh-lang.

God Erh-lang took his troops to the Water Curtain ****.They waved their banners and beat their fighting drums.

The Monkey King fought more than three hundred rounds with God Erh-lang.Then God Erh-lang stretched himself ten thousand feet high to better attack Wu-k'ung.

The "Greatest Sage"stretched himself as high as God Erh-lang.He held up his staff to strike at the God.The generals of God Erh-lang released their hawks and dogs and shot arrows into the ****.The monkeys fled in all directions.

The Monkey King despaired when he saw his troops fleeting.He,too,turned and ran.The God Erh-lang caught up to him and cried,"Where can you run?Surrender or die!" Wu-k'ung had lost all will to fight.He slipped from Erh-lang's grasp and ran for his life.

But he could not pass the gate of the monkey ****.His magic staff was too broad.Quickly,Wu-k'ung shrank the staff and placed it in his ear.Then,he turned himself into a sparrow and hid in a tree top.

When God Erh-lang arrived at the **** entrance,he recognized the sparrow as Wu-k'ung.Erh-lang turned himself into a starving hawk and flew towards the tree top.

Just in time,Wu-k'ung changed from a sparrow to a crow and flew up to the sky.Erh-lang turned into a huge sea crane and pursued the crow.

Wu-k'ung dived into a brook and changed into a fish.Erh-lang reached the brook but could not find Wu-k'ung.He murmured to himself,"That monkey must be in the water.I can't let him escape."